Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) Paramount Pictures/Horror RT: 87 minutes Rated R (language, graphic violence, sexual content) Director: Tom McLoughlin Screenplay: Tom McLoughlin Music: Harry Manfredini Cinematography: Jon Kranhouse Release date: August 1, 1986 (US) Cast: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Renee Jones, Kerry Noonan, Tom Fridley, Darcy DeMoss, Vincent Guastaferro, Tony Goldwyn, Nancy McLoughlin, Ron Palillo, Alan Blumenfeld, Matthew Faison, Ann Ryerson, Wallace Merck, Whitney Rydbeck, C.J. Graham, Bob Larkin, Michael Swan, Courtney Vickery, Roger Rose, Cynthia Kania, Thomas Nowell, Justin Nowell. Box Office: $19.4 million (US) Body Count: 18
Rating: **** (four stars)
Whereas A New Beginning was unintentionally funny, director Tom McLoughlin (One Dark Night) deliberately goes for laughs in the decidedly tongue-in-cheek sequel Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. What makes it so funny is how self-aware it is. Here’s an example, upon seeing Jason Voorhees standing in the middle of a dark road, a passenger in a car quips, “I’ve seen enough horror movies to know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly.” That right there is a stroke of brilliance.
McLoughlin makes clear his intent in the movie’s opening moments with Jason’s first victim. It’s none other than Ron Palillo looking exactly like his Arnold Horshack character from Welcome Back, Kotter. All that’s missing is the trademark laugh. It gets the party started with a bang, that’s for sure. The other thing McLoughlin does with Jason Lives is retcon the events of Part V thus making The Final Chapter the indirect predecessor. What this means is that Jason Voorhees (Graham) is back with a vengeance. Great news for fans, no?
Because of its different approach to the material, Jason Lives received many positive reviews from critics and raves from fans of the series. In my opinion, it’s the best of all the sequels. Even though it’s comedic, it doesn’t skimp on the gore and violence. This one is a bit of a bloodbath with heads and limbs being torn off left and right and strewn about the woods. It’s also surprisingly clever with its overt references to Frankenstein.
It’s been several years since the gruesome killings depicted in parts 2-4 and people would just as soon forget the whole bloody business. The town of Crystal Lake has been renamed Forest Green and things are quiet. At least they were until Tommy Jarvis (Mathews, The Return of the Living Dead) returns and digs up Jason. He intends to cremate him as a means of closure, but winds up resurrecting him instead by way of a bolt of lightning and a metal fence post. He runs to the local sheriff (Kagen) to warn him, but gets locked up as it’s assumed he’s hallucinating again. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time; a group of teens including the sheriff’s daughter Megan (Cooke, V) plan to reopen the camp with some friends- Sissy (Jones), Paula (Noonan) and Cort (Fridley, Summer Camp Nightmare). They’re worried because the two head counselors, Darren (Goldwyn, Ghost) and Lizbeth (McLoughlin), have gone missing. Oh yeah, Jason got ‘em! He also gets a group of business executives playing paintball in the woods. He racks up a respectable body count by the time he makes it to the camp. The sheriff refuses to listen to Tommy and forces him to leave town. Not so easily deterred, he enlists Megan’s aid in obtaining the supplies he’ll need to finish off Jason once and for all. McLoughlin incorporates elements of the supernatural by requiring Tommy to return Jason to his home soil (the waters of Crystal Lake) in order to “kill” him. BTW, Megan is the last girl standing in case you didn’t guess.
The best word to describe Jason Lives is cool. In addition to Harry Manfredini’s iconic score, rocker Alice Cooper contributes three songs, one of which is titled “Teenage Frankenstein”. Okay, I’ve given you two Frankenstein references, now here’s a third. One scene shows Tommy making a phone call outside “Karloff’s General Merchandise”.
Now for the killings, what do we have this time? The highlights are as follows: a man has his heart ripped out, a triple beheading, a girl has her head torn off, another girl has her head crushed so hard against a bathroom mirror that the shape of her face can be seen on the other side, a man has a knife rammed into his skull, somebody gets their back broken, an old drunk gets stabbed with a broken whiskey bottle and a couple gets impaled while sitting on a motorcycle. Jason leaves a bloody mess, but when done with a wink and a smile on the part of the makers, it doesn’t seem as bad. The characters are quite likable. The acting is actually pretty decent this time out, especially by Fridley and DeMoss. He’s cool and she’s hot. They have a humorous sex scene together in a “borrowed” RV. The gore effects are very good.
Jason Lives is a top-notch production all the way. But I must once again point out that I love its sense of self-awareness. Near the end, when the campers are hiding under their bunks, one boy turns to another and asks, “What were you going to be when you grew up?” It’s moments like this that make Jason Lives transcend the mad slasher genre. For me, it’s the last truly great F13 flick.
