Director: John Carl Buechler
Cast: Lar Park Lincoln, Kevin Blair, Susan Blu, Kane Hodder
Have I Seen It Before: Maybe? I’m honestly so tired of answering this (self-inflicted) question for this film series.
Did I Like It: Has anyone ever made an improvised slasher movie? I’m not talking about something like Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)* that brings comedy to the genre, I’m talking about forgoing the idea of putting together a script, and just planning on hitting a loose list of beats. It’d be easier on everybody. This was purportedly written by two writers, but what could it possibly matter? Do you remember what happened in Friday the 13th - Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)? Does it have anything to do with the waif of a telekinetic (Lincoln) who might be finally able to put Jason Voorhees (Hodder) in his final grave**? I don’t known, and this film isn’t giving me any inspiration to go as far as to look back on my review to see if there is some connective tissue. One wonders if those writers watched the last film, either. If they did, this is less a film and more the lashing out of the abused.
Before we conclude that I have nothing positive to say about the film, this is the first film to feature Kane Hodder in the role which made him moderately famous, and with which Jason is most commonly associated in fandom. He’s good. He brings a bewildered physicality to the role which against all odds moved the man with the hockey mask beyond the category of the cheapest of Michael Myers substitutes to… a moderately cheap substitute of Michael Meyers.
That ain’t nothing.
*God bless the predilection of horror movies to over-stuff their titles. They’re saving me from having to pontificate on this film for too long before hitting my word count.
**She won’t be able to, in case you were wondering. The series at this point is still cheap enough that Paramount could only stop making them if they lost interest in making money. Which apparently they did in the 90s and aren’t likely to get over it any time soon.