Review of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) by Andrew S — 03 Sep 2012

When a class of local high school graduates hire a boat from Crystal Lake to travel to Manhattan, they soon realise that they have the deadliest form of stowaway aboard.

Now, as any fan of the horror genre knows, the 'Friday The 13th' franchise doesn't comprise of the greatest made movies, but they do have a certain appeal. But in my opinion this has got to be the worse entry in the series. The plot is miniscule, and only barely takes any notice of the history of the preceding movies, and in one respect completely changes a physical character trait that dates right back to the first installment! The cast of characters are all completely disregardable and even their (particularly bloodless) demises are forgotten as soon as they have happened, but Kane Hodder still manages to bring some welcome animation to the main character. Even the movie's title is misleading as when the action (finally) moves to Manhattan, Jason not so much "takes" it, but more wanders right past hundreds of potential victims to chase after the remaining kids, for what is really no apparent reason. And then there is the finale that really makes no sense whatsoever! But when is all said and done, even though this movie really has nothing going for it, there is that tiny little spark that makes me enjoy seeing Jason have another outing.