The Friday the 13th thread

[axlish]

Who here loves this franchise, warts and all? I know I do. Lets disect these films shall we?

Before we get going, I thought I should mention two awesome books about the franchise.

The first book is titled Crystal Lake Memories. It is a massive coffee table book filled with many lovely color pictures. It is out of print right now but a second pressing will be coming out soon. In stead of a straight forward story teller approach, it is actually strung together comments from the films participants that tell the story.
http://www.buy.com/prod/Crystal_Lake_Memories/q/loc/106/31279704.html

The second book is titled Making Friday the 13th. It is an equally good read, but is a more straight-to-the-point tale of what happened during the making of each film. It is still in print. This makes a nice companion to Crystal Lake Memories.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=36497442&loc=106&sp=1

Ok, my favorites...

Part 1 - A very effective film that contains some genuine scares. Tom Savini was improving his skills as an FX artist, yet still provided amazing effects that had yet to be attained. A genuinely good film that still holds up today.

Part 4 - This is the ultimate Friday the 13th film, and probably should have been the final installment. Here we have Crispin Glover, Corey Feldman, and doublemint twins! Savini returns for part 4, and in my opinion provides his finest effects ever.

Part 6 - Turn the cheeze up to 11. Jason Lives is the most fun of the series, and features ROTLD's Thom Matthews. A lethal dose of 80's cheeze was injected into this one, and it provided a lift that the series needed badly after the poorly received Part 5.

[EvilNed]

I've seen them all (and own them all, don't kill me) and I have to say that Part 6 is my favourite. It's different from the other in that it's part comedy, part horror and it exceeds in entertainment value over all others.

I was very disappointed with Part 7 which returned to the extremely grim seriousness of the others yet retained all the stupid cheesiness from part 7. Telepaths? It's like a really bad old Star Trek episode, set near Crystal lake.

[bassman]

I like the first and second. The rest I'm not too crazy about.

I never saw "Jason X" because....well it just looked ridiculous.

[jscott]

Part 4, baby, all the way!

Axlish, any way you could make me a motion GIF avatar with Crispin doing that dance? LMK

[Tri0xin]

As far as I know, that was the first slasher movie where a woman was the murderer. But then again, i'm not completely sure about that.

I still say Black Christmas is the first, and best, slasher movie of all time! Friday the 13th and Halloween borrowed a lot from Bob Clarke's 1974? (75?) masterpiece.

[Rottedfreak]

Freddy versus Jason retained some comedy though that was it's problem, half the time it was funny as it was surreal and then it was quite brutal.
My favourite jason moment is when a kid stands up to him, starts boxing him to the edge of a roof, this exhausts the kid and then the idiot actually goes "your turn." and Jason literally knocks his head off.

[MinionZombie]

I voted Part Four as my favourite. Why? It's got Jason - in a hockey mask - Savini is on gore duty, it's tied in with the previous two films, it's just flat out entertainment. It's sooooooo good.

My view on the franchise as a whole.

#1 - classic, no diggity no doubt. Hall of famer.
#2 - JASON! Beginning of a 3 film run in the same movie-world week timespan.
#3 - JASON! IN A HOCKEY MASK! Lame gore sadly, but the final reel makes up for a somewhat dull film. Their desperation to make the most of 3-D is hilarious.
#4 - CLASSIC, just fantastic.
#5 - interesting, but generally lame.
#6 - I love it, Thom Mathews, zombie-Jason!, Alice Cooper.
#7 - Generally lame, HOT chick gets her baps out, Jason's face - excellent!
#8 - Awful bar a few moments, Jason in NYC is fun though. Franchise has lost ALL scares.
#9 - Crap, I want to SEE Jason, not his spirt incarnate, pfft!
#10 - Enjoyable, but so far removed from the franchise's hey day.

Freddy vs Jason - can't consider it a part of either franchise really, it's generally lame, a nu-metal soundtrack in a 'horror' film is just hideous and oh-so wrong. Has a few moments, the 'final girl' is a total fitch though, I blates would.

That's my round up anyway...

jscott - isn't Glover's dance just the best, it's Crispin Cringeworthy! lol. I sincerely hope that's not how all "white folks" danced in the early 80s, lol.

[axlish]

I added a new option for the haters in the house.

[erisi236]

I'm gunna have to go out on a limb and say part 7 was my fave, Jason just looks so bad ass in that flick, i just wish there was an uncut version of it.

[axlish]

Ok, now for the crap

Part 5 - Directed by a former porn director, miraculously this has the highest kill rate of any of the films (most money-shots). What the F was that ambulance driver angle all about. It seems like they were trying to veer the franchise towards Tommy Jarvis being the killer, but that was derailed by the time they made part 6. Seriously, was anyone supposed to remember or care about the ambulance driver from reel one? Were people supposed to have a new level of understanding once the killer's identity was revealed? Oh man, what a pile of crap.

Jason Goes to Hell - Not even the top notch effects of KNB could save this one. I do like the Jason hunter though, he has an odd screen presence. Seriously, how did this body-hopping P.O.S. get green-lit? Talk about screwing over your core audience.

[EvilNed]

The director tried to set up a "Who Dunnit" kind of feel for Part 5. It didn't work, of course. I think pretty much everyone could figure it out. :p

[Philly_SWAT]

I love the franchise. Part 1 was the first movie that I can remember seeing that gave the viewer the "first person" camera perspective that you were the killer. Part IV would have to be the best. I also think it is a great scene in Jason Takes Manhatten where he knocks the guys head off. I didnt care for Jason Goes to Hell, but Jason X, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. When I first saw the commercials, I was like "Jason in outer space?
OMG give me a break!!" But it actually had the best, most thought out explanation of the entire series.

[jscott]

isn't Glover's dance just the best, it's Crispin Cringeworthy! lol. I sincerely hope that's not how all "white folks" danced in the early 80s, lol.

Some white folks still dance like that:o





Not me of course....

[MinionZombie]

lol, sure you don't :p

I don't know how I dance, because I haven't danced in a long long time. I think the last time I 'danced' was drunkenly at uni in the first year at one of those lame theme nights on campus to "Johnny Be Good" with one of the girls from our res, we were dancing like it was the fifties or some sh*t, I was just embarrassed cos my ass doesn't have rhythmn. I'm the stand with hands in pockets and bob my head kinda mover.

The last time before THAT that I danced was probably a decade prior in primary school when we had some 'final night disco' on one of those weeks when your class goes off somewhere - that time it was the Isle of Wight, and the hotel owners (who were MAD INSANE David Bowie fans - the shrine to Bowie that was their bar was scary) set up a CD player basically...and it was that really lame kinda thing:

Girls dancing with girls on one side of the room while the boys danced with each other (I KNOW!) on the opposite side ... while the TEACHERS watched the KIDS for dancing tips ... no sh*t. That's why I hate dancing, it's heinously embarrassing.

I hope I can manage to get through my life without dancing, although if I get married then that'll mean the missus will want to do the "first dance" thing ... at least in that case I'd be gettin' laid afterwards so it'd be worthwhile to make a massive tit out of myself.

Dancing sucks, I've got no rhythmn...

[Tied2thetracks]

#1 classic

#4 knife through the eyes, one of my favorites

#5 A pile of crap Suicide from ROTLD may be its only redeaming quality, I do recall a few nice boobies. OK, I suppose Bike Boy and Momma were amusing as well.

#6 another one battling to be my favorite. I loved digging him up, worms in his head. The first Friday where jason isn't human. Probally my favorite jason death.

#7 The one I voted for. The make-up and effects were tight. Jason looked great, gotta love the hockey mask cracking and the lightbulb noose. I'm even ok with how jason come to life and dies.

#8 I didnt have much use for this movie. The boxing match was was amusing as was jason lifting his mask to the gang bangers. Why did he turn into a little boy and fade away?

#9 Nothing but junk. How does jason hunter know all these newfound rules?
born of a vorhees woman must die of one, special knife? How do you go little boy and fade away to running through the woods with the swat team interested in you finally after all these years. The worm was a stupid idea just like the heart that made you eat it.

#10 lost all interest after th last two and the cheesy premis.maybe I'll break down and rent it sometime.

Jason Vs Freddy, I don't remember much about the movie I just remember it being entertaining.


A few stinkers in there but all and all a fine franchise.

[erisi236]

#10 lost all interest after th last two and the cheesy premis.maybe I'll break down and rent it sometime.


you should, the premise isn't that bad considering it's in a series about an undead serial killer :)

if nothing else it's got alot of pretty good kills

[kortick]

the first one was my favorite

it had great effects from savini
and the idea of betsy palmer being the killer was
truly awesome

i remember seingi it when it came out

there were riots at a drive in where it was being shown
and the cops had to shut it down
and there were a few times rescue vehicles were
called into showings

the rest were just trying to cash in on the original

now dont get me wrong
some of the sequels were pretty good

i just like the first

[Hawkboy]

Sorry, but I think this is one film franchise that has little going for it. I could maybe understand liking them on a total kitsch factor but even then I can't get much entertainment out of them.

[zombie04]

The original is my favorite, but I think Part 4 and Part 6 are just as good as each other. Part 4 is just great and 6 had some great kills and Alice Cooper. However Part 3 does get honorable mention just for its cheesy opening titles and music.

[Rottedfreak]

Was one of the kills cut out of part 6? It's when Jason attacks the last girl in her cabin, throws her out the window, drags her back in and when the Sherrif looks inside, all that's there is bloodstains and a plastic hat full of teeth. What the heck was that about?

Part 8's ending was also strange, toxic waste running through a sewage tunnel? Jason reverting to a child? Did the girl in it go nuts and hallucinate the whole last half? Or was this Jason's dream, the part where he attacked the girl as a child would have been impossible considering he was born in 1946 and drown at the age of 12 in 1958.

[glsjaw]

agreed by most but it has to be #4:

trade mark machete
Corey Feldman
booze and sex (alot)
crucified teens in door ways