Horror icons. Over the years I’ve managed to watch a lot of them. I’ve seen everything including Michael, Freddy, and Ghost Face. I’ve seen some of Leatherface and even some Pinhead, but there’s one big one I’ve never seen properly.
This spooky season I’ve decided to fix that, so I’ve spent the past few weeks watching Jason. Ch ch ch ah ah ah.
I’d originally planned for this to be a ranking of the Friday films. Picking up a boxset HMV seemed the perfect opportunity! But honestly, after eight of them in two weeks, a lot of it has blurred. And not in a good way. It’s really tricky to be forgiving when you don’t have the affection for the property that you might have for others of its ilk. So I struggled a lot. Once I even fell asleep.
So rather than spend hundreds of words repeating how I thought a lot of the films were dull cash grabs with terrible continuity, I figured I’d concentrate on the one I did like.
I did not expect my favourite Friday film to be the sixth entry. It’s the fourth film to include the hockey mask, so consider me pleasantly surprised. But this is what I think of when I think of Jason. His working out isn’t hidden, cutting wires and generally doing his thing. There are kills early and then consistently throughout. Jason has this very sharp reactionary turn, which with his mainly hidden eyes feels intimidating.
But whilst the Jason is violent and intimidating, the film itself is self-aware and funny, which transfers to a lot of its characters. It’s amusing and refreshing that multiple victims can sense the shitty situation they’re in and try to get out. Doesn’t help them though! A girl being yoinked through a window so fast that her slippers are left on the floor tickled me.
Most of the films feel very thrown together, but one shot of Jason atop a burning RV, and it looking sweet, is enough to show me that someone gave a toss with this one.
It’s also got the best final fight so far by a mile. There’s fire, water, people making not completely ridiculous decisions, and a fitting finish. I easily enjoyed this entry the most and it’s the one I’d recommended.
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