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Friday The 13th Part
VI |
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Tommy, who've battled Jason Voorhees twice by
now, brings a friend to Jason's grave to off
him for good. Unintentionally they wake him up
instead, sending him on a another
teen-slaughtering rampage on the way to Camp
Crystal Lake (which has changed its name for
numerous causes). Now it's up to Tommy and
sidekicks to stop Jason once and for all.
OK, so this isn't a masterpiece of horror if
anyone thought that. It's not really scary
either, but it's fun. And that's the best this
milked-out series can do with its trademark,
pop star-like killer with his hockey mask. This
doesn't try for something original or clever,
it just has fun with the whole premise, with
the film done in a quirky, spoof-ish (but never
parody-like) way. It has the just right amount
of inside-jokes, like the wonderful opening
graveyard sequence referencing old 60s Hammer
"Frankenstein" flicks.
Without any attempt at a bunch of characters
that are pretended to be developed, you're
supposed to root for, etc., etc., this is nearly
filled with one-scene cameos by various types
(the bum, the picnicking couple, a bunch of
paintball-playing survivalists, and so on) and
it works quite well. My favourite scene has a
couple (a debuting Tony Goldwyn and director's
wife Nancy McLoughlin)lost in the woods bumping
into Jason ("I've seen enough horror movies to
know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly")
and trying to scare him off. This scene is a
perfect example of this film's witty,
unpretentious humour.
The murders are not overly gory so they drain
the fun away, but still occasionally original.
It might feel mean-spirited and cruel at times,
wildly blending humour and gore but any Friday
fan knows what to expect. Dead teens are what
this series is all about and it sure delivers.
What feels needless though is putting a gang of
young children through all of this, even though
some of them have some good one-liners ("So,
what were you going to be when you grew up?").
One of the film's problems is its hero, Tommy
now played by Thom Mathews (quite funny in
"Return of the Living Dead" Part I & II). Both
Corey Feldman and John Shepherd (who played in
Friday 4 and 5) had the right feeling and
charisma to deliver the part but Mathews is too
much of a macho-hunk wannabe and takes it a
little bit too serious. You get pretty frustrated
with him, especially when he ignores the flirts
of a ditzy blonde (Jennifer Cooke). It's not
until Tommy's final showdown with Jason that
Mathews' seriousness fits to the show.
Major body count with hearts ripped out, arms
ripped off, spear-impalements, broken bottles
in the throat, heads crushed, a guy broken in
half and the old machete works.
Harry Manfredini's trademark score, and of
course Alice Cooper's classic "He's Back (the
Man Behind the Mask)".
Fun, unpretentious sequel fills up with humour,
inside-jokes, some nice gore, inventive murders
and quirky cameos. Thom Mathews as Tommy gets
a bit too serious but fits the final showdown well.
Review By: Slicer-Dicer
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