Despite having never seen Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) before today, the version of Jason Voorhees presented here is the one most familiar to me. Sure, he may have donned the trademark hockey mask a few films back, but it wasn't until his unnatural resurrection that he would become the Jason from my childhood. The undead killer with superhuman strength, impervious to pain and completely unstoppable. A shambling corpse, hellbent on murder and mayhem, who refuses to truly die.
The filmmakers, director Tom McLoughlin and the producers at Paramount, decided to ignore the events at the end of the previous installment. Tommy Jarvis is back, this time portrayed by Thom Mathews, but instead of picking up where he left off in A New Beginning (1985), taking up the mask and the mantle, instead he's determined to destroy the evil once and for all. Digging up Jason's grave in an attempt to burn the body, Tommy accidentally brings the killer back to life.
Hilarity ensues.
Actually, that's only partially untrue. I mean, really, talk about your drastic tonal shifts from film to film. Where Part V bordered on unpleasant, here the viewers are given an almost goofy, tongue-in-cheek slasher. It's still drenched in gore and death, but there's definitely more humor on display than any of the previous entries. There are even moments of breaking the fourth wall, like when the graveyard caretaker questions "why they had to go and dig up Jason" while looking directly at the audience.
It's all very meta.
One of my favorite elements is the inclusion of Sheriff Mike Garris (David Kagen) as one of the main characters. His daughter, Megan (Jennifer Cooke), fills the role of "final girl" for Part VI, but the sheriff himself is more than just another victim for Jason to slaughter. And while, no, he doesn't survive until the film's end, Sheriff Garris is the only adult in the franchise so far to truly take a stand against the relentless horror of Jason Voorhees.
Now we are getting to the point where I need to revisit these. After V things start getting foggy for me until we get to Jason Goes to Hell. I have to say though, while Freddy and Michael Myers always had a certain charm in my heart, Jason was one that truly terrified me. He was the one that I felt I wouldn't be able to outsmart. Or outrun. lol
ReplyDeleteSee, that was how I felt about Michael Myers. He was the scariest to me. Leatherface I just wouldn't watch because it seemed so obscene, but Freddy and JAson seemed like the merry pranksters playing "got your nose!" sometimes literally, sure... but all in good fun.
DeleteThe two that terrified me most were Freddy and Chucky. It's the fact that they spoke, that they cracked fucking jokes while stalking and killing their victims. It just illustrated how they were enjoying themselves while committing horrible, unspeakable acts.
DeleteJason didn't really freak me out, but I wasn't big on gore either, so I skipped his series, too.
The first Freddy film freaked me out and still does. However once he got really funny he became someone I wanted to date. lol I am totally joking. I never wanted to date Freddy Krueger, but he did take on a different persona for me in the later films than in that first one. The films were slightly gross and slightly funny, but also a thrill ride that you wanted to see again and again.
DeleteNow I say Michael Myers charmed me, but that was more because we shared the same first name. There were a few aspects of the Halloween movies that were scary, his mask is very scary, but logically I always felt like I could just run away fast and I'd be good to go. lol I can't run really fast, so the ones that can run freak me out. lol
Chucky scared me as a kid but not so much when I got older. Although I would need to see those again, it's been awhile.
severed arm severed arm severed arm severed arm yay!! :D :D :D
ReplyDeleteI admit I don't watch horror movies... I watch horror movies' scariest scenes on internet :D