Monday, October 8, 2012
Friday the 13th: The Series Ep. 21 Double Exposure Review
Double Exposure originally aired on May 16, 1988. This episode has a few problems. I'm just gonna throw that out there. Ryan got over Laura very quickly. Considering he was going to leave Mickey and Ryan in the previous 2 episodes, it's odd to see him so quickly dating someone else. Not only does he date someone else, but this girl gets killed in this episode. Ryan is devastated, which is understandable, but they show writers built up Laura SO much. It's very strange because Ryan's connection to the girl in this episode is no where near as strong, but he acts as if it's the strongest connection he's ever had with a girl. I have a serious problem with this. This definitely messes up continuity on the show, completely muddles it all up. The cursed antique in this episode is a camera that when you take a picture of someone creates a duplicate of them. A TV broadcaster has been using it to create a killer that only he has a connection to. Jack in this episode has a duplicate made of him and for a time he's a villain, which is a cool twist of events. However, the duplicate idea just isn't cool enough to stick out in your memory. The stakes are very high, but that doesn't save this episode from being just average.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood Review
After nearly a full season of television and over a year off on the screen, Jason needed to come back in a big and new way to maintain interest in the movie series. One of the initial talks was to do Freddy Vs. Jason, but neither Paramount nor New Line Cinema were willing to let go of their profitable franchises. They finally decided that if they couldn't have Freddy, they needed the final girl to be a TRUE match for Jason. The final girl would have supernatural powers as well: telekinesis.
As always, we begin with the trailer. The trailer is definitely one of the better ones from the later entries of the series. It actually shows clips from the movie, unlike the trailer for Jason Lives. It's fun enough, but it is incredibly spoiler heavy. It's a far cry from the trailers for the first two entries in the series. The tagline for the film is: On Friday the 13th, Jason's back. But this time someone's waiting. I like the tagline quite a lot. It's ominous and hints at a spectacular final battle. Overall, the movie was advertised well enough, I mean, this is Part VII after all.
The movie begins with a voice over from the actor who plays Crazy Ralph, which is a major plus for all the fans of the franchise. The prologue features clips from Part 2, The Final Chapter, and Jason Lives. It gives a fairly extensive retelling of Jason Lives too. This makes since because it had been a while since Jason had appeared on the movie screen. I like the prologue a ton. It's a gift to the fans who have stuck through thick and thin, good entry and bad for this franchise. It's a very nice touch. Not as great as The Final Chapter prologue, but I won't complain.
The death scenes for the most part are lackluster. Let me make this clear: this is not the director's fault. This is the MPAA's fault. Every death scene was trimmed down to it's bare minimum. John Carl Buechler made a make-up effects extravaganza and none of it actually appears in the final film. The best death is (of course): the sleeping bag death. This would not have been the best death had the make-up effects been left in the final product. On the DVD in a very rough cut workprint, you can see all the hard work that went into the make-up effects. It's truly some of the best of the series and THE best outside of Tom Savini's work.
We cannot discuss Part VII without discussing the crucial element of casting Kane Hodder as Jason. Kane gave a face to the series and a star in the killer, but more on that in future reviews. The make-up on Jason is utterly fantastic. Every single scratch is accounted for in the make-up. Kane's presense in the role is so demanding of attention, it's striking. He gives a presence to a very lackluster film overall.
Tina, what a fantastic final girl. She's haunted by her powers. She accidentally in a fit of rage when she was young killed her father. Her powers are very untamed and it's frightening to see how powerful they can become. Lar gives a strength to Tina that hasn't been seen in final girls since Part III. Tina is a nice girl. She's incredibly attached to her mother and unfortunately loses her mother to Jason. She wants REVENGE. She uses her telekinesis to pretty much whoop Jason's butt. She's got an edge to her that we haven't seen in final girls for a while.
After praising the make-up effects and the final girl, where did this film go wrong? The side characters are just set up to die. This was a make-up effects show. You don't care when characters die. In fact, the film sets up a few for you to cheer when they do eventually die, which I find a little sickening. Long are the days when every character's death mattered. This series has become about the cool deaths and the gore and when they can't even deliver that...you're in trouble. We haven't had good side characters in a while, but the main girl is so well defined. If only the other characters could have been as well defined. It's quite a shame really.
As far as the music goes, it's a weird blend between Harry Manfrideini and Fred Mollin. Harry had scored the previous six films. Fred was scoring the TV series. They recycled some of Harry's cues and Fred wrote new music for the picture. It's not a good blend, but that will change with the next film. However, to my recollection this is the last time in the original series we'll hear the classic Friday cues.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood was released on Friday the 13th, May 1988. It ranked #1 at the box office for the opening weekend. On a budget of $2.8 million, the film grossed $19,170,001. With continuing diminishing box office returns, the series had begun to run out of steam. The profits for such a low budget are extraordinary, but it's a FAR cry from the profits of the first film. Audiences didn't have to wait long for another Friday the 13th because within only a few days, the first season of the TV series was continuing and nearing it's climax.
As always, we begin with the trailer. The trailer is definitely one of the better ones from the later entries of the series. It actually shows clips from the movie, unlike the trailer for Jason Lives. It's fun enough, but it is incredibly spoiler heavy. It's a far cry from the trailers for the first two entries in the series. The tagline for the film is: On Friday the 13th, Jason's back. But this time someone's waiting. I like the tagline quite a lot. It's ominous and hints at a spectacular final battle. Overall, the movie was advertised well enough, I mean, this is Part VII after all.
The movie begins with a voice over from the actor who plays Crazy Ralph, which is a major plus for all the fans of the franchise. The prologue features clips from Part 2, The Final Chapter, and Jason Lives. It gives a fairly extensive retelling of Jason Lives too. This makes since because it had been a while since Jason had appeared on the movie screen. I like the prologue a ton. It's a gift to the fans who have stuck through thick and thin, good entry and bad for this franchise. It's a very nice touch. Not as great as The Final Chapter prologue, but I won't complain.
The death scenes for the most part are lackluster. Let me make this clear: this is not the director's fault. This is the MPAA's fault. Every death scene was trimmed down to it's bare minimum. John Carl Buechler made a make-up effects extravaganza and none of it actually appears in the final film. The best death is (of course): the sleeping bag death. This would not have been the best death had the make-up effects been left in the final product. On the DVD in a very rough cut workprint, you can see all the hard work that went into the make-up effects. It's truly some of the best of the series and THE best outside of Tom Savini's work.
We cannot discuss Part VII without discussing the crucial element of casting Kane Hodder as Jason. Kane gave a face to the series and a star in the killer, but more on that in future reviews. The make-up on Jason is utterly fantastic. Every single scratch is accounted for in the make-up. Kane's presense in the role is so demanding of attention, it's striking. He gives a presence to a very lackluster film overall.
Tina, what a fantastic final girl. She's haunted by her powers. She accidentally in a fit of rage when she was young killed her father. Her powers are very untamed and it's frightening to see how powerful they can become. Lar gives a strength to Tina that hasn't been seen in final girls since Part III. Tina is a nice girl. She's incredibly attached to her mother and unfortunately loses her mother to Jason. She wants REVENGE. She uses her telekinesis to pretty much whoop Jason's butt. She's got an edge to her that we haven't seen in final girls for a while.
After praising the make-up effects and the final girl, where did this film go wrong? The side characters are just set up to die. This was a make-up effects show. You don't care when characters die. In fact, the film sets up a few for you to cheer when they do eventually die, which I find a little sickening. Long are the days when every character's death mattered. This series has become about the cool deaths and the gore and when they can't even deliver that...you're in trouble. We haven't had good side characters in a while, but the main girl is so well defined. If only the other characters could have been as well defined. It's quite a shame really.
As far as the music goes, it's a weird blend between Harry Manfrideini and Fred Mollin. Harry had scored the previous six films. Fred was scoring the TV series. They recycled some of Harry's cues and Fred wrote new music for the picture. It's not a good blend, but that will change with the next film. However, to my recollection this is the last time in the original series we'll hear the classic Friday cues.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood was released on Friday the 13th, May 1988. It ranked #1 at the box office for the opening weekend. On a budget of $2.8 million, the film grossed $19,170,001. With continuing diminishing box office returns, the series had begun to run out of steam. The profits for such a low budget are extraordinary, but it's a FAR cry from the profits of the first film. Audiences didn't have to wait long for another Friday the 13th because within only a few days, the first season of the TV series was continuing and nearing it's climax.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Friday the 13th: The Series Ep. 20 Quilt of Hathor: The Awakening Review
Quilt of Hathor: The Awakening originally aired on May 9, 1988. The conclusion was outstanding. This and the previous episode was just like one long hour and a half episode, like a movie. The sad, but cool thing is that these two episodes, the character dynamics are that much deeper than any Friday the 13th film to date. The stakes have been the highest as well. Ryan nearly gets burned at the stake, Ryan has to leave the woman he loves to continue to chase after the cursed antiques, Laura's father, the reverend, is spreading evil, etc...the list goes on and on. What I liked about this episode was even though her father spread the Devil's will, she held onto her faith at the end of the episode. She didn't run from Christianity, she continued to embrace it. Her faith was her own, truly. There's a pretty big jump scare at the end of the episode too, but that one doesn't really make much sense at all.
Before we continue on through to the end of the first season, we must take a break and return to Crystal Lake. After a year of not being on the big screen and a lackluster box office performance of the previous film entry, how were they going to bring Jason back? Better yet, after nearly a year of an anthology show bearing the title Friday the 13th (much like what Part 2 was originally going to be), how did they return to the movie series that made the franchise popular in the first place...well, we'll have to cover that next time.
Before we continue on through to the end of the first season, we must take a break and return to Crystal Lake. After a year of not being on the big screen and a lackluster box office performance of the previous film entry, how were they going to bring Jason back? Better yet, after nearly a year of an anthology show bearing the title Friday the 13th (much like what Part 2 was originally going to be), how did they return to the movie series that made the franchise popular in the first place...well, we'll have to cover that next time.
Friday the 13th: The Series Ep. 19 The Quilt of Hathor Review
The Quilt of Hathor originally aired on May 2, 1988. This was a phenomenal episode. It gave me exactly what I had been asking for: more connections to the characters. The majority of this episode takes place in an Amish community. Amish communities always fascinate me in film and this episode is no different. There's a scene early on when Ryan is dancing with this Amish girl Laura and it's like directly lifted from Witness it's not even funny. Ryan falls so deeply in love with Laura in this episode he gives up his duty to find the cursed objects. You can see in his eyes how deeply he feels connected to her. You feel for him and are rooting for him to win the girl. However, you also feel for Mickey who has such a strong connection to Ryan because of their duty. Mickey is devastated, left in tears at the prospect and what seems finality of Ryan leaving, and that's just the emotional part of the episode. The cursed antique is a quilt that makes your dreams a reality. If you dream someone to die, they die in real life. The boldest thing happened at the end of this episode...it didn't end. It was left open to be continued, a first for the series and a wonderful step in the right direction. The quilt Mickey has is a fake, proven by the fact that it can be destroyed. I can't even imagine how the show's audience must have felt by the finale of this episode. They must have been dying to see the next week's conclusion as well as I am right now.
Friday the 13th: The Series Ep. 18 The Electrocutioner Review
The Electrocutioner originally aired on April 18, 1988. This episode is important to the franchise as a whole because it is written and directed by Rob Hedden who went on to direct Part VIII. This is the second time Rob has written for the franchise, but it is his first time directing. This was an average episode. This is actually the first episode since starting the franchise analysis that I have never seen. The rest of the TV series will be brand new to me. The cursed antique is an electric chair. If he electrocuted someone in the chair, it would not only electrocute them, but conserve the electric power and pass it over to the hands of the murderer who could then have the electric charge of an electric chair at the slightest touch of a hand. This episode was all right, nothing extraordinary. It seems to me, that the episodes that really stick out is when we learn more about the main trio, or if it's personal. But overall, this was an all right episode, nothing great, but far from the worst episode of the series to date.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Friday the 13th: The Series Ep. 17 Brain Drain Review
(*Note: This episode actually aired after episode 18. It appears that the DVD release switched these two episodes, but for the purposes of following the DVD release, I will call this episode 17.*) Brain Drain originally aired on April 25, 1988. This was a strikingly good episode in comparison to the bore Tattoo was. The antique in this episode is a trephanator. This is an old medical object that could transfer spinal and brain fluids from one person to another. What the object does, is transfer intelligence. The villain has an IQ below 60. He kills 3 people by transferring their intelligence into his brain. The villain is played by the same actor who played the villain in episode 3. While doing some research on the series, apparently many actors play multiple roles throughout the series. I was going to say 'how could the producers not think we'd notice?' but seeing as it's already happened in episode 9 and episode 17 is the first time I notice, it's really not that big of a deal. This is also a heartbreaking episode. Jack's past is revealed. He was engaged to a woman who appears in this episode. He got married to another woman, but his traveling tore them apart and they got divorced. The woman he was engaged to, he proposes again and she says yes to marrying him. However, happiness doesn't last long on this show...she dies before the end of the episode and after losing her intelligence, she can't even recognize her fiance. That last point is never directly stated, but it's implied from the way she acts around him. This was a great episode, ultimately a fantastic view.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Friday the 13th: The Series Ep. 16 Tattoo Review
Tattoo originally aired on March 7, 1988. This has been one of my least favorite episodes so far. It wasn't the worst, but it just wasn't a fun watch. I just didn't really care. This is the second episode in a row where a sibling tries to kill a sister. It seemed a little bit repetitive to me. The antique in this episode is a tattoo set. When you draw a tattoo on someone, the tattoo will come to life and be the thing that kills the victim. The most twisted scene is the claw that bursts through a guy's chest only to then choke him to death. Talk about a double whammy. I just didn't get to know the sister well enough to care. I'm glad she did live, and she seemed to genuinely care for her brother, however, too much of the episode focused on the brother and he just was so unpleasant. It just was a boring unfun viewing.
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