Review of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) by Dano: The Preposterous Bard — 27 Oct 2008

Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan moves our maniac ever so slowly towards New York City....or at least mugger infested harbours, steam filled allyways, and toxic waste filled sewers of New York City.

I think I saw this on USA's "UP ALL NIGHT" when I was younger, but thats the only time. I never realized at the time it was Jason Takes Manhattan because it takes them so damn long to actually get there, and because I'm sure my Dad made me turn it off and go to sleep.A regenerated Jason kills a couple of graduates who are parked over his watery grave, and then somehow hitches a ride on a teen filled pleasure cruise/ field trip to NYC. It embodies the spirit of the then dieing 80's, and drove the nail into the coffin of slasher movies of that era. At any rate, its perhaps my least favorite of these films so far, though the death sequences are all sort of fun....the best of which was probably the Sauna coals...though the harpoon gun wasn't bad either.

My favorite thing about the Friday the 13th movies are the "Doom" sayers. There must be a family of these guys that suddenly go crazy everytime Jason wakes up, and then go around telling people he's back and that they are "all going to die". I love how the asshole uncle finaly has enough of one of these doom and gloom bums, and tries to go kill him with a flare gun of all things.

I'm not of the opinion that the sequels get worst over time, but the initial terror at reuccuring horror icons just goes away. Yet I prefer even Jason X to this....and on the subway in this I kept hoping for a brutal massacre sequence like the corn field in Freddy Vs. Jason. Instead he just keeps stalking the same two people even though theres plenty of folks around to slaughter. I mean c'mon Jason.