Review of Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI (1986) by Ian B — 17 Feb 2009

It might be hard to believe that the sixth installment in a series could be the best, but that's definitely the case with Jason Lives. This movie just does all the little things right and is a blast to watch from beginning to end. It just goes to show that if you pick the right writer/director for the project he can take the most basic of concepts and turn it into gold. Lets take a look at the first adventure of "zombie Jason".

Jason Lives has always been my favorite in the series and I'm pretty sure it always will be. I highly doubt someone is going to come along and "get" this series better than writer/director Tom McLoughlin did. He realizes that being Part VI people aren't scared of these movies anymore....and I find it hard to believe they ever were in the first place. Tongue is firmly planted in cheek with this movie, while still treating the series respectfully. Not an easy task to accomplish. The best and simplest way to describe this movie is that it's just fun! The characters are likable, the kills are brutal, the jokes work, the atmosphere is creepy and everything moves along at a great pace.

Of course this is still your usual "hack & slash" formula, and aside from the bits of comedy there isn't really much new here. But this is Friday the 13th! And in respect to that it delivers everything a Friday the 13th fan could want. Jason's resurrection (Frankenstein-style) is in perfect taste, the Bond-ish opening credits are classic, the Alice Cooper rock adds to the fun tone of the film and there are a ton of great one-liners ("some folks have a strange idea of entertainment"). This is also the first film since the original to actually take place at Camp Crystal Lake (most people probably think all the films do). It's also the only movie in the series to actually feature children at the camp. Another highlight is bringing back the Tommy Jarvis character for one final round with Jason. After appearing in Parts 4, 5 and 6, he was the closest thing Jason ever had to a nemesis and it's a shame the character vanished after this movie. Thom Mathews also gives the best performance out of all the actors who've played the character (sorry, Feldman). C.J. Graham also gives a good turn as Jason. Now that the character is literally a walking corpse he's put through a shit-load more punishment. Too bad Kane Hodder wasn't given the opportunity to come into the series one sequel sooner.

I just can't say enough great things about Jason Lives. It's just such an enjoyable, bloody, violent, hilarious, cheesy, fun time. I really wish they would've brought writer/director Tom McLoughlin back for further installments, as he's one of the few that actually gets what works in a Friday the 13th movie. These movies are supposed to be fun, not scary and overly-serious. I highly recommend Jason Lives. It's a great time for fans (and non-fans) of the series and, sadly, is probably the best Jason rampage we'll ever see put to film. Great fun!