Review of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) by Neil J — 08 Sep 2009

The weakest entry in the franchise, with a very inappropriate title and some bad acting. This should have been titled "Jason on a ship" because that's where Jason spent the majority of the film, while Manhattan was just the place for the slow-moving climax.

And the fistfight with Jason on the rooftop is a very dumb way to solidify Jason's power, yes, he is very strong, we have already seen that in its long-spanning sequels, so why show him punching a man so strong that it decapitated him? Even Jason's face when unmasked looked like a cartoon character, and him turning into a kid again was nonsensical.

And finally, putting a happy ending in a "Friday the 13th" film with a cheesy song is not applicable, because end sequences like that belongs to films like "Commando" and other early Schwarzenegger macho-actioners.

The good thing with this film is its atmosphere, recreating New York's underbelly wonderfully, but other than that, this one's very weak.