For me, my franchise of choice was Friday the 13th. Freddy had the one-liners and the FX razzle-dazzle and Michael Myers had horrors #1 holiday staked out as his own but for me, solid, steady Jason had em beat. All throughout the 80s, Friday the 13th was the fix that I craved the most each year.
Now, I cant quite explain why that is but then again I also cant say why I prefer chocolate ice cream over vanilla. I just do. For whatever mysterious reasons, I love Friday the 13th more than any other horror franchise. I know this is true because its the one franchise that Ive always been the most forgiving towards when it sucked and if that isnt the definition of love, I dont know what is.
So when the new Friday the 13th comes out next year, Ill be there opening day. Whether its a remake, a reboot, a sequel, a found footage thing, whatever its Friday the 13th so my attendance is guaranteed. But, truthfully, as much as Im glad that the franchise continues to go on, in my heart of hearts I know that it really ended 25 years ago with the release of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan on July 28th, 1989.
Sure, one can argue the various merits of Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy vs. Jason, and the 2009 Friday remake but while I enjoyed all of those entries to different extents, none of them quite feel like the real deal to me. Theyre not quite the genuine article. Somehow the flavor is just off. All the 80s Fridays under the Paramount banner, good or bad, those are the ones that really count. Once the 80s ended and once the franchise was passed over to other hands, it never felt the same. You wouldnt think that a series so rigidly formulaic would have a hard time being replicated on and on through infinity without losing a step but once Friday wasnt a 80s thing anymore, something was lost.
Looking back on the way Friday the 13th evolved in the 80s, its clear these were not films designed for the age of internet nitpicking. In fact, their enduring popularity is all the more amusing in that these films were obviously not made with posterity in mind. If anything, they seemed to be made with the assumption that no one watching them really gave a shit. The attitude seemed to be one of, well, if the timeline doesnt make a lick of sense, who cares? And if Jasons appearance inexplicably mutates from film to film, who cares, because come on no ones going to be looking back on these movies in years to come, except perhaps to enjoy a nostalgic chuckle.
Well, never underestimate how tightly some fans will hold on to the junk they grew up with because here we are, celebrating Jason Takes Manhattan at 25! Now, I wont lie and say that I instantly loved Jason Takes Manhattan. Or that I necessarily love it now, for that matter. Even the most diehard Friday fan has to struggle some with this one. But while time has not made it a better movie, it has made it easier to feel affection towards. When it comes to disappointing franchise entries, time heals not all, but most, wounds. Manhattans still very apparent flaws range from the galling lack of gore (not the filmmakers fault, blame the MPAA), to the galling lack of screen time for Jason in NYC (this would be the filmmakers fault but hey, things happen), to perhaps the biggest WTF ending in Friday history (more on that shortly) but yet over the years its become clear that Jason Takes Manhattan isnt entirely bereft of good qualities. They may be good only relative to the Friday the 13th series but damn it, that still counts.
Even though the film frustrates in not taking full advantage of its premise, writer/director Rob Hedden should still be commended for delivering one of the more stylish entries in the series up to that point, outdone only by Tom McLoughlins slickly made Jason Lives.
Yes, as fans have griped for years, having so much of the film take place on a boat is something of a rip-off but yet that segment of the film is still well-directed and still puts Jason in a fresh environment. As for the movies kills, theyre a bloodless bunch but not without merit. If nothing else, Manhattan includes the one kill that rivals the sleeping bag kill of New Blood in terms of its crowd pleasing hilarity: Jasons rooftop boxing match with Julius (V.C. Dupree) that ends with Jason knocking Juliuss head clean off with one punch. Hedden originally envisioned Jason taking on an opponent in Madison Square Garden but I actually think the generic rooftop setting is preferable as it allows for the no pun intended punchline to play out better as Julius head sails several stories down to land in a dumpster. Its pure gold, one of the all-time signature Jason moments.
As cartoony a moment as that is, however, theres a noticeably brutal edge to the rest of Manhattans kills. Whether or not this can be attributed to Kane Hodder putting more of a stamp on the character in his second go-round as Jason, the deaths in Manhattan have an extra level of savagery that the series hadnt displayed prior to that. Sure, Jason hadnt exactly been known for his gentle touch before but in scenes such as the dance floor strangulation of Eva Wantanabe (Kelly Hu), the mirror shard stabbing of Tamara Mason (Sharlene Martin) or the drowning of Charles McCulloch (Peter Mark Richman) in a barrel brimming with waste, Jason seems to relish his work just a little more this time.
Regarding Jasons actual time spent in Manhattan, while it wouldve been great to see Jason get around to many more of the citys famous locales, the shot of standing him in the middle of Times Square was enough to express how much Jason had penetrated into the mainstream. Even though the films were on their way out by then, there would be no forgetting Jason. He had ascended into the rarified realm of pop culture immortality and that moment confirmed it. Kane Hodder has cited shooting that scene as being the biggest highlight of his time as Jason and its still a kick to see this once-disreputable horror icon featured in his own rock star moment.
What no one can say much good about is the films ending and the destruction of Jason. Conceptually, I can appreciate where Rob Hedden was coming from and having Jason revert in death to the innocent child he used to be is a touch that spiritually links Jason with the classic monsters of yesteryear like the Wolf Man who always turned back into their good selves upon dying. But here, it doesnt work. If anything, it works less at conveying the idea that Jason is truly dead than it wouldve if they had just let Jason be eaten away by toxic waste because nothing says dead quite as definitively as seeing every last piece of flesh melted off a characters bones. In contrast, having Jason turn back into a child at the moment of his death is such a magical conceit that it only makes it easier to believe that hes primed for an equally magical rebirth.
But hey, the fact that were still talking about Jason Takes Manhattan says that the filmmakers did something right (or perhaps that weve done something wrong with our lives, that is). They just had a knack for these things back then. Even when they didnt get it right, they still kind of did.
If nothing else, Manhattan serves as proof that Jason was the #1 horror icon of the 80s. While Freddy only left Springwood, Ohio in his dreams and Michael Myers clung to the safety of his home turf of Haddonfield, Illinois, Jason went all the way to the bright lights of New York City. Not too shabby for a mamas boy.
