Felix Vasquez started
his review by saying, “It’s Jason vs. the eighties version of Carrie White.
Because… why not, right?” With this one, the Paramount series had really run
out of ideas for characters. Tommy Jarvis chained Jason to a rock and sank him
underwater where he would be there forever, and there was really nowhere left
to go from here. It’s almost like the ending of “Halloween H20.” Laurie Strode
chopped Michael’s head off. The end! But is it? Yes, it is. Oh really? No. No,
it’s not. Well, let’s just put out another sequel.
Apparently, Camp
Crystal Lake isn’t just a camp, but everyone around has been home to some
vacationers for years. Vasquez said, “I never quite understood why Jason only
hunted campers and counselors, if “The New Blood” makes it clear any yuppy
family can vacation at the spot for the summer.” A long time ago in an undetermined
past, Tina (Jennifer Banko) saw her abusive father (John Otrin) hurting her
mother (Susan Blu) and trying to run away accidentally killed him. This was
because of her hidden telekinetic abilities she’s had. Many years later she’s
(Lat Park Lincoln) taken to Crystal Lake (because the best place to recover is
on the tourist spot where most brutal murders happen) by her psychiatrist
(Terry Kiser) and mother to help explore her hidden powers. Meanwhile a group
of standard teens (William Butler, Larry Cox, Heidi Kozak, Craig Thomas, Diane Almeida,
Jeff Bennett, Jon Renfield, Diana Barrows, Elizabeth Kaitan and Susan Jennifer
Sullivan) arrive in the next house prepared for a birthday party and summer
vacation.
Tina meets muscular
Nick (Kevin Blair), and rallies up the usual group of high school based
eighties teens, including evil aggravating Melisa (Sullivan). Tina wants to
join in on the party but her psychiatrist wants to shelter her telekinetic
abilities for government use for some reason, abusing her emotions. Still
devastated over killing her dad, Tina tries to bring him back from the dead
with her telekinesis (because that never goes wrong), and wouldn’t you know it?
She revives Jason, instead. Now Jason, played by Kane Hodder, goes back on his
streak of killing off the bland characters and creeping around, while Tina
tries to find out what her psychiatrist wants to do with her. Vasquez said, “Tina’s
back story and her character are based largely on Carrie White, and for the
most part, Tina is really just an eighties version of Carrie.”
Even when aggravating
Melissa irritates her, she telekinetically destroys her string of pearls.
Vasquez said, “One thing I do enjoy about “The New Blood” in spite of its
inherent silliness, is that it finally gives Jason a match in the way of the
supernatural.” It’s bad enough Tommy drowned him, now he has to fight a young
girl who can fight back and fight back hard. Once Tina masters her abilities
and begins taking Jason down, you can almost hear him raging in complete anger
underneath his mask most of the times. The only thing missing is smoke coming
out from his years. I disagree with Vasquez when he said, “From the Paramount
entries, “The New Blood” is the second weakest behind “A New Beginning” since
Tina’s whole powers are never explained, all the while we never know if these
abilities are inherited.”
Most of the kills are
actually fun, for the most part, as Jason comes out of the lake completely
livid from his fight with Tommy, and causes humungous vicious murders on the
young teenage drug-addicts that are in the woods. “Friday the 13th
Part VII: The New Blood,” released in 1988, works alongside as a new twist on
the plot, but as an accidentally funny sequel. Vasquez said, “You have to love
the deus ex machina of the final scene where Tina’s undead dad comes to the
rescue and brings Jason back down in to the lake. He’s not bloated, or rotted,
or broken, by any means.” Plus, you have to think if Tina killed her dad; the
police would have taken his body out of the lake. But no, dad comes to redeem
his abusive self in a convenient and really silly finale. Vasquez ended his
review by saying, “As slasher fodder I still rather enjoy it, but “The New
Blood” is the further look at how the series just became goofier and goofier
and hinted at Jason’s inevitable foray in to space.”
I don’t agree with
Vasquez with where he rated this film, I personally think this is the best of
the sequels. I really like how this film did something different, but mostly
the ending is what makes it worthwhile. If anyone says this film is uneven, I
completely get it. However, I saw these movies one at a time and didn’t binge
watch them by going through a marathon of them in one sitting. I did take one
or more day breaks in between. That’s probably the reason why I got so into
this one. Definitely don’t skip this one because it is a great installment.
Well, I can’t say it
will be uphill from here. Tomorrow we’ll be looking at one of the worst entries
in the franchise. However, before we get to that one, my brother and I will be
seeing “The Foreigner” today, so I’ll let you know what I thought about that
later.
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