Review of Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood (1988) by Da C — 30 Oct 2010

For all my reviews visit my website.

Please note that the rating above is possibly skewed by the ratings on this specific site. There might be a slightly different rating at the end.

I told you so!

Well, what have we come to. Just when I thought all Friday the 13th movies were going to be all predictable, and just all mindless slasher films, as fun and awesome that is, with a side of awesome storytelling................FINALLY SOMETHING SCARY!

Okay, now lemme just clarify something. 2-6 were scary for there time, but the first was so extremely scary even for today's audience. This is what I want. An actual attempt at scaring people! Though I do love being grossed out, and having an awesome story, a horror films job is to scare the audience. If you wanted to do an extreme storytelling of Jason, WRITE A BOOK!!!...Or they've done that haven't they. But I gotta get writing my fan fiction! I love the wonderful story of Friday the 13th and it's sequels, but when to much of an emphasis is put on it, and not enough is put on scaring someone...so many complications. Look, what I'm trying to say, is this is an innovative Friday the 13th film.

It took the next step, from the cheesy techno gore and $3X ages of the 80's, to a future...a future of Tom Savini class make-up. A future of atmosphere and fog. A future of a...a Saturday. While the first 6 repeated Friday the 13th, this is truly the next sequel. The first 6 were just chapters in one big story. Here, we finally have a sequel. A sequel in a spiritual sense. Only Jason lives from the other films, and it's set a long time after the events of six. It's a true sequel. Again, the first six...were just chapters. Not only that, but this is where things got crazy. Here, we got a telekinetic girl vs. Jason! Then, New York City! Then, Hell! Then, SPACE! Then, ELM STREET! AND THEN, AND THEEEEEEEN....a remake? We will discuss that later.

Well, I've told you that this movie is crazy, but also atmospheric. In this movie, like the original, you feel there is a real danger. In part IV, it's innovation was introducing an important character other than Jason for the first time since the original. In Part V, it's innovation was not having Jason as the killer for the first time since the original, and going into the mythology of Jason way more than the others dared to. Now, Part VII, is innovative for getting ball$ to the walls. Don't get me wrong, I love the storytelling of the first six. And I understand that 2-6 were scary for there time. But it's Night of the Living Dead vs. Dawn of the Dead. Part II-VI vs. Part VII. Can it age well? Yes.

I mean, you get the feeling this film is cutting the crap with the introduction! NOW THAT'S WHEN YOU KNOW THEY WERE MAKING THIS MOVIE! Not just making a movie. MAKING A MOVIE!!! CAPITALS MATTER KIDS! The idea of having a disturbed teenager, and I mean disturbed. Tommy was Bad@$$. Tina's disturbed. The idea is awesome, because we've all been there. We've all said things we wish we hadn't said, we're all freaks in our own eyes. Anybody who says they're perfect, well, aside from lying to themselves, is gonna get killed by Jason ala Voorhees. The only bad thing I can see about this film is that gore is even more lacking than Part 6. It's okay though, the atmosphere and make-up deliver. (More and more trying to be like Frankenstein?).

*SPOILER ALERT* Let's just say for the first time, we are able to see Jason's emotions. *SPOILER ALERT OVER.* New Rules: #12: Don't pay any attention to animals, especially black cats. #13: Don't confuse Jason for someone else, or vice versa. Well, final verdict. Yes, the storytelling as far as Jason doesn't really advance. Yes, the gore is pretty lacking. Yes, the atmosphere is just as great as the classic monsters films from the 30's. Yes, there's fog. Yes, Jason looks awesome *SPOILER ALERT* without his mask. *SPOILER ALERT OVER.* Fred Fred Burger. I recommend you check this out, and you wanna know why? Because it's not a typical slasher. It's not just fun. It's creepy, scary, and awesome. For 1988 anyways. But it's close enough. Closer than 1981!

Also, notice they took another year to prime this film. The Rating? I won't be comparing this as a slasher movie, because it tries to abandon the slasher feeling. Rather, it is a true horror film. And as a horror film, it's gets a solid 3.8/5. As a storytelling device, and not one just about Jason, it would get 3.5/ But it gets a boost for being actually relatable. 4/5. So that averages to 3.9/5.

I, Da Ca$hman signing off.