Canon-Strike XI: Never Ending Horror

[Neon Ignition]

In a way this is a cross over event with the Thread of Never Ending Horror thread as we begin anew. Halloween is lurking on the horizon so I thought it would be a good time to launch an installment where we look at the often nuts canon that many horror franchises build across their myriad of sequels and reboots.

I see this as more of a seasonal installment, where we could resurrect the thread each year with a focus on a different franchise around the time of Halloween without spending every single day working through the sea of the titles that are released. The natural starting point for this year would be to tie in with the newly releasing Halloween Kills film by looking at that franchise but it's come up already a lot with people catching the new film or revisiting entries they like so I figured the next best subject would be the franchise that is arguably its closest imitator and stablemate...


Movie 01 - Friday the 13th
The franchise is largely known for Jason and as being something of a cash in on the popularity of Michael Myers but with the killer dialled up to 11. The original film though does attempt to mark itself out as something different. Following the same beats of a group of teenagers holed up at Camp Crystal Lake and sharing tales of an event at the lake from years before. One by one they're killed off until the final confrontation begins with the real killer, a killer that isn't Jason Voorhees.




Despite the increasingly supernatural and OTT nature the franchise took, was the original film a quality and worthwhile addition to the library of horror classics in of itself and does it tell a decent tale?

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 02 - Friday the 13th Part II
Much like Halloween, the Friday the 13th sequel had been planned to be a new anthology approached installment based around the days superstitions but following the success of the first film plans changed to return to the popular setting and therefore justify how more murders could be taking place. Set five years later, the plot see's it emerge that Jason is still alive and angry that his mother is dead, taking his revenge on a new batch of camp councillors.




Is Part II a worthy follow up to the original film?

[Neon Ignition]

I know these are hokey films and largely rip offs of Halloween but I've always kind of preferred them to the Myers films as the Halloween films require almost a greater suspension of belief and don't feel scary or carry any tension which means the F13th films are a bit like them but with the pretence stripped away. They embrace the daftness of the set up much more and whilst they definitely go too far and these early films budgets strain to carry the effects etc they're an easier watch.

[Dogg Thang]

I love this series and, yes, I also find them an easier watch. Even when they are bad, they are fun or there is stuff to enjoy in there. With the possible exception of Jason Goes To Hell but even in that one the mask design is incredible so that's something to like.

The first film, at this stage, feels very run of the mill. But it still manages to build some tension and it has some shocks too. I don't think there was ever anything special in that first film but it kind of got by just being good enough to build on.

The second I feel is much the same but I really love the main character in the second movie. I think she should have been in lots more stuff. I just latched on to that character and she carried me through the movie. And this one has a couple of shocks too and some iconic imagery, like the fridge moment for example. Again nothing special but good enough to build on.

[Atticus]

Still never seen any of the Friday the 13th films

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 03 - Friday the 13th Part III
Originally intended to be the final entry in the franchise that would see Ginny from the second film return to confront Jason, the film was repitched after she refused to return and instead offered a more straight forward set up seeing a wounded Jason find his signature hockey mask and killing his way through more teens. It wasn't well received via critics but proved another financial hit for the franchise ensuring a fourth would come.



How did you find Part III to be as a continuation of the franchise?

[Dogg Thang]

The third film isn't a great movie and some of the shots are hilarious because it was made for 3D and so they have shots of things being waved into the screen and stuff coming at the screen which seems so funny when not actually in 3D. And probably when it is in 3D too. I have the blu-ray tin of the movies and unfortunately the 3D version of this is the classic blue and red and it's almost unwatchable.

But Jason gets the hockey mask and the feel settles into what would be the defining Friday the 13th feel. It really becomes what the series would be from then on, even with the variety of each sequel. So it has an important place in the history of the series.

[QualityChimp]

I remember who the killer is in Friday 13th and in which film he first wears the hockey mask, but that's probably because I'm worried I'll get a Scream phone call and want to be on-the-ball.

"Do you like scary movies?"
"Yes, although it's not my favourite genre"
"Erm okaay, well, who was the killer in Friday the 13th!"
"Pamela Vorhees"
"Ah, okay, well what type of mask does Jason wear?"
"Well, it's a burlap sack in Part 2 and only wears the iconic hockey mask from 3 onwards"
"FINE, well, who does Rocky fight?"
"Apollo Creed!"
"Well what about Rocky II?"
"Creed again, but this time he wins"
"FINE, forget it, I've dialled the wrong number"

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, the third film seems to strike the right balance though - and I might be wrong here given how similar the early installments are - I remember it spending way too much time in a barn.

[Dogg Thang]

There is a lot of barn in part 3.

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 04 - Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
Once again an attempt at a final chapter was attempted, several of the people involved in the franchise being keen to see it end and the studio also anticipating the end of the genres popularity. So, Jason awakes in the morgue and then makes his return to Crystal Lake where he preys on a family but is ultimately hacked to death by Corey Feldmen.




Movie 05 - Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
An attempt to continue the franchise this new film took place several years later and focused on Feldmen's character Tommy who was now older and played by a different actor. Here a new killer is stalking victims and is trying to pass themselves off as Jason Voorhees, inspired by that characters murders in previous films. It was intended that this would spark a new trilogy of sequels featuring different killers much as the Scream franchise has done however the film was poorly received and struggled at the box office meaning that when the studio returned to the franchise next, they would do so with a significant change to the canon...




What are your thoughts of Jason's original death and should the franchise have stuck with the attempts to survive post-Jason?

[Dogg Thang]

Two very different films here. Part IV is easily the best of the first era of films, taking the familiar ideas of the previous movies and doing them much better. So it’s very similar and yet stands above them all. Jason is incredibly menacing and that relentless stalker approach really works here. The addition of Feldman was probably an odd and brave choice given how young he was but he really works in the film. It’s a Friday the 13th classic.

A New Beginning, on the other hand, is one of the weakest of the series in my view. It feels like exactly what it is - an attempt to continue something they had decided they didn’t want to continue. And so the film lacks heart or commitment and just kind of plods along until the underwhelming end reveal. It’s a dud.

[Neon Ignition]

IV is almost entirely justified just off that dance scene. I'm not entirely a fan of the family or Feldmens character in it but it's definitely a peak Jason film. V I struggle to remember which probably says a lot in of itself.

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 06 - Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
After the poor response the fifth film drew, the sixth brings back Tommy for a third time who digs up Jason's remains in an attempt to destroy the body for some reason I can't remember but instead ends up reviving him from the dead. The film is notable because this is the point onward where Jason is lifted from being a human to a near unstoppable supernatural being. The result was the first film to openly receive positive feedback since the original.




Movie 07 - Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Eager to build on the attention the last film brought to the franchise discussions began on connecting the series to Nightmare on Elm Street but talks would drag on leading to the seventh film simply dialling up the supernatural elements. A psychic girl releases Jason and he begins his chain of kills once again. The film was another success but lost the critical appeal the sixth film had regained.





Did you approve of the direction the series took from this point?

[Dogg Thang]

Part VI is, for me, the absolute pinnacle of the series. It’s a lot more fun, it’s very self-aware but not in a cynical way (like Scream was later), has some tension and just just all round entertaining. Making Jason essentially a zombie really works. Lots of great setups and payoffs and loads of really strong moments. It’s a film that embraces what it is and has fun with it in the process.

VII isn’t bad either. It’s basically Carrie vs Jason (which was very much the intention) and build on VI pretty well, albeit not quite being as fun as VI. It’s still strong though and solidified that this zombie Jason wasn’t just a one off but really was the way he should be for this next era of films. It’s a good one.