Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

  We’ve got a Friday the 13th coming up so that means it’s time for our second theme month, starting where we left off in November with Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. As the title would suggest Paramount Pictures simply couldn’t let Jason (or his lucrative box office returns) stay in the grave.

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives was written and directed by Tom McLoughlin (One Dark Night) and was released on August 1, 1986 (exactly 35 years and 1 day ago). Jason Lives was made on a budget of roughly $3 million, made $6,750,837 upon opening, and went on to make $19,472,057 worldwide. Unlike the other sequels, Jason Lives largely received positive reviews upon a release and is a fan favorite to this day.

Jason Lives picks up some time after the events of A New Beginning and features Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews, The Return of the Living Dead) on a mission to destroy the body of Jason Vorhees (CJ Graham, Highway to Hell and Dan Bradley, Independence Day) in an attempt to end his nightmares of the man. Unfortunately his actions (like Kristen’s in The Dream Warrior) lead to Jason being resurrected and unleashed on the town of Forest Green (aka a renamed Crystal Lake).

Jason Lives is a high point in the franchise. I was shocked when I looked at my Letterboxd score from my first (and most recent) viewing and found that I had given the film only two stars. I don’t know what was going on with me that day, but I was hella wrong. This is a delightful film.

From the start Thom Mathews is a step up from the actor playing Tommy in A New Beginning. He, along with the rest of the main cast, is an engaging presence. He doesn’t get to have quite as much fun as the rest, but he certainly delivers.

Jason Lives distinguishes itself from the rest of the franchise by it’s sense of humor. It’s fun and self-referential, without leaning too far into goofiness. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some goofy shit going on, but the right amount. One of the campers reading a copy of Jean-Paul Sartre No Exit and another camper asking his friend, during Jason’s rampage, “what did you want to be when you grow up?” are both hilarious moments.

The presence of actual campers also helps this film stand out. Just the mere existence of the children helps raise the stakes, even though I never actually worried about any of those kids' lives (maybe if the film was made today, but certainly not in ‘86). 

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is capital-F-Fun. It is the perfect sweet spot of what the Friday the 13th franchise should be. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll love this one (except for me that one time, I guess).

Rating: 4 RVs out of 5

Other Observations:

• Does the Dog Die? No animals appear, so they all remain safe!

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: The opening sequence. It’s not particularly scary, but I love the gore of Jason ripping that heart out.

• When the Fuck is This Movie Set? This film doesn’t specify how long after A New Beginning it is, but I’m guessing about a year (which is helpfully corroborated by the Friday the 13th wiki). That places us in 1990.

• This film has a lot of random characters who only get introduced to be killed. I bet that’s a big reason why I rated it so low originally. This time it didn’t bother me at all. The paintball victims in particular are hilarious.

• I recently bought the Shout Factory Friday the 13th Blu-Ray collection. It looks incredible.

Next Week: We continue the theme month with Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (aka Jason vs Carrie).