4 out of 5

Directed by: Tom McLoughlin

Stocked with surprisingly capable characters and a fan-pleasing plot, ‘Jason Lives,’ Tom McLouglin’s rejiggering of the franchise after part V’s detour, is incredibly successful in its attempt to jump-start a new direction for Jason.  McLoughlin ditches some unnecessary pieces – part VI is the first Jason without nudity – and works with the censorship lessons learned from past entries to come up with some creative kills and fun ways to show them.

Interestingly, as the series mostly established itself upon a loose framework into which teens-to-be-killed could be fit, parts IV – VI are linked by one character (besides Jason, of course): Tommy.  ‘Jason Lives’ partially tweaks the established history to make things work, but not in any egregious fashion.  It’s post-institute for Tommy, and he and a friend are driving back to Jason’s grave to burn the body, as Tommy isn’t satisfied that Jason won’t one day rise again.  After a great gross-out shot of the exhumed corpse, McLoughlin sets to making this a different Friday the 13th: lightning strikes Jason’s body several times, and wouldn’t ya’ know it – he does rise, only now he’s undead.  Smooth.  Tommy takes off to warn the town and gets locked up in the process, while Jason makes his way back to Crystal Lake (now renamed ‘Lake Forest Green’ to help the locals forget the past massacres).  There are a group of counselors, though this time the camp is up and running, and while the authorities suspect Tommy of being behind some recent kills, the police still act as effectively as possible to try to protect their public.  The movie spreads out its kills, avoiding the main pacing problem that’s existed in most entries, but because of everyone’s awareness of Jason, we’re also missing the frantic chase that normally ensues in the last 20 minutes or so, which is one of the only downers to the film – it’s not that its boring, but the pieces for the conclusion are pretty much in place with a half hour to go, and so it somewhat stretches things out to make that 90 minute mark.

The comedy in Part VI is neither as out of place as it was in Part V or as goofball as the overall vibe of Part III.  By casting Jason as a now supernatural killer, it gives the whole film a bit more leniency, which in turn allows scenes to effectively work the creepy / funny balance that’s important to the genre.  Add in frequent nods to the franchise (and some to Nightmare on Elm Street as well, methinks), and ‘Jason Lives’ will continually catch you off guard with a gag that’s smarter than you would’ve expected from a Friday the 13th.

We cry foul over remakes all the time while ignoring that some of our long running series already tried to ‘reboot’ themselves several times over.  Ft13th Part VI was an attempted turnaround from Part V and it succeeds.  It seems like an easy formula – keep what works, ditch what wasn’t, and add something of your own – but there are probably plenty of things going on beneath the surface that we, as viewers, never see which end up complicating the formula… and ruining a movie.  But writer / director Tom McLoughlin’s attempt seemed to make the studio happy, the fans happy, and allowed the franchise to continue.  And his effectiveness in accomplishing his goal is still plenty easy to appreciate almost 30 years later.