4 out of 5

Directed by: Steve Miner

Weee now I’m an even WORSE horror fan, probably, for liking this sequel more than the original.  Part 2 essentially follows the same format as the original – which it can’t, really, deviate from and still be a slasher – but director Miner took notes while producing part 1 to figure out how to tweak things appropriately to up the ante.  The characters are more likeable, the kills are more entertaining, the bad guy is more compelling, and the thrills are incredibly more thrilling.

Though Part 2 came about about a year after the first, in film world, its five years later, and Paul Holt (John Furey) has brought all his counselors up to a camp neighboring the fabled Camp Blood to prep for an upcoming tourist season… despite, again, warnings from locals like Crazy Ralph about that not being the best of ideas.  Even though sex = death is still part of the horror equation, Miner – filming Ron Kurz’s script – doesn’t rub it in our face as much as the original (accepting that that was part of the catalyst for the killings), while still working in some 80s T&A requirements.  Nix any boy / girl jealousies and just let couples be couples or pair off those that need to be paired off; we can identify who’s with who early on and we don’t need to worry about plot stuffings that expand on this more than necessary.  The film also attempts to be aware by addressing the Jason lore – Paul tells the other counselors it’s a legend and to get over it – and, through a conversation with the local sheriff, we get a glimpse of the youth vs. adults quibbles that might’ve prompted Paul to push for the camp in the first place, all in a single scene and a couple lines of dialogue.  It’s a comforting balance between commodity and awareness.  When the kills begin, they’re first kept outside of the camp itself, and then a night on the town for some of the counselors limits the bodies to have to deal with down to a small gaggle.  Thus, once the proper stalk-and-slash starts, Miner – employing an insane one-shot follow-the-running-actor device – can keep the pace awesomely elevated.  Yes, the flashes to white are a sloppy editing trick, but it avoids the study of the kills that the first one allowed – showing the budget limitations that prevented Savini from being able to match skin tone for the gore gags – and, again, keeps things moving.  Even the score has improved.  Manfredini’s string-based theme, already impressive in part 1, gets an extra layer of raucous noise to make it even more discordant and fittingly alarming for the chase sequences.

Ft13th Part 2 is still a slasher flick through and through, so it won’t be blowing the minds of non-genre fans anytime soon.  However, it took all of the promise and structural originality of the first one and improved upon it, adding to the lore, adding to the scares, without sacrificing the core crass fun that defines a good horror experience.