Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

  As we head into the latter half of this franchise, things are going to start getting weird(er). You have to give it credit, Friday the 13th really took some swings with these later entries. Not all of them are completely successful but at least they weren’t content to just repeat the same formula from before.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood was written by Daryl Haney (Mockingbird Don’t Sing) and Manuel Fidello (Michael vs. Jason) and was directed by John Carl Buechler (The Dungeonmaster). It was released on May 13th, 1988. The New Blood was made on a budget of $2.8 million, made $8,245,038 upon opening, and made $19,170,001 worldwide. Per the usual for this franchise, it received largely negative reviews upon release.

Shortly after the climax of Jason Lives, young Tina (Lar Park Lincoln, Knot’s Landing) accidentally kills her abusive father by drowning him in Crystal Lake using her telekinetic abilities. Seven years later, Tina and her mother (Susan Blu, Transformers: The Movie) return to Crystal Lake with Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser, Weekend at Bernie’s 2), a psychiatrist studying Tina’s abilities. Upon arrival Tina accidentally awakens Jason (Kane Hodder, Hatchet) with her powers and he rises from the lake and begins his killing spree.

Tina is a decent protagonist and, while not the most engaging of the franchise’s Final Girls (and Boy), giving her telekinetic powers is a fun twist on the formula and it’s nice to have a protagonist who is a physical match for Jason. 

Unfortunately, the film doesn’t do much outside of that to differentiate from its predecessors. In fact, the telekinesis element aside, the plot of the film is nearly identical to the plot of The Final Chapter. As with a lot of these later films the cast is also pretty indistinguishable from one another, although I was particularly taken with HBIC Melissa (Susan Jennifer Sullivan, Gattaca). 

Ultimately The New Blood is  fun and adds an interesting twist on the formula but doesn’t do enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the franchise. It’s serviceable if not outstanding (and certainly better than the next two entries). 

Rating: 2.5 floating TVs out of 5

Other Observations:

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: The sleeping bag kill. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Is bonkers and iconic? YES!

• Does the Dog Die? Nope!

• When The Fuck Is This Movie Set? Assuming that the prologue is set immediately following the events of Jason Lives (and I am), the seven year time skip places us in 1997

• I forgot to mention this in my Jason Lives post, but I just got the Shout! Factory blu-ray set and the transfers look stunning. Thus far I’ve only watched the original, Jason Lives, The New Blood, and Jason Takes Manhattan and they all look amazing.

• The MPAA hacked this film to pieces so it’s lacking in the gore from a lot of the other entries.

• I hate, hate, hate Tina’s abusive father’s spirit/zombie body (?) saving her at the end. 

• On the other hand, Tina’s mother is great and didn’t deserve her fate. Dr. Crews is a real dick.

• Kane Hodder is probably my favorite Jason and it’s a shame that the entries he appeared in largely suck.

Next Week: Let’s keep this train (or boat, as it is) going with Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.