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| Poster for Part 2 |
This review previously appeared on my other blog "When Franchises Attack!"
Having helped solidify and codify the slasher genre with its first installment, it was inevitable that Friday the 13th part 2 would be the very definition of the quick and dirty slasher sequel. With the amount of profit the first film made the sequel was turned around and on the drive in screens inside a calender year. Arguably this is the first film in the series which is a true "Friday the 13th" as Jason takes over the serial killing duties from Mommy as after quickly dispatching the last movies final girl with an ice pick to the temple he goes back to the shores of Crystal Lake where five years after the events of the first film a training camp for counselors has been set up.
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| Jason, rocking this seasons must have "Homicide" look |
With a scant 87 minute running time it's a film that doesn't hang around, it knows what you want to see and gets straight down to business with a much larger body count and more gore to boot. The film is rather derivative to say the least, with a lot of the kills being copies of ones seen in the first film and the speedy turn around of the film means that problems with the plotting didn't get fixed, Ginny's escape is conveniently brushed over and Paul just disappears out of the film, fate unknown as Jason escapes into the woods. Also unexplained is Jason's growth in a mere five years from lake dwelling child to a hulking 7 foot tall hillbilly with the physique of a UFC fighter and a charming shack (death altar off the bedroom and lake views to die for). The unnecessary T&A synonymous with the horror genre is very much on the agenda here, Terry being subject to lingering shots of her rear.
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| Pamela, looking a bit worse for wear |
These issues aside there is a lot to enjoy in this film, the kills are well directed and cool, with the ability to shock, Mark's brutal death a stand out. It takes a brave film to kill off the charming, handsome paraplegic with a machete to the face while the annoying camp clown survives. Ginny is for me the most likable final girl of the series and her fight with Jason is tense and exciting, I particularly like her attempt to fool Jason by donning Pamela's rather tatty jumper and trying to talk her way out of trouble. Jason is perhaps his most intimidating in this installment, wearing a burlap sack instead of his iconic hockey mask with dungarees and a plaid shirt he is the definition of every demented woodsman of many an urban legend. I touched on the decision to kill off Alice from the previous film and that, oddly, might be the best idea the franchise ever had. Friday the 13th had accusations of being a direct rip off of Halloween leveled at it after the first film and that's something I explored in my review of it. By killing off Alice rather than making her the heroine of the series, like the Halloween series did with Laurie Strode, it made it's own mark on the genre and strode off confidently in it's own direction, This is reinforced by the murder of poor old Crazy Ralph and the rise of Jason, it's a series unafraid to break it's own rules.
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| sadly, this is an edge Mark did not enjoy |
While Friday the 13th Part 2 could certainly be viewed as a cheap and nasty remake of the first film, done solely to grind out a further profit for the studio there is plenty to admire in this film and while for me it's not as good as Friday the 13th, it has an enjoyable edge that can't be denied.
EMMA'S SCORE: 65 out of 100
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