Holiday Cuts: Friday the 13th, Part 7- The New Blood

Let's continue on the backwards journey through this Series.  Why do I cover some Series Films out of Order?  Dunno- I just do.  I mostly do what ones seem to be the most interesting and start there.  I happened to find Jason X to be interesting (but not good), so I did that first.  After that, I just worked backwards. So, in summary, I'm weird and do weird things.  So what does Part 7 bring us?  In this one, Zombie Jason (as he was after Part 6) is stuck at the bottom of his famous Lake.  Thanks to a young lady with telekinetic powers, he is loose again to kill more people.  I'm sure you're asking- how did he survive under the water for so long?  He must have been bored, right?  I kid, I kid.  He was probably texting with that chick from The Ring the whole time.  No, the real odd thing here is our Carrie knock-off of a Final Girl.  When did they get mutant powers in this universe?  Well, in the previous Film (Part 6), Jason came back to life when lightning struck a metal pole stabbed into his body...so I question nothing.  He also came back from being burned to death via acid in Part 8, only to need magic to come back from being blown up in the same Film (Part 9), so...logic is nowhere.  This is all before he ends up in Space too.  Is this one less goofy and higher quality than the latter Sequels?  Not likely, but let's see for ourselves...

This is Jason Voorhees.  He has been killing lots of young people who like to have sex for about five Films now.

This is Carrie...I mean, Not Carrie.  She has developed strong telekinetic powers since her youth.

Her powers are barely-controllable and triggered by emotions.

Do you want to see these two face off right away?  Do you want to see something fresh?  Well...

You have to wait!!!

Instead, you get about an hour straight of Jason killing people, usually in groups of two.  Nobody ever screams for help either.

So, after six Film, sit back and enjoy these people: white folks in peril- now with a black couple!

Finally you get to see the pair face off properly about an hour in, once the 'Mooks' are all gone.

To the Film's credit, they hired a Make-Up/FX guy to Direct- John Carl Buechler- and Jason's make-up is appropriately-freaky.  He is a Zombie/Ghoul that has been living underwater for a year.

Not Carrie uses his powers in alot of neat ways- even if they are silly- and ultimately gets Jason back under the water...where he'll just walk out next year to go to Manhattan.  The End.

Honestly, it is not that great.  Mind you, it does depend what criteria you judge it by.  If you just want to see Jason Voorhees kill a ton of people for no good reason, this is a 5-Star Film.  That is pretty much the crux of this Film.  If you want to see a Film with good make-up and gore effects- as limited as they are at times-, this is a 3 or 4-Star Film.  If you want to see a good Story that is paced well and delivers in a timely fashion, it is more a 2-Star Film.  I may have exaggerated a bit earlier, but the point of it is true: the Film is mostly just Jason killing people until the Climax.  I won't lie and say that I was expecting something much different, but I was hoping for it.  The Film doesn't aim to be all that great, which is disappointing.  After 6 Films, maybe it was time to do something really interesting.  That idea pretty much begins and ends with 'Let's put Carrie in this.'  To be fair, I actually liked Not Carrie here, as she represents one of the few Final Girls to really stand an equal chance in a fight with a Horror Heavy.  Speaking of unique things, I have to discuss Jason's most improbable kill: the Lake Scene.  He kills the guy on the shore while the woman- who's naked- and vanishes.  Less than a minute later, he pops out of the water next to her!  You want to explain his quiet, high-speed run, dive into the water without dispersing the water and quiet wading up next to her?  No.  Of course you don't.  Ultimately, this is a two-note movie and only one of them is unique.  You know what to do with this one, Jason...

Next up, I celebrate Valentine's Day with an Art Film.  See- I don't make Bob watch *all* of them here.  Stay tuned...