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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) in Movies
Dec 30, 2020
If you were to show someone who had never watched a Friday the 13th movie, one single film from the franchise, then Part VI would surely be the one. It does everything that this series aims to do so well - it's easy to see why it's such a fan favourite.
Part VI marks the turning point into supernatural territory. Jason is back properly this time, risen from the grave, essentially a zombie, and even more unkillable than he was before. In the entries preceding this one, Jason has always been an imposing figure sure, but this time around C.J. Graham makes him feel like a proper tank (something that would be carried on wholeheartedly by Kane Hodder).
Most of the cast are typical slasher types purely here to up the kill count, but Tommy Jarvis appear once again to round off his trilogy of films, this time played by Thom Mathews, easily the most recognisable and iconic portrayal of the character.
The kills come thick and fast, and although certainly not the bloodiest of the series, it still has some memorable moments (a dude gets folded in half like a deckchair, which is suitably ridiculous) and the general pacing of the movie is well realised.
The comedic tone is just right as well. It's not quite as goofy as Part V, and the humourous parts are genuinely funny. The dumb script just adds to this. The paintball scene is a little too much though, silly music and all.
Talking of music, Harry Manfredini returns to score, and his work continues to be one of the best parts about the franchise.
Jason Lives is a good time, through and through. It's a shining example of what can be great about 80s slashers - it's fun, it's violent, just the right amount of hammy, and is simply one of the best Friday the 13th films out there.
Part VI marks the turning point into supernatural territory. Jason is back properly this time, risen from the grave, essentially a zombie, and even more unkillable than he was before. In the entries preceding this one, Jason has always been an imposing figure sure, but this time around C.J. Graham makes him feel like a proper tank (something that would be carried on wholeheartedly by Kane Hodder).
Most of the cast are typical slasher types purely here to up the kill count, but Tommy Jarvis appear once again to round off his trilogy of films, this time played by Thom Mathews, easily the most recognisable and iconic portrayal of the character.
The kills come thick and fast, and although certainly not the bloodiest of the series, it still has some memorable moments (a dude gets folded in half like a deckchair, which is suitably ridiculous) and the general pacing of the movie is well realised.
The comedic tone is just right as well. It's not quite as goofy as Part V, and the humourous parts are genuinely funny. The dumb script just adds to this. The paintball scene is a little too much though, silly music and all.
Talking of music, Harry Manfredini returns to score, and his work continues to be one of the best parts about the franchise.
Jason Lives is a good time, through and through. It's a shining example of what can be great about 80s slashers - it's fun, it's violent, just the right amount of hammy, and is simply one of the best Friday the 13th films out there.
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Final Girls (2015) in Movies
Apr 23, 2021
There are several reasons why The Final Girls is a goddam delight.
For a start, it's an unabashed love letter to the Friday the 13th series, both playing tribute, and poking fun at its tropes. If you're a fan of summer camp slashers, then you'll find a lot to love. The comedy on display is decent and never feels too try hard, and even manages to lightly berate the horror fan community whilst managing to remain endearing.
Amongst all the silliness however, lurks a touching and often sad story about loss and coming to terms with grief. Fantastic performances from Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman compliment these moments, and they land pretty well. The characters are solidly balanced, and result in a movie that knows when to be funny, and when to be serious.
The Final Girls has quickly become a bit of a cult favourite since it's release in 2015, and it's easy to see why. Good stuff!
For a start, it's an unabashed love letter to the Friday the 13th series, both playing tribute, and poking fun at its tropes. If you're a fan of summer camp slashers, then you'll find a lot to love. The comedy on display is decent and never feels too try hard, and even manages to lightly berate the horror fan community whilst managing to remain endearing.
Amongst all the silliness however, lurks a touching and often sad story about loss and coming to terms with grief. Fantastic performances from Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman compliment these moments, and they land pretty well. The characters are solidly balanced, and result in a movie that knows when to be funny, and when to be serious.
The Final Girls has quickly become a bit of a cult favourite since it's release in 2015, and it's easy to see why. Good stuff!
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Never Hike Alone (2017) in Movies
Oct 20, 2020
Never Hike Alone is a hell of an accomplishment - a fan made film based on Friday the 13th that is as good, maybe even better, than the best entries in the main franchise.
It's premise is simple - a survival/hiking enthusiast is collecting footage for his YouTube channel when he accidentally stumbles across the remains of Camp Crystal Lake, resulting in a one on one fight for his life when he discovers that Jason Voorhees still resides there - and it's short runtime (clocking in at just under an hour) make for a no-filler, sharp-shock slice of slasher goodness.
It carries a lot of tension, the first half being relatively calm as protagonist Kyle (Drew Leighty) explores the remnant of the camp. Fans of the original film will surely get a kick out of recognisable landmarks, including the bed that Kevin Bacon was skewered through. It's a nice way of showing that this short is a true love letter to the franchise. Kyle is a likable and believable lead who's survival skill set makes him a good match for the big bad.
When Jason eventually shows up, he's damn scary! This version of Jason is just relentless. He's quick, heavy footed, and smashes through doors like they're not even there. Director Vincent DiSanti fills the shoes of Jason, and his tall and broad figure make for a genuinely intimidating version of this beloved horror icon.
He looks fantastic as well, it's clear that a lot of effort was put into his make up and costume.
Top all of this off with a cameo from Thom Mathews himself, and what you get is a recipe for a successful short film, made for fans, by fans.
Never Hike Alone is a real treat for anyone who even has a passing interest in Friday the 13th. Hats off to Womp Stomp Films for their great work.
It's premise is simple - a survival/hiking enthusiast is collecting footage for his YouTube channel when he accidentally stumbles across the remains of Camp Crystal Lake, resulting in a one on one fight for his life when he discovers that Jason Voorhees still resides there - and it's short runtime (clocking in at just under an hour) make for a no-filler, sharp-shock slice of slasher goodness.
It carries a lot of tension, the first half being relatively calm as protagonist Kyle (Drew Leighty) explores the remnant of the camp. Fans of the original film will surely get a kick out of recognisable landmarks, including the bed that Kevin Bacon was skewered through. It's a nice way of showing that this short is a true love letter to the franchise. Kyle is a likable and believable lead who's survival skill set makes him a good match for the big bad.
When Jason eventually shows up, he's damn scary! This version of Jason is just relentless. He's quick, heavy footed, and smashes through doors like they're not even there. Director Vincent DiSanti fills the shoes of Jason, and his tall and broad figure make for a genuinely intimidating version of this beloved horror icon.
He looks fantastic as well, it's clear that a lot of effort was put into his make up and costume.
Top all of this off with a cameo from Thom Mathews himself, and what you get is a recipe for a successful short film, made for fans, by fans.
Never Hike Alone is a real treat for anyone who even has a passing interest in Friday the 13th. Hats off to Womp Stomp Films for their great work.
WF
Writing Feminist Lives: The Biographical Battles Over Betty Friedan, Germaine Greer, Gloria Steinem, and Simone de Beauvoir: 2016
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Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Freddy vs. Jason (2003) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019 (Updated Jun 21, 2019)
Freddy Krueger is in hell and he's come to the realization that everyone has forgotten about him and the legacy he had left behind when he died. So he formulates a plan to get people to remember and fear Freddy once again, but he isn't strong enough to do it alone. He resurrects Jason Voorhees by pretending to be Pamela Voorhees and tells Jason to go to Elm Street. Once there, Jason does the dirty work and Freddy Krueger's name starts to spread. The more fear that spreads, the stronger Freddy gets. Things seem to be progressing in Freddy's favor until Jason unintentionally steals a kill from Freddy and winds up setting the stage for a battle between two horror icons that fans have been anticipating for at least a decade.
After so much buildup and fans waiting so long for this epic confrontation to take place, there really was no way it could live up to the hype. With that being said, it isn't a terrible film. Just disappointing. It really feels like more of a Nightmare On Elm Street film than a Friday the 13th film. So, right off the bat, that gets to me since I wasn't a big fan of the ANOES franchise and I'm completely biased towards Friday the 13th as a whole. Jason is also suddenly afraid of water and emotional, which hurts the character overall. While this may be the biggest Jason to date, he certainly comes off as the weakest. Freddy seems to be two steps ahead of Jason throughout most of the film, as well. While it makes sense overall, the F13 fan in me would've liked to have seen Jason have a bit more control offensively in the film. Overall, I think the most disappointing factor of this film is that a sequel never materialized even though the film did fairly strong numbers at the box office and on DVD. A few of the endings that were scrapped would have been amazing compared to the inconclusive one we wound up with. It's just a shame because a follow up is nothing more than a dream sequence at this point.
After so much buildup and fans waiting so long for this epic confrontation to take place, there really was no way it could live up to the hype. With that being said, it isn't a terrible film. Just disappointing. It really feels like more of a Nightmare On Elm Street film than a Friday the 13th film. So, right off the bat, that gets to me since I wasn't a big fan of the ANOES franchise and I'm completely biased towards Friday the 13th as a whole. Jason is also suddenly afraid of water and emotional, which hurts the character overall. While this may be the biggest Jason to date, he certainly comes off as the weakest. Freddy seems to be two steps ahead of Jason throughout most of the film, as well. While it makes sense overall, the F13 fan in me would've liked to have seen Jason have a bit more control offensively in the film. Overall, I think the most disappointing factor of this film is that a sequel never materialized even though the film did fairly strong numbers at the box office and on DVD. A few of the endings that were scrapped would have been amazing compared to the inconclusive one we wound up with. It's just a shame because a follow up is nothing more than a dream sequence at this point.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Jason X (2001) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019 (Updated Jun 21, 2019)
In the not too distant future, Jason Voorhees has been contained. He's been prepared for cryogenic stasis, that is until the military shows up and has other plans for him. After Jason slaughters the military personnel, Rowan(the head of the cryogenic stasis unit) manages to get Jason into a tank for suspended animation preparation. After a slight mishap, she winds up being frozen as well. Now, nearly 450 years in the future, a professor and his team of young students discover Rowan and Jason. They bring the two back to their ship and only have plans to thaw out Rowan, but underestimate how devastating Jason really is. Now with Jason running loose on Grendel(the ship), will anyone be able to survive long enough to make it back home?
This movie is beyond ridiculous. I'll say that up front right now. It is cheese through and through. There's no doubt about that. I'd be lying if I wasn't entertained by it to some degree though. This film boasts the biggest body count of any Friday the 13th film with a staggering 28 kills. And even though Jason suddenly has hair, for whatever miraculous reason, I actually don't mind how he looks up until he becomes some weird hybrid of Lord Zedd and Super Shredder...I mean Uber-Jason.
Some of the kills are really awesome though. They revisit the sleeping bag kill from part seven in this one and it's pretty entertaining. The real kill that steals the show is Adrienne's kill. When Jason first wakes up from cryogenic stasis, he takes Adrienne's face, shoves it into a sink filled with liquid nitrogen, pulls it out, and then smashes it on a nearby table. It's truly the highlight of the film. Jason is in space. That's pretty much the gist of the storyline. Uber-Jason is a joke. Other than looking different, he doesn't do much of anything the normal Jason wouldn't do. With a weak storyline, bad acting, and a rather lame script, Jason X is really only worth watching if you're a die hard Friday the 13th fan. Even then, you're better off watching one of the earlier sequels that you'll know you enjoy.
This movie is beyond ridiculous. I'll say that up front right now. It is cheese through and through. There's no doubt about that. I'd be lying if I wasn't entertained by it to some degree though. This film boasts the biggest body count of any Friday the 13th film with a staggering 28 kills. And even though Jason suddenly has hair, for whatever miraculous reason, I actually don't mind how he looks up until he becomes some weird hybrid of Lord Zedd and Super Shredder...I mean Uber-Jason.
Some of the kills are really awesome though. They revisit the sleeping bag kill from part seven in this one and it's pretty entertaining. The real kill that steals the show is Adrienne's kill. When Jason first wakes up from cryogenic stasis, he takes Adrienne's face, shoves it into a sink filled with liquid nitrogen, pulls it out, and then smashes it on a nearby table. It's truly the highlight of the film. Jason is in space. That's pretty much the gist of the storyline. Uber-Jason is a joke. Other than looking different, he doesn't do much of anything the normal Jason wouldn't do. With a weak storyline, bad acting, and a rather lame script, Jason X is really only worth watching if you're a die hard Friday the 13th fan. Even then, you're better off watching one of the earlier sequels that you'll know you enjoy.