Review of Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) by Clem666 — 19 Mar 2022

I identified plenty reasons to enjoy this slasher movie. I like this new version of Jason. The story takes the time to set up and to introduce the different characters. John Shepherd's acting (playing as Tommy) is awesome. Its eyes allowed me to feel distinct emotions from fear to horror. Shavar Ross as Reggie is amazing too and he brings (eventually!) a bit of colour in the overall 'Friday the 13th' cast. Other protagonists are okay, some better and more iconic than the others but surprisingly I felt more empathy in overall for the cast of this movie than for the other ones that I already saw.

It's however sad to observe the storyline leaves a lot to be desired. Even if, as I wrote, I found the beginning solid I can't say the same for the ending and especially the last scenes which leave a bad taste of an unfinished product. No spoil but I found the plot twist amazing despite the unstructured side of the conclusion. I am truly concerned and worried about the fact that almost all the 'Friday the 13th' last scenes up until this point end up the same way: a chase in the dark woods under the rain. How many movie directors and producers do nourrish the same fantasies of desperate women trying to escape death ?

Obviously they couldn't help but to showcase a bit of nudity, as it seems to be one of the main 'Friday the 13th' characteristics. Here I found this was okay, not that invasive nor forced.

Soundtrack is great, even if too noisy from time to time, and often for nothing that thrilling. Lighting and environment are great. The pace is very good speaking for the first half. The rest is way too messy. Kills are uneven: some are great and 'convenient' as many others totally lack in realism. The level of makeup remains to be worked on. Still a great testimony of 80s slasher genre.