“Staff Picks” is a deeper look into movies that we love here at Video CULTure. Each edition of this column will focus on a single film that we think you should check out, either for the first time or for a long-overdue revisit.
By Patrick Bartlett (Twitter: @alleywaykrew)
Many people say that sequels suck. That’s the common refrain. That’s why it might seem weird that one of my favorite horror films is a sequel. I don’t think it will come as that big of a surprise to anyone that reads this though. Fans know that in genre cinema, there are situations where a sequel can be a great film, sometimes even better than the original. One such case is “Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives” (and wow, that’s a long title). The “Friday the 13th” franchise is my favorite of all the slasher ones by far. It has its ups and downs but it’s unquestionably the most consistent. The best of that series is “Jason Lives” though. It might have been the first one I actually saw as a kid, and it truly frightened me back then. It was a movie that always stuck with me though, so when I started amassing a film collection, it was an early purchase that I watched over and over. I introduced it to anyone who was open to it. It’s so much better than you might think. In fact, revisiting it later in life (as an older horror fan and less likely to be frightened away), I realized how special of a film it is.
As great a film as “Scream” is, it wouldn’t exist without this movie having come first and breaking the ground that it did. Even the writer of that film, Kevin Williamson, has admitted the influence of “Jason Lives” on his work. This film is essentially the prototype for “Scream” and every horror movie that tried to follow in that film’s footsteps of deconstruction of the horror genre. It’s unquestionably a slasher movie. In that sense, it’s not groundbreaking at all. What it manages to do within that restrictive plot structure of a standard slasher is what sets it apart. It’s a slasher film that’s self-aware long before that would become common. There’s literally a bit of dialogue where a character asks themselves aloud why they would dig up Jason and they look directly into the camera to state, “some people have a strange idea of entertainment”. The people making this movie are aware of not only the other movies like it but the people who enjoy those movies and by speaking to them directly, they’re up-ending the paradigm. By upending the paradigm of what one would expect from what, at that time, was an endless stream of similar films “Jason Lives” ultimately becomes something unique and interesting and remains so all these years later.
Apparently, when Tom McLoughlin was offered the job of directing the sixth entry in the “Friday the 13th” series, he had only seen the first. He went to the studio, marathoned the five existing films, and realized the only way that made sense to him to do another was instead of just making a similar film (and not just similar to the previous films but to all the other films in the genre being released around it in the ’80s), he had to send up the slasher genre. The only rule he was given was that he couldn’t make fun of Jason Voorhees himself, which he had no plans to do anyway. The movie wouldn’t work in such a case and McLoughlin knew it. Jason is a scary figure. One of the scariest in genre history. However, the only way to keep making movies about people essentially in the same situations over and over was to have some of the inherent absurdity of that commented upon. That’s what makes “Jason Lives” so entertaining, even decades later. It’s a very funny film without sacrificing any legitimate horror beats. As such, you have people in a world where they know Jason exists and they aren’t taking him seriously- which is what ultimately dooms them.
To get into the continuity of where “Jason Lives” exists within the “Friday the 13th” series is… tricky, so I’ll try to keep my description as close to what you get from the film itself as possible. Tommy Jarvis survived a rampage by Jason and is believed to have killed him, only to end up in an asylum from the trauma he sustained in the incident. When he gets out, his single-minded focus is to make sure that Jason Voorhees is truly dead and gone. He goes with a friend to Jason’s grave with the intention of burning Jason’s body. Unfortunately, while Jason was dead, his body is struck by lightning after Tommy digs him up and in proper monster movie fashion…Jason is returned from the dead. Tommy escapes to get help after Jason murders his friend. Tommy isn’t believed by the town sheriff and is detained while Jason begins yet another killing spree in his hometown (formerly Crystal Lake, now Forest Green in an attempt to distance itself from Voorhees murder sprees of the previous films). The only person who believes Tommy is Megan, the sheriff’s rebellious daughter. Murders are discovered. Tommy is suspected. He and Megan go to the camp to save who remains and return Jason to his original resting place, the bottom of the lake.
Okay, yes, the plot might sound silly. Having acknowledged that, a big part of why it doesn’t actually feel that way while you’re watching the film is the aforementioned self-awareness but also the fact that the imagery and plotting that McLoughlin employs. This film owes as much to classic Universal monster movies and the Hammer films as it does to the slasher films it stands aside. A big chunk of the horror cinema that’s probably well ingrained in the audience is being used against the viewer to great effect. Besides the brilliant work of Tom McLoughlin, Thom Matthews’ performance as Tommy Jarvis is a big part of why “Jason Lives” is as effective as it is. The almost dead serious quality that Matthews brings to Tommy Jarvis stands in stark contrast to basically every other character in the film and lends gravity to the situation as well as a legitimate fear of Jason Voorhees that grounds the film and keeps the balance between horror and comedy firmly in check. The whole cast is great, but Thom Matthews carries the film in a way that makes me sad that he didn’t have a bigger career, even within the genre. That being said, it’s an iconic piece of work. So much so that Matthews’ likeness was used in the recent “Friday the 13th” game as Tommy Jarvis, the only character capable of killing Jason Voorhees.
It may sound ridiculous but “Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives” is groundbreaking. It’s a very special film. Now, I can’t say it’s the best of the genre. It may be the best of the ’80s slashers but even if that wasn’t the case, the reason that it still works as well as it does decades later is because it’s different. That might sound slight but watch enough of this stuff from that era and you will learn to appreciate “different”, I promise. Moreover, it’s not even just the fact that it’s different that sets it apart but just how well-crafted it is. This may have not been the most successful of the era but what Tom McLoughlin did with this film influenced who knows how many other subsequent films while also tipping the hat to everything that came before. On paper, it seems like it shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s a great film though as well as being essential Friday the 13th/Halloween season viewing. Owing in no small part to this film, Jason lives forever.
To find out where this film is available to stream, click here: Just Watch