First off, I've been a huge Friday the 13th fan for many many years. And I was one of the few people in the theater who was old enough to remember all of them. (I am 29 years old...a lot of 16 year olds who said they are excited to see Jason 'X'. I didn't have the heart to tell them it is really Jason Ten and that the X is a Roman numeral for it being the 10th Friday the 13th movie. Ah, the state of education these days...)
Anyway, before I saw the movie, I didn't like the idea of going 450 years into the future for killing in space. I am an old fashioned guy who likes Crystal Lake and the cabins. But I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. There were some interesting killings, some good laughs, and some good nostalgia (mentioning earlier films to a degree.)
However, I guess the Friday the 13th series is no longer a horror genre. This movie, I would not call a horror film...but a Sci-Fi slasher picture. There wasn't much scarry in the film. Unlike the earlier films where there was "suspense" and even though I knew someone would die, I would jump from fear when Jason showed up. There was none of that in Jason X. And I think I discovered why...
In earlier films, Part II, Part III, and Part IV (we don't include part I and part V since it wasn't Jason), Jason was "killable" and more of a "man". So Jason had to be sneaky, like a boogie man who lived in the shadows. People doubted if he really existed and was just a wives tale. (Kinda like Mr. Snufalupagus (sp?) on Sesame Street...at least in the old days. I haven't watched Sesame Street in a long time, but people tell me that everyone sees him now.) This made him scarry.
Nowadays, everyone sees him and knows he is "unkillable". Hence, the horror suspense is not there. He's just a constant machine who doesn't hide and doesn't seem human. (The human characteristic was the best part in earlier movies.)
Now, back to Jason X. If this had been a pure sci-fi movie, without the slasher stuff, it would have made a great sci-fi movie. I would've loved to investigate and discover what occured over the past 450 years of mankind. Being 450 years into the future bring up interesting technological inventions, and my personal opinion is that Jason X handled them somewhat realistically. (Others may disagree.) Unlike typical movies in the future where they have inventions like time travel, worm hole creation, etc. This movie tried to be more realistic. It would not surprise me that in 450 we have great virtual reality and the ability to re-generate body tissue or the ability to stop an cut quickly and reattach a limb at a later time. I like the cryogenic side too.
The beginning, with Jason chained up, and then switching places with the guard and killing everyone I thought was too predictable of an opening and started on a bad foot (luckily the predictable stuff ended there for a while.) The only other badly predictable part was Jason coming back to life during the autopsy. We saw this already at the beginning of Part IV and a somewhat similar thing in the beginning of Part VI and Part IX. But I guess there was no other way to do it. Except if Jason was left alone and he came back to life. I would have loved to see a human side to Jason where he is confused by being in the future and not on earth. But oh well.
I thought the characters were interesting in this one. They were the most interesting people since Tommy Jarvis in Part VI. The virtual reality camp crystal lake at the end was perfect!!! And the two topless young girls to occupy Jason were hilarious. "We gonna drink and smoke pot and maybe have some sex. We'll just be in the sleeping bags right now." That was classic and great comedy relief and a great tribute to earlier movies. I was expected one of two things when the Virtual Reality camp crystal lake. I was hoping that they would VR Pamela Vorhees (Jason's mother) to the campsite. It would have made Jason more human again, and we know deep down Jason was a "Mama's Boy". The other thing they could have done was VR either Tommy Jarvis from part VI or Adrienne King from Part I & II or others from earlier films to confuse or occupy Jason. But they went for the more commic relief. Plus, I never mind seeing a couple of young girl's breasts.
The ending promised our typical setup for another movie on Planet Earth 2 (I assume) at a campsite. It was expected, but done well. If you're a fan of the genre or just the Friday the 13th movies, I would suggest going to see it for 2 reasons. 1) It's a pretty entertaining and interesting movie. 2) If it does well enough at the box office, we are certain the see the long awaited movie "Freddy -vs- Jason". New Line Cinema has been working on the project for a while, but are waiting to see how well Jason X does in the theaters.
In future Friday movies, I'd love to see a "prequel" of sorts. Explain what happened to Jason's father. What happened from the 1950s until the early 1980s when Jason started killing in Part II. And so on.
My Friday The 13th Ranking System. (Best to Worst)
1) Part VI: Jason Lives. Great story, great characters.
2) Part I: The original...but no Jason until the end. But great suspense.
3) Part IX: The director's cut is so gruesome, but great story.
4) Jason X: Yes, this actually makes it up to #4 on the list.
5) Part III: The 3-D was campy and dated. But this in my mind was the scariest of all the Friday the 13th movies. I saw this when I was 10 years old and I couldn't sleep for weeks after. I just kept seeing that scene where Chris (who was one of the cutest Friday girls ever) after she hangs Jason walks up to his dangling corpse and Jason awakes, lifting his hockey mask, and flashing that dimented smile.
6) Part IV: The beginning of Tommy Jarvis!!!
7) Part VII: I didn't get into the whole Tina thing.
8) Part II: Basically a re-hashing of Part I with Jason doing the killing instead.
9) Part VIII: Jason takes Manhattan was terrible. I assumed this was the end of the Friday series. Luckily New Line bought the rights from Paramount and Sean S. Cunningham came back. This movie was so bad that Sean S. Cunningham started Part IX to begin after Part VII and just ignored the 8th. (I read also that Sean S. Cunningham said Part IX really starts after Part II...because he didn't like any of the sequels after the 2nd. Hence that's why we don't hear any reference to Tina or Tommy Jarvis in the last two movies.) This movie was terrible. Jason didn't end up in New York until the very end of the movie. The New Yorkers, one of which I am, were so cliche. And I never saw Nuclear Waste in the sewers. Hmmmmm.
10) Part V: One reason. No Jason. Stupid plot of some guy killing like Jason for revenge. Only good scene was the part where the guy is killed in the Port-A-Potty.
Anyway, before I saw the movie, I didn't like the idea of going 450 years into the future for killing in space. I am an old fashioned guy who likes Crystal Lake and the cabins. But I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. There were some interesting killings, some good laughs, and some good nostalgia (mentioning earlier films to a degree.)
However, I guess the Friday the 13th series is no longer a horror genre. This movie, I would not call a horror film...but a Sci-Fi slasher picture. There wasn't much scarry in the film. Unlike the earlier films where there was "suspense" and even though I knew someone would die, I would jump from fear when Jason showed up. There was none of that in Jason X. And I think I discovered why...
In earlier films, Part II, Part III, and Part IV (we don't include part I and part V since it wasn't Jason), Jason was "killable" and more of a "man". So Jason had to be sneaky, like a boogie man who lived in the shadows. People doubted if he really existed and was just a wives tale. (Kinda like Mr. Snufalupagus (sp?) on Sesame Street...at least in the old days. I haven't watched Sesame Street in a long time, but people tell me that everyone sees him now.) This made him scarry.
Nowadays, everyone sees him and knows he is "unkillable". Hence, the horror suspense is not there. He's just a constant machine who doesn't hide and doesn't seem human. (The human characteristic was the best part in earlier movies.)
Now, back to Jason X. If this had been a pure sci-fi movie, without the slasher stuff, it would have made a great sci-fi movie. I would've loved to investigate and discover what occured over the past 450 years of mankind. Being 450 years into the future bring up interesting technological inventions, and my personal opinion is that Jason X handled them somewhat realistically. (Others may disagree.) Unlike typical movies in the future where they have inventions like time travel, worm hole creation, etc. This movie tried to be more realistic. It would not surprise me that in 450 we have great virtual reality and the ability to re-generate body tissue or the ability to stop an cut quickly and reattach a limb at a later time. I like the cryogenic side too.
The beginning, with Jason chained up, and then switching places with the guard and killing everyone I thought was too predictable of an opening and started on a bad foot (luckily the predictable stuff ended there for a while.) The only other badly predictable part was Jason coming back to life during the autopsy. We saw this already at the beginning of Part IV and a somewhat similar thing in the beginning of Part VI and Part IX. But I guess there was no other way to do it. Except if Jason was left alone and he came back to life. I would have loved to see a human side to Jason where he is confused by being in the future and not on earth. But oh well.
I thought the characters were interesting in this one. They were the most interesting people since Tommy Jarvis in Part VI. The virtual reality camp crystal lake at the end was perfect!!! And the two topless young girls to occupy Jason were hilarious. "We gonna drink and smoke pot and maybe have some sex. We'll just be in the sleeping bags right now." That was classic and great comedy relief and a great tribute to earlier movies. I was expected one of two things when the Virtual Reality camp crystal lake. I was hoping that they would VR Pamela Vorhees (Jason's mother) to the campsite. It would have made Jason more human again, and we know deep down Jason was a "Mama's Boy". The other thing they could have done was VR either Tommy Jarvis from part VI or Adrienne King from Part I & II or others from earlier films to confuse or occupy Jason. But they went for the more commic relief. Plus, I never mind seeing a couple of young girl's breasts.
The ending promised our typical setup for another movie on Planet Earth 2 (I assume) at a campsite. It was expected, but done well. If you're a fan of the genre or just the Friday the 13th movies, I would suggest going to see it for 2 reasons. 1) It's a pretty entertaining and interesting movie. 2) If it does well enough at the box office, we are certain the see the long awaited movie "Freddy -vs- Jason". New Line Cinema has been working on the project for a while, but are waiting to see how well Jason X does in the theaters.
In future Friday movies, I'd love to see a "prequel" of sorts. Explain what happened to Jason's father. What happened from the 1950s until the early 1980s when Jason started killing in Part II. And so on.
My Friday The 13th Ranking System. (Best to Worst)
1) Part VI: Jason Lives. Great story, great characters.
2) Part I: The original...but no Jason until the end. But great suspense.
3) Part IX: The director's cut is so gruesome, but great story.
4) Jason X: Yes, this actually makes it up to #4 on the list.
5) Part III: The 3-D was campy and dated. But this in my mind was the scariest of all the Friday the 13th movies. I saw this when I was 10 years old and I couldn't sleep for weeks after. I just kept seeing that scene where Chris (who was one of the cutest Friday girls ever) after she hangs Jason walks up to his dangling corpse and Jason awakes, lifting his hockey mask, and flashing that dimented smile.
6) Part IV: The beginning of Tommy Jarvis!!!
7) Part VII: I didn't get into the whole Tina thing.
8) Part II: Basically a re-hashing of Part I with Jason doing the killing instead.
9) Part VIII: Jason takes Manhattan was terrible. I assumed this was the end of the Friday series. Luckily New Line bought the rights from Paramount and Sean S. Cunningham came back. This movie was so bad that Sean S. Cunningham started Part IX to begin after Part VII and just ignored the 8th. (I read also that Sean S. Cunningham said Part IX really starts after Part II...because he didn't like any of the sequels after the 2nd. Hence that's why we don't hear any reference to Tina or Tommy Jarvis in the last two movies.) This movie was terrible. Jason didn't end up in New York until the very end of the movie. The New Yorkers, one of which I am, were so cliche. And I never saw Nuclear Waste in the sewers. Hmmmmm.
10) Part V: One reason. No Jason. Stupid plot of some guy killing like Jason for revenge. Only good scene was the part where the guy is killed in the Port-A-Potty.
