Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI

It is a dark and rainy night. Tommy Jarvis, played by Thom Matthews, escapes from the mental asylum where he has been since he killed Jason, the slasher villain who killed his way through so many teenagers in five previous “Friday the 13^th” movies. Tommy is a confident man, forced by a thinking known only to scriptwriters of sequels. Caryn James said in her review, “He is determined to dig up and destroy Jason's corpse, just to make sure he's dead, like going back to make sure you've turned off the stove after you've left the house.” Tommy digs up the decomposing body with his friend, played by Ron Palillo, the music enlarges, lightning strikes Jason at his heart and … guess what happens next? This movie, after all, is called “Friday the 13^th, Part VI: Jason Lives.”

Why Tommy couldn’t leave well enough alone is just one of the unimportant questions you can entertain yourself while watching the film, which was released in 1986. You might also wonder why Tommy was crazy enough to bring along Jason’s (C.J. Graham & Dan Bradley) hockey mask, so the re-born villain can pick up right where he left off, without even a change of clothing. Also, why do the sherriff’s (David Kagen) daughter (Jennifer Cooke) and her friends (Renée Jones, Tom Fridley, Kerry Noonan, Nancy McLoughlin and Tony Goldwyn) become counselors at the camp that was the area of most of Jason’s murders? James asks, “How did their parents convince them Jason was not real, when the series has only been around for six years and these kids are old enough to drive?”

Teenagers with no sense of what happened, they seem victim to repeat the previous teen’s roles in Jason’s killing spree, because repeating history is what the “Friday the 13^th” series is all about. It has fans who admit it’s bad but watch just because it’s there and don’t expect any surprises. James said, “Jason's new director and screenwriter, Tom McLoughlin, tries to liven up the formula with traces of humor and acknowledges the film's cult status with some self-directed irony.” “I’ve seen enough horror movies to know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly,” says McLoughlin, when she and Goldwyn meet up with Jason on a secluded road.

James is right when she said, “But despite a few lighter touches, the film is still a gory waste of time that plays its murders for all the blood and guts they're worth. There are plenty of cliched reaction shots of faces in terror, more than enough frames filled with bloody knives and severed heads.” However, there is not any suspense about Jason or the teenagers. He sneaks, they scream, he kills. None of it is enough to scare you, though it may be enough to make you feel sick.

Like I had stated yesterday, I think this movie is better than the fifth movie, but maybe not by much. I think I might like this better than the second, but to be completely honest, I can’t remember my list on how I ranked this series fully. If you want to see it, it’s your choice because this installment gives the series a more polished look and establishes Jason as a zombie villain. However, it’s also stale because it doesn’t do anything new to the series.

Well, I’m happy to say that I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s review because I will be looking at, what I think, is the best sequel in the entire franchise. I’m really looking forward to that review of my “Friday the 13^th-a-thon,” so stay tuned for that in “Halloween Month.”