How New Line Cinema Destroyed the Friday the 13th Franchise

Yeah, but every slasher isn't scary to me. No film has ever scared me, maybe except The Ring and The Exorcist. Those movies have a very uncomfortable atmosphere and creepy imagery. I will jump due to jump scares, but they never scare me.

I'm just the opposite. To me the scariest horror movies tend to be slashers. But they have to be very well done, with proper pacing and suspense. The remake lacked that, so to me it's a crappy, unscary slasher.
 
The only thing that scares me about slashers is that they tend to be the most realistic form of horror. I know a video tape isn't gonna kill me, but God knows if someone has the balls to run after me with a chainsaw wearing the face of a victim. That's scary, but you don't think about that stuff until the credits roll.
 
The only thing that scares me about slashers is that they tend to be the most realistic form of horror. I know a video tape isn't gonna kill me, but God knows if someone has the balls to run after me with a chainsaw wearing the face of a victim. That's scary, but you don't think about that stuff until the credits roll.

And THAT, my friend, is EXACTLY why I find slashers the scariest form of horror movie. You get that creepy feeling while watching the movie, like you're experiencing the characters terror vicariously. And if the movie's really well made, you'll continue having that creepy feeling even after the movie ends because you feel like there might actually be someone watching you, following you, waiting to KILL you. THAT is how you know you've got a good horror movie on your hands. I got that feeling from watching the original versions of Halloween & Friday The 13th. Not from the remakes though. And if the remakes can't instill that feeling of dread in me, even after the movie stops rolling, then they're not very well made movies IMO.
 
That's why I like slashers. But again, I have to say I did enjoy most of the remakes that were made TBH. I like the originals more with the exception of TCM. I feel that the 2003 film is better than the 1974 film.
 
That's why I like slashers. But again, I have to say I did enjoy most of the remakes that were made TBH. I like the originals more with the exception of TCM. I feel that the 2003 film is better than the 1974 film.

I will concede that the 2003 remake of TCM was pretty good. Its style and effects were well done, and it had good suspense. My biggest problem with it is that they ignored, or at the very least glossed over, the fact that Leatherface and his f**ked up family were cannibals. They should have had a scene where they were preparing one of their victims to be eaten, or something of that nature.
 
The only "new" one I find that lives up to the original is A Nightmare on Elm Street. JEH was a great Freddy
 
The only "new" one I find that lives up to the original is A Nightmare on Elm Street. JEH was a great Freddy

I hate to disagree, but no it doesn't. While JEH was very good as Freddy, they went and f**ked with his origin story. You just don't do that. Had they maintained the character's origin, then it would have been one of the better remakes out there. But because they didn't . . .
 

In a way, I'd much prefer it if we got a sequel to the original Paramount timeline. Except they pretty much nuked the proverbial fridge when they brought Jason back as a zombie in Jason Lives.

But I'd kinda like to see a "Survivors United" Friday The 13th movie. Amy Steele and John Furey reprise their roles as Ginny & Paul (I know Paul was supposed to have died in Part 2, but I never interpreted the ending like that so screw it, he's alive). Dana Kimmel, the actress who played Chris in Part 3, reprises her role as Chris. Corey Feldman reprises his role as Tommy Jarvis from The Final Chapter, as does Kimberly Beck the actress who played his sister Trish. Then Melanie Kinnamen, the actress who played Pam, and Shevar Ross, who played Reggie in A New Beginning also reprise their characters from Part 5. If you really want to maintain the whole "Zombie Jason" timeline, then you can even bring back Jennifer Cooke as Megan from Jason Lives and Lar Park Lincoln's character Tina from The New Blood (as well as Kevin Blair who played her boyfriend Nick in the movie). I would just rather ignore the very existance of Jason Takes Manhatten if that's okay with you. They return to Crystal Lake in order to "face their demons" and move on beyond their collective experiences with Jason. But Jason shows up and tries to take his revenge on all those who had defeated him in the past.

Throw in some horny, pot smokin', beer drinkin' teens as machete fodder and you've got yourself a movie!

Although, to be perfectly honest (and I can't believe I'm writing this myself), but I think that the truly best way to go is to have Paramount, Steve Miner, and Sean S. Cunningham do their own reboot of the franchise. Do a proper remake of the original, with Mrs Voorhees as the killer. Make enough changes so as to not be a frame by frame reproduction of the original (a'la Psycho), but at the same time use enough classic kill shots that it's not an entirely different movie. My vote is for the Kevin Bacon arrow through the neck scene. That has GOT to stay in. I'd also make a few minor changes to the new movie, improvements that were slightly overlooked in the original. For example, I'd have the actress playing Mrs Voorhees in the background in the coffee shop scene where Annie asks where Camp Crystal Lake is. I'd also have her jeep parked outside. One common complaint I've heard about the original is that it was too obvious that Betsy Palmer was the killer. That her character shows up out of nowhere in the last 20 minutes of the movie, so you're like "Okay, so she's the killer", and the whole surprise is ruined. Just a simple little thing like having her in the cafe turning and looking at Annie as she mentions Camp Crystal Lake is all that's needed to fix this one minor problem.

If they do end up doing this, I'd like to see one of the original actors play a minor role in the new version. Maybe cast Kevin Bacon as Steve Christy. Or Adrienne King as Pamela Voorhees. Maybe Ari Lehman can play the motorcycle cop who was looking for Crazy Ralph, or even play Crazy Ralph himself (although I think that role should probably go to one of the other, older actors, like the guy who played Ned). Maybe even get Betsy Palmer to play the role of the woman working in the cafe who asks Enis to give Annie a ride to the crossroads.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Agree or disagree if you like.

Just thought I'd update my Friday The 13th: Survivors United idea. I've added the names of the actors who portrayed the surviving characters into the cast. I still think the premice holds promise. And I know Kane Hodder has always wanted to do a follow up to Part 7, where Jason comes after Tina. So if the actors would all come on board, it might actually happen.
 
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Here is my ranking of the Friday The 13th films. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a complete waste of time and money, and 10 being an absolute perfect horror movie.

Friday The 13th (1980)
9/10: This movie is so close to being perfect, it's tough to beat. There are only a few minor areas where the film can be improved upon, namely in the introduction of Pamela Voorhees. In retrospect, it's a little too obvious that she's the killer, as she's introduced for the first time completely out of nowhere during the last 15 minutes or so of the movie. Having tiny innocent seeming glimpses of her earlier in the movie, like when Annie was in the cafe asking for directions to Camp Crystal Lake, would have been a very simple solution for this.

Friday The 13th Part 2
8/10: Sequels rarely, if ever, live up to the originals, and this movie is no exception. That being said, as far as sequels go, this one is about as good as you can hope for. The story was suspenseful, the characters were likeable, and Jason does make for a great killer. The biggest problem with the film is the ending. They intended to insinuate that Jason had killed Paul and left Ginny alive, but the way they did it was very confusing. Did Jason kill Paul when he burst through the window at the very end? If so, why did he leave Ginny alive? Did Jason kill Paul in the shack, and everything after that was just a halucination? If so, how did Ginny get back to camp with that injured leg? Did Jason kill Paul when they first fought at the camp, and his coming to Ginny's rescue was just a halucination, as was everything that came after that? If so, how the hell did Ginny manage to defeat Jason without Paul's help? This is why I always choose to interpret the ending to mean that Ginny passed out and when she woke up, Paul was showing the police to Jason's shack in the woods.

Friday The 13th 3D
8/10: In terms of likeable characters and writing, this movie was on par with Part 2. The suspense of this movie was good, but not quite as good as the previous installment. However, it does introduce us to the now iconic hockey mask, which makes it just barely match up with its predicessor.

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
7/10: This movie had some of the most creative kills in the series. The effects looked great, thanks to the genius which is Tom Savini. The level of suspense slipped significantly, likely due to the producers believing this to be Jason's last appearance and wanting to go out with a bang. However many of the characters were quite likeable, which increases the overall quality of the movie. While not as good as the previous three, it's still well above average.

Friday The 13th: A New Beginning
6/10: At this point in the series, this was the lowest point to which the films had sank. Many people rate it far lower, citing the fact that the killer not being really Jason as the main reason. To me, not having Jason as the killer is irrelivant. He wasn't the killer in the first movie either, and I give that a 9/10. No, the worst part is the lack of suspense. This was due to studio interference, as they wanted a kill or jumpscare ever 7 minutes in the movie. Somehow the studio execs got it into their heads that this was the formula for making a successful horror film. The other problem was with MPAA interference. This movie needed fewer random shots of Roy, fewer deaths, and a couple of red herrings (Tommy halucinating more, seeing Jason just before every kill, and a news report the Vic had escaped from jail and is reported to be at large, armed, and dangerous). That would have improved the film immensely. Still, the film is woefully underrated.

Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
6/10: This movie is where the series starts to get really bad. By introducing Zombie Jason to the world, he is now officially no longer scary. And next to Part 5, Jason Lives has the highest body count of the series so far (A New Beginning has a bodycount of 20, while Jason Lives is just behind at 18). As with Part 5, this eliminates the time necissary to create a sense of dread and suspense, thus taking away from the quality of the film. I will say this, the characters were, for the most part, rather likeable. And I kinda like that they were poking fun at themselves a little. Plus, it had some of the coolest kills in the entire series. So it's a fun ride, just not a very scary one. This gives it a just above average score.

Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood
4/10: The good = Kane Hodder's debut as Jason. Good make up/special effects. I also liked the character of Tina played by Lar Park Lincoln. The bad = just about everything else. Undead Jason = Fail. Most of the kills were pretty generic. Most of the characters were not very likeable. Dr Cruz was so unlikeable you actually WANT him to die. The story wasn't particularly engaging, and the whole thing was completely unscary.

Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhatten
1/10: Holy crap, where to begin? How about the title? It's called "Jason Takes Manhatten", but only the last 20 minutes of the movie takes place in New York (or Vancouver pretending to be New York). It should've been called "Jason Takes A Cruise". Most of the kills were pretty generic. None of the characters were particularly likeable, not even the heroine. Plus Jason's brand new ability to teleport ahead of whoever he's chasing. Even Kane Hodder's performance as Jason couldn't save this piece of crap.

Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday
1/10: I guess the title means that these movies will no longer be called "Friday The 13th", because there are two more in the series. I just don't really care for supernatural horror, which is why most Friday The 13ths with Zombie Jason don't even break even on my scale of 1 to 10. Kane Hodder barely got any screen time as Jason, so unlike other F13's, this movie doesn't even get bonus points for that. Once again, mostly unlikeable characters, no suspense, or even any good jump scares. Lousy writing. Just an all around bad movie.

Jason X
3.5/10: Slightly better than Jason Takes Manhatten or Jason Goes To Hell. This movie has Kane Hodder as Jason all the way through, which is a point in its favour. And it does have some fun and interesting characters, another point in its favour. And while the whole "Jason in Space" thing is kinda silly, I must admit that if this movie were about a killer alien/robot/cyborg/whatever that was NOT Jason, it would have worked as a science fiction/horror space adventure along the lines of Alien or The Terminator, or maybe Saturn 3. Because of this I am willing to be a little more forgiving with my rating. It's still a sub-par Friday The 13th movie, but it's a pretty fun space adventure. Thus, a slightly higher rating.

Freddy vs Jason
3/10: Most of this movie is unscary. Many of the main characters are unlikeable. And they didn't bring back Kane Hodder as Jason. On the up side, it was filmed here in Vancouver and the final showdown between Freddy & Jason was awesome. It just wasn't enough to save this film. But it was enough to rate it higher than JGTH or JTM.

Well, those are my opinions. Feel free to comment.
 
I will concede that the 2003 remake of TCM was pretty good. Its style and effects were well done, and it had good suspense. My biggest problem with it is that they ignored, or at the very least glossed over, the fact that Leatherface and his f**ked up family were cannibals. They should have had a scene where they were preparing one of their victims to be eaten, or something of that nature.

I think it was pretty apparent that they were cannibals. Leatherface worked a meatplant, he salted the kid's leg wound, they had a dinner scene, etc. I like the remake more due to the Sheriff. He was way better than any family member from the original film, IMO. And the final chase was incredibly well done.

The only "new" one I find that lives up to the original is A Nightmare on Elm Street. JEH was a great Freddy

I thought JEH was a great Freddy too. I liked him, the atmosphere, soundtrack, the coma/micronap sub-plot. But overall I felt it was pretty uninspired and it took too many scenes from the first movie without creating any memorable moments.

As for rating each F13, it's gonna be hard since I watch them all on AMC in 2010 so I honestly don't remember which scenes were in which film since I watched it all at once.

Part 1 - 6.5-7/10
Part 2 - 7.5-8/10
Part 3 - 8.5/10
Part 4 - 8-8.5/10
Part 5 - 6/10 *I forget this one
Part 6 - 6.5-7/10 *I forget this one
Part 7 - 8-8.5/10
Part 8 - 7-7.5/10
Part 9 - 3/10
Part 10 - 6.5-7/10
Freddy VS Jason - 8.5/10
Remake - 7-7.5/10
 
The parts of Freddy vs Jason where the 2 actually confront each other were pretty good, it's a shame they didn't focus more on that. By the way, there's an aspect of Jason goes to Manhattan that a lot of people overlook, and that is the fact that Jason doesn't kill everybody he sees, i mean, it doesn't matter who it is, if he's not looking at his mother then he's going to kill that person, yet in the movie he was only interested in stalking those kids, Jason would Basically Forget them and go berserk on the whole population.

Along with the continuity problems that was what made that film completelly disconect my interest for the franchise, doing different things with the franchise isn't a bad thing, the problem is that up until now they either take it into bad new directions (Jason X) or just fail with their good ideas (Jason Takes Manhattan and Freddy vs Jason), Part V also had an interesting idea of changing the killer's identity, but it failed at making the plot make sence.
 
I find parts 1-4 to be the best of the series. A New Beginning was horrid,and although the remaining films had their moments,they really started to go downhill. I know everyone loves Kane Hodder,and I think he did a great job of making Jason more animated,but I hated the slow moving,zombie Jason. That was even worse in Freddy vs. Jason with Ken Kirzinger. My favorite is Derek Mears. He was a fast,brutal and scary Jason,even if I did find the remake just ok.
 
For me part 4 takes the cake as being the perfect F13th movie. I love the pace, characters and FX.

Part 1 - 6 /10
Part 2 - 8 /10
Part 3 - 7 /10
Part 4 - 9.5 /10
Part 5 - 5 /10 (at least they tried something different)
Part 6 - 7 /10 ( I don't mind zombie Jason)
Part 7 - 7.5 /10 (Jason vs's Carrie... sounds cheesy but I liked it)
Part 8 - 4.5 /10 (Jason on a ship was pretty cool but once they hit Manhattan it was a downward slope)
Part 9 - 2 /10 (I don't even want to know where this Night of the Creeps crap came from)
Part 10 - 1.5 /10 (I hated everything about this movie. The sleeping bag scene saves it from being a total zero.)
Freddy VS Jason - 9 /10 (I was really happy with this. It wasn't like they waited until the last 10 mins to fight.)
Remake - 7.5 /10 (I thought it was OK up until the end. IMO the first 10 mins was some of the best Jason in the entire series. I saw it as getting introduced to the charater again and make some better movies after.)
 
The parts of Freddy vs Jason where the 2 actually confront each other were pretty good, it's a shame they didn't focus more on that. By the way, there's an aspect of Jason goes to Manhattan that a lot of people overlook, and that is the fact that Jason doesn't kill everybody he sees, i mean, it doesn't matter who it is, if he's not looking at his mother then he's going to kill that person, yet in the movie he was only interested in stalking those kids, Jason would Basically Forget them and go berserk on the whole population.

Along with the continuity problems that was what made that film completelly disconect my interest for the franchise, doing different things with the franchise isn't a bad thing, the problem is that up until now they either take it into bad new directions (Jason X) or just fail with their good ideas (Jason Takes Manhattan and Freddy vs Jason), Part V also had an interesting idea of changing the killer's identity, but it failed at making the plot make sence.

I've said so myself about FvJ, the fight between the two is the best part of the whole movie and why it's not a total fail in my book. I think its biggest failure was the fact that it was written and directed by someone who wasn't even a fan of either franchise.

And I agree with you on JTM as well. Once Jason found himself in Time Square he should've gone apes**t on everyone in sight. Like the rave in FvJ, only in New York.

While Jason X was a bad Friday The 13th movie, it was a fun space romp. If you watch it with that mind set, it's a much more enjoyable movie.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the plot to Part V didn't make sense, but is wasn't as well executed as it could have been. As I wrote before, I blame Paramount and the MPAA for this. To Paramount I say, "You handle the distribution and advertising, let the people you pay to write and direct these movies do what you pay them for, write and direct them." To the MPAA I say, "Have an actual set of guidelines and follow them. Stop with the this 'This movie is obsene, but this similar movie which is far more graphic is okay' bulls**t! You people are the most disorganized and inconsistant group of individuals I've ever heard of! Knock it off!"
 
I find parts 1-4 to be the best of the series. A New Beginning was horrid,and although the remaining films had their moments,they really started to go downhill. I know everyone loves Kane Hodder,and I think he did a great job of making Jason more animated,but I hated the slow moving,zombie Jason. That was even worse in Freddy vs. Jason with Ken Kirzinger. My favorite is Derek Mears. He was a fast,brutal and scary Jason,even if I did find the remake just ok.

I agree with you that Parts 1-4 are the best in the series. I respectfully disagree on Part V being horrid though. It failed to live up to its potential, but it is an alright Friday The 13th movie. Far better than many of the others that came after.

I too dispise the slow moving Zombie Jason, and much prefer the faster moving live Jasons of the previous films, especially 3 & 4. However I have to give props to Kane Hodder for not only volunteering to play the role 4 times in a row, but also for giving Zombie Jason somewhat of a more animated personality. I'm only sorry that he got stuck playing Zombie Jason. I'd love to see what he'd bring to the role as a living Jason.

I will admit that Derek Mears was probably the best thing about the remake. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call him my favourite Jason, but I'd say he's at least tied for second place with the guy from Part 4.

I liked how as an actor he was able to delve into the psychology of the character. He said in an interview that while researching the role he learned that children develope their social skills between the ages of 10 and 13. This is why parents are encouraged to sign their children up for group activities such as baseball, soccer, basketball, etc. Because Jason allegedly drowned at age 10, he wasn't able to develope socially the way other kids do. That type of severe isolation can have serious negative effects on a child's psyche. Add to that the birth defect which caused Jason to become a mongoloid, which according to my own research also causes mental ******ation, severe anger management issues, and migraines, and you're looking at a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen. And on top of it all, Derek was able to empathise with Jason to a certain extent, as he himself has a birth defect which causes excessive hair loss (poor guy can't grow hair anywhere on his body). All in all, I must at the very least give the man a golfer's clap of appreciation.
 
For me part 4 takes the cake as being the perfect F13th movie. I love the pace, characters and FX.

Part 1 - 6 /10
Part 2 - 8 /10
Part 3 - 7 /10
Part 4 - 9.5 /10
Part 5 - 5 /10 (at least they tried something different)
Part 6 - 7 /10 ( I don't mind zombie Jason)
Part 7 - 7.5 /10 (Jason vs's Carrie... sounds cheesy but I liked it)
Part 8 - 4.5 /10 (Jason on a ship was pretty cool but once they hit Manhattan it was a downward slope)
Part 9 - 2 /10 (I don't even want to know where this Night of the Creeps crap came from)
Part 10 - 1.5 /10 (I hated everything about this movie. The sleeping bag scene saves it from being a total zero.)
Freddy VS Jason - 9 /10 (I was really happy with this. It wasn't like they waited until the last 10 mins to fight.)
Remake - 7.5 /10 (I thought it was OK up until the end. IMO the first 10 mins was some of the best Jason in the entire series. I saw it as getting introduced to the charater again and make some better movies after.)

A lot of peoples' favourite is The Final Chapter. I think it has to do with Jason having far more screen time in this movie than in any of the previous films. Personally, I find the death scenes a bit more effective when you don't see the killer, only his/her hands. I agree that the characters and FX were great, but I disagree with the pacing. That had always seemed a little off to me, which is why I rated it lower than Parts 1 or 2. But that's just my opinion.

We're more or less in agreement with the others, although I did give pretty much everything after Part VI a 4 or less out of 10. As much as I love Kane Hodder's portrayal of Jason, I just can't fully support the whole Zombie Jason series.
 
I tend to forget Kevin Bacon was in Friday the 13th O.O ...
 
I have disagree with you on Part V not being that bad, the main character was very boring, i know what he went through but that made him a shore to follow, maybe they should have went straight on with him as the new killer. The plot also didn't make sence, i mean, the killer is dressing as Jason for no reason at all, he kills the kids in the campus because a guy killed his son, and that guy is now safely away in prison.

Part VI was enjoyable in my opinion, it's actually one of the fan favourites in the series of a lot of people, me included, it's not scary, it's actually a bit more humorou than the previous films, but that's what makes it entertaining. It depends on what you expect from the franchise, i never found these films scary but i liked the tone of the first 4, therefore i was more open minded with the 6th film.

It's kind of crazy but in terms of reviews Part I and VI are the only ones with more positive than negative reviews.

I'm not a big fan of the Final Chapter, didn't really enjoy Tommy Jarvis in that film, and i remember it being a little boring. But i loved Parts 1-3, each one was a progression for the killer.

I think one of their major mistakes with Part VIII and the films after that is not picking up where the last film ended, that's one of the aspects i loved about the series and even new slasher franchises like Saw do that.
 
I have disagree with you on Part V not being that bad, the main character was very boring, i know what he went through but that made him a shore to follow, maybe they should have went straight on with him as the new killer. The plot also didn't make sence, i mean, the killer is dressing as Jason for no reason at all, he kills the kids in the campus because a guy killed his son, and that guy is now safely away in prison.

Part VI was enjoyable in my opinion, it's actually one of the fan favourites in the series of a lot of people, me included, it's not scary, it's actually a bit more humorou than the previous films, but that's what makes it entertaining. It depends on what you expect from the franchise, i never found these films scary but i liked the tone of the first 4, therefore i was more open minded with the 6th film.

It's kind of crazy but in terms of reviews Part I and VI are the only ones with more positive than negative reviews.

I'm not a big fan of the Final Chapter, didn't really enjoy Tommy Jarvis in that film, and i remember it being a little boring. But i loved Parts 1-3, each one was a progression for the killer.

I think one of their major mistakes with Part VIII and the films after that is not picking up where the last film ended, that's one of the aspects i loved about the series and even new slasher franchises like Saw do that.


I'm not saying that Part V was great by any means. It most certainly was flawed. But I appreciate what they were trying to do with it, and it certainly had potential. Tommy could have been written better, I agree. I've said before his halucinations of Jason should have come far more frequently, and be timed to occur right around each killing.

As for it not making sense that Roy is the killer? It doesn't really have to make sense to us, as long as it makes sense to Roy. If you happen to have watched the "making of featurette" on the New Beginning Special Edition DVD, the actor who played Roy explained how he thought the character's mind worked. That he hid behind the persona of "Jason", because he was hiding from the responsibility of the murders. "He" wasn't the one killing people, "Jason" was doing the killing. Kinda like Norman Bates taking on the persona of his mother to kill people in "Psycho". And Roy's psychotic break isn't all that different from Pamela Voorhees'. The kids she killed at Camp Crystal Lake had nothing to do with Jason's drowning. They weren't even born yet. Yet in her mind, it was a series of revenge killings.

Again, I'd like to mention that had I written the script, I would have added a news report that Vic had escaped from jail. This would be a red herring so that people might think Vic is the one dressing up as Jason. Then near the end Pam & Reggie discover his body, or maybe his severed head, when they're running from "Jason".

So I appreciate what they were trying to do. I agree that it could have been, and should have been, done better. But I see the potential behind the film and therefore cannot hate it as much as others tend to.
 
So Brad Fuller tweeted that they begin working on F13th after they finish up TMNT.
 
Despite being the first zombie Jason film, and still being an ok F13 film, I always give Part 6 a pass, simply for the Alice Cooper soundtrack. man Behind the Mask is one of my favorite AC tracks of all time.
 
Kevin Bacon talks about Friday the 13th on Jay Leno. This is one of the few times I've heard him discuss it. starts at 3:25.

[YT]Itb1rEVa0og[/YT]
 

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