Friday the 13th: Part VI- Jason Lives

Starring: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Renee Jones, Darcy DeMoss, C.J. Graham
Directed by: Tom McLoughlin
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
1986

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Years earlier, Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) killed Jason (C.J. Graham). Now, he is haunted by the idea that Jason isn't really dead. Tommy decides to dig up Jason's body, which actually resurrects him, and he starts his murderous rampage once again.

Review:
Tim: Finally, after five Friday the 13th movies that were each worse or equal to the film immediately proceeding it, Friday the 13th: Part VI- Jason Lives reverses that trend. This movie is significantly better than the films that preceeded it, although not as good as the original. I want to specify that this isn't a good movie- but after so many films that disappointed, it was nice to hae some slight surprises with this one.

Whereas the previous films all felt far too similar, this movie featured some aspects that set it apart from the others. I like the idea of bringing Jason back in a more supernatural manner. I don't exactly love how he is resurrected, as it requires an amazing amount of suspending disbelief, but I appreciate the effort. Jason has always seemed to burst out of the conventional explanations for his existence and unwillingness to die, so it works here to chalk it up to a supernatural bolt of lightning doing the trick. Jason works better as an unstoppable, possibly undead (although, apparently, he "lives") force. I like that after slowly evolving over a number of films, Jason really becomes the character we'd always hoped he'd be here.

The cast of teenage characters is mostly forgettable, as in all the Friday he 13th movie. I really liked the addition of an older Tommy Jarvis- this series desperately needed a character that connects the various films, and we finally have that in Jarvis. This was a strength for the film, although I couldn't understand the timeline, as Jarvis is much older, yet the film still feels like it takes place in the 80s. The rest of the characters are fairly weak, although for some reason, I felt like I could identify with them better in previous installments. Jennifer Cooke isn't much of an actress, but I felt like her character was better developed than some of the instantly forgettable teens in the previous films. The cast still needed a great deal of work, but it was a step in the right direction.

I really believe that every Friday the 13th film was either equal to or worse than the installment before it. This downward trend was not very good at all, and it almost got to the point where it couldn't go much lower. Luckily, director Tom McLoughlin saves the franchise by reversing this negative trend. He doesn't create a great movie here by any stretch- this is still a pretty bad, stupid movie. However, we are so used to the absurd, awfulness of this franchise that any positives are nice surprises. This movie is better than the previous three films, and I, for one, greatly appreciated that change of pace. I don't have much confidence that the franchise can continue this upward trend, but at least with Friday the 13th: Part VI- Jason Lives, I was surprised that it was better than expected.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th: Part 2, Friday the 13th: Part 3, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street