By Casey Lenhart | Staff Writer
I have a lot of opinions about slasher movies, particularly ones with franchises. But what I save my passion most for are the Friday the 13th movies. There are enough movies in the franchise for them to be literal phases (hot take, Friday the 13th is slasher MCU). It is also one of the only franchises in which I feel they achieve perfection in the second half of its existence. And right in the middle of this second act is Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
Why is this the best Jason movie? Well, for one, we are right in the middle of the one two punch knockout of the previous two installments, Jason Lives and New Blood. Both of these movies took Jason from being woodlands creep to the unstoppable killing machine he is today. He’s already been killed twice (or maybe three times, I’m not entirely sure) and has been revived in the most unthinkable ways. Hear me out, the anchor of a yacht accidentally messes with some faulty underwater wires. They cause an electrical shock that revives Jason, who was still at the bottom of the ocean from the last movie (continuation). He then gets a new hockey mask and is ready for a show.
We also get a shift in location, hence the title. Actually, the title is a little misleading. We do eventually get to Manhattan, although the geography between Manhattan and Camp Crystal Lake is a little head-scratching. We do get to spend most of the movie on a cruise ship. How exciting is that! Look out Titanic and Suite Life on Deck! And then we get to go to Manhattan after that!! How can you not like this movie!!!
I mean, sure, the characters are all one-dimensional and forgettable, but this is the film’s strength. We have no emotional connection with the characters, so we can easily root for Jason during his slashing. Jason also has some new killing abilities he is itching to try out on the new crew. For one, he kills an Eddie Van Halen-worshipper right at the beginning by taking her electric guitar and battle-axing her right there. He can also now teleport for whatever reason, but I am here for it. He gets to use it on Kelly Hu (the only actor who had a career after this) when he takes her out at the dancefloor (I am not joking, there is a disco on this cruise). Also now he can behead somebody with just one punch!! What!!??
And finally, we get to have Jason in Time Square, a fitting climax to this movie of new experiences. Just having this contrast seems unimaginable, but yet here it is. We get some good comedy when he scares some white guys blackfishing before blackfishing was popular. And we get Jason’s death in the New York sewers, the only place that can eliminate the supernatural. The good guys win, and Jason loses again, but I feel this time, Jason gave his best showing.
So, in conclusion (if there is any), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is the best of the bunch. I encourage you to watch it first out of the entire collection. Sure there is some slight sexism, racism, and stereotyping in this movie, but isn’t a slasher not a slasher without at least one of those things in it.
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