The Best:
1. Friday the 13th (1980) There's still a lot of fun to be had with the original. Especially when Betsy Palmer shows up in her powder blue cable-knit, giving such an outrageous performance.
2. Friday the 13th - Part 2 (1981) This one has aged well. A classic, 80s-slasher set up with a little more atmosphere (great full moon shots) than the rest, and the most inventive final girl.
3. Friday the 13th Part III (1983) A ridiculously slow-paced opening sequence but the 3-D effects are charming, characters are pretty well-drawn and Jason finally gets his mask! Plus I love the disco opening theme song!
4. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) Pretty terrible and ridiculous Carrie ripoff, but oh so fun. Lar Park-Lincoln's telekinesis brings Jason out of his watery grave.
5. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) Oh how I wish Corey Feldman could have been a series regular. He elevates the material here, especially in the spooky finale, which overall, is pretty standard Jason-slash-teen fare.
6. Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986) I give director Tom McLoughlin some credit for his horror movie in-jokes and style (filmed around foggy Georgia lakes). It takes quite a leap of faith for Tommy Jarvis to age at least fifteen years as he does in this movie.
The Worst:
7. Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Basically a noisy, hyper kinetic battle between the two horror icons mismatched in the jokey, overly raucous Bush era of horror film-making.
The Worst:
7. Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Basically a noisy, hyper kinetic battle between the two horror icons mismatched in the jokey, overly raucous Bush era of horror film-making.
8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) Filmed mostly in Canada, turgid scenes on a cruise liner full of high school graduates lend way to slight Jason mayhem in the Big Apple. Unfortunately most of Rob Hedden's original script involving many New York scenes were scrapped due to budgeting issues. The best thing about the film was its brilliant teaser trailer. One wonders what it could have been.
9. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) Unfortunately Violet with her crimped hair and robot dance can't save us from this nadir.
The Unwatchable:
Jason X (2001) and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
I must admitt that I didn't see none of these...
ReplyDeleteReally fun post!
ReplyDeletexoxox,
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I pretty much agree with you.
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I'm such a horror movie geek and totally agree with your best and worsts, especially Freddie Vs Jason which was horrifically terrible
ReplyDeleteI just recently finished watching this series. I think my top 3 would have to be The Final Chapter, Jason Lives and the original Friday the 13th.
ReplyDeleteMy bottom three would be Jason Goes to Hell, Jason Takes Manhattan and Jason X.