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Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
In the 1980s it was all about the slasher film and it’s safe to say that the most financially successful slasher films of all time have to be the Friday the 13th series. In 1980 the original film was met with surprise success at the box office and really raised the attention of the folks at Paramount. To the point where the studio decided to bankroll a new film just about every year throughout the 80s. By 1984 the series was being winded down with the fourth installment titled “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter”. With the big time box office effort the film pulled in the studio decided to continue the series with a fifth part that ended up being even more successful at the box office. But considering that many people felt that the wool was being pulled over their eyes with the fifth film (and the fact that Jason is technically NOT in the film) it sparked the first backlash of sorts on the series. See when Part VI was released it didn’t make more money than it was expected and even was a disappointment to Paramount as the box office didn’t climb like it did with each new film before. Good thing for us though that this managed to bring us one of the most unique and interesting films in the entire series in Part VI.
In “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives” we see our old friend Tommy Jarvis return (although this time he’s being played by actor Thom Matthews) to Camp Crystal Lake after years of being in state mental institutions. This time around he escaped with a fellow patent (Ron Palilo, yes Horshack from “Welcome Back Kotter”!) and comes up with the bright idea of going to dig up Jason’s body to prove that he’s dead. One they get there and find the grave they do find old Jason, dead as a doorknob. Only problem is that when they get the idea to stab him with a big metal rod, they possibly should have thought about the rain and lighting that was going on around them. Mainly because lighting strikes the rod while it’s still in Jason’s body and of course, resurrects him from the dead. But not just any resurrection however, this time it’s brought back Jason all zombified and stronger than ever.
Naturally after all of this happens Tommy heads to the local police station to warn them and the town of the impending danger headed their way. Considering that the town did a lot to forget about it ever happening there, even to the point of changing the name from Crystal Lake to Forrest Green. This of course gets Tommy in hot water with the local sheriff and that situation doesn’t get helped out any by the fact that the Sheriff’s daughter seems to have the hots for him too. While all this is happening we have campers arriving at the camp for the summer just as Jason is set to make his triumphant return.
Hampered by cuts to receive and R-rating this film has been one of the most cut versions in the entire series, which is a shame in my opinion. It’s been rumored for years that some of the uncut footage is floating around out there and maybe inserted into the film, but that’s not really the case. Although some of what is left remains intact in a “slashed scenes” special feature on the disc. I’ve personally never seen all of the uncut footage in the film but for what is on here as a special feature I have to say that thankfully some of it was salvaged. Especially a neat effect used in the scene in which three paintballers are killed in the film.
Director Tom McLoughlin has said many times that he tried to make this entry into the Friday series as close to an old Universal Horror move that he could. If this is something that’s never entered your mind when watching Part VI I encourage you to check this one out with that on your mind. It’s really an interesting device and it’s certainly the case every time I’ve watched it since I heard him talk about it. I’ve always enjoyed this mainly as I pretty much thought of Jason, Freddy and Michael Myers to be the 1980s version of the Universal Monster.
Overall Part VI is one of the most solid entries into the series. It’s funny, has excellent special effects and features on of my favorite Jason’s in the series (played wonderfully here by C.J. Graham). It’s really a standalone film in the series too considering how different it is from the rest in the series. For the first time this film is aware that it’s being comedic and is custom made for hardcore fans of the series. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating - ***
-Ed Demko
