TAGGED AS: Horror
Tommy Jarvis, recast as a vaguely bland hunk, wants to cremate Jason’s corpse. But when lightning strikes his open casket, Jason comes back to life, setting in motion another rampage as Jason stalks back to Crystal Lake. The sheriff doesn’t believe Tommy, while the sheriff’s daughter and her friends are in danger: they’re counselors at a newly re-opened camp on Crystal Lake (like, is the rent cheap there, or what?).
I know this is a fan favorite (it hit 50% on the Tomatometer!) but I can’t say I was engaged by a lot of Jason Lives. The movie is noted for its comedic bent but I was baffled by a lot of the jokes, things like a nerd doing goofy calisthenics during a paintball match or a child asleep in his bed with a copy of Sartre on his blanket. They set a tone that doesn’t really gel with the rest of Jason Lives.
But I’m glad they got a new actor to play Tommy Jarvis (he was pathetic and irritating in A New Beginning). As a character he still doesn’t have much use, though. Besides resurrecting Jason in the beginning and tying him to a rock at the end, he simply spends the movie in various states of incarceration.
The only Friday to be written and directed by the same person, showrunner Tom McLoughlin refuses to be comply with certain slasher tropes (this is the only Friday movie with zero drugs or nudity) and gives his movie the self-referential treatment, stopping short of Wes Craven territory. One character balks incredulously that his car stalls in the face of impending doom. Another states she’s seen enough horror movies to know hockey mask-wearing dudes are probably bad news. And at one point, this crazy guy looks into the camera and says, “Some folks have a strange idea of entertainment.”
This is the first incarnation of Jason the super-zombie and McLoughlin does fashion some interesting character quirks. Whereas Jason usually teleports from place to place, in Jason Lives we have a few eerie shots of Jason traveling alone back to Crystal Lake. Here, he looks like Robert Frost contemplating the woods on an overcast day.
We’re also re-introduced to the contemplative Jason head tilt (last seen at the end of Part 2 and The Final Chapter), which comes out whenever he encounters something new, whether it be 80s butt rock.
Or, his new found strength.
Or, little girls.
There’s a childish curiosity that emanates from zombie Jason, endearing in its own twisted way, that I think audiences really respond to. That’s probably one of the reasons he endures, even if his movies aren’t great: there’s just enough little imperfections in his backstory that opens the character up to interpretation. He’s a maniac. He’s a zombie. He’s a mama’s boy. He’s a stupid child, lashing out at the world, as he tries to find home again.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Vital Stats:
Memories of Crystal Lake:
Tomorrow: the series gets a little freaky with The New Blood!
Schedule of Fridays:
