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Jason lives. Yes he does, people. With Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives, Jason Voorhees gets a new lease on life...and a little more humor. Ah…once again, it’s comfort food for the slasher soul.
Tommy Jarvis is back (this time played with less psychosis by Thom Mathews) for another round with Jason Voorhees. At the opening, Tommy and one of his friends creep into an old gothic graveyard (thunder and lightning included) to dig up the body of Voorhees; Tommy wants closure by burning the body. Unfortunately, as usual, things don’t go according to plan, and Jason is resurrected by a lightning bolt, à la Frankenstein. So now Jason is no longer simply superhuman; he’s supernatural—a zombie, if you will.
After Tommy’s friend gets his heart punched out by a cranky Jason, Tommy races to the local police to warn them. No one believes poor tormented Tommy about the newly resuscitated psycho killer, so he decides to take matters into his own hands. Along the way, he has run-ins with the sheriff (David Kagen) and he falls for the sheriff’s daughter, Megan, played with great aplomb by Jennifer Cooke. Megan also just happens to be a counselor for a group of small children at the newly renamed Camp Forest Green, which used to be Camp Crystal Lake. Uh-oh!
Writer/Director Tom McLoughlin packs his fun script with ironic references to the genre and its audience. At one point, a grave digger turns to the camera as he refills Jason’s grave and says “Some folks have a strange idea of entertainment.” There are funny visual puns: a kid in the camp sleeps with a copy of Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit tucked lovingly next to him. And there are witty one-liners: one wise-ass kid turns to another as they prepare for the carnage that is Jason Voorhees and asks “What were you going to be when you grew up?”
Jason Lives certainly delivers in terms of entertainment. But, for all the humor, McLoughlin never lets us forget that we’re watching a Jason movie. Iconic images of our favorite slasher abound, whether he’s walking though the forest in daylight, taking down dumb paintballers, or he’s posing on top of a burning truck, machete in hand. Wonderful stuff.
McLoughlin, in his director’s commentary and in the making-of documentary talks, about his use of ironic humor, which predates movies like Scream (Kevin Williamson claims Jason Lives as an influence on his franchise), and he seems genuinely proud of his entry to the mythos. In terms of extras, Paramount offers up the aforementioned commentary track, a making-of documentary, a series of slashed scenes (before the MPAA cut them to pieces), and an artistic interpretation of an ending that McLoughlin proposed for the movie, where we get to meet Jason’s father—a new twist for the fans.
So far, none of these Friday the 13th reissues have disappointed (Part 3 did lack in the extras department, however), and I for one cannot wait for the collection to be complete. I’m having a bloody good time.
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