Friday the 13th Part 2 Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Five years after the events of part one, a new killer is lurking nearby Camp Crystal Lake.

Review: So after the success of the first F13, it didn't come as a surprise that they would pursue a sequel. But without that shock value at the revelation of Mrs. Voorhees as the killer, what direction could they take the story? Well, they decided to create one of the most infamous and legendary horror icons in film history with the inception of Jason. Sure, Jason was mentioned quite a bit in the first movie and even briefly appeared in Alice's nightmare, but that's not the Jason we all know and love; hell, even this version of Jason is not the true image the icon has taken on...at least, not yet. It's kind of weird too because there is still that whole mysterious angle to the killer's identity as if the audience would once again suspect red herrings. I mean, yeah, it would have been cool if the killer really weren't Jason, but it was explained right from the start it was him.

The movie gets right down to business as we see Jason dispense with Alice in the opening scene. Shouldn't that have sort of been the end of it all? And I thought Jason stayed at the Crystal Lake area? And seriously, who the fuck did that head belong to in her fridge?! We then cut to five years later for some odd reason. I really don't understand this, because it's so unnecessary and it wasn't even needed for exposition purposes either. At a glance it appears we are right back at Camp Crystal Lake, but in fact the setting is some counselor training center in the same area. As my friend would say, "yeah, sure, whatever." We are introduced to a larger cast than the original and yet this film manages to give them more personality than part one; even though we don't get any major backstories, it did help that the kids are more personable and feel more real. Another improvement is that we finally have a few decent looking chicks with emphasis on the Terry character and "dat ass." The main character is a wannabe child psychologist in the making named Ginny, and I guess she's alright. Honestly, the Paul character, who runs the training center, was more interesting as he's really laid back, appears cool, and it is inferred that he's helping a lot of the kids out. But all these clowns are overshadowed by the return of my boy Crazy Ralph!

Later on, Paul explains the mythos behind Jason with the implication that Jason never died from the drowning but grew up alone in the woods becoming more crazy. I know it makes absolutely no sense given what we were told by Mrs. Voorhees, but this franchise is most certainly not known for its accuracy in continuity. Once the story gets rolling, the first one to die turns out to be Crazy Ralph...wait, WHAT?! You killed off Crazy Ralph?! No! They said he had a wife, what does Mrs. Ralph think of all this? Then we have a little bait and switch as half the characters stay at a bar all night while the rest remain at the training center to be chopped into tiny pieces. Unfortunately even Terry dies, but I'm more bothered by Jason killing some dude in a wheelchair. I mean, really, Jason?! I guess because he was set up to be a strong guy it made it a fair fight? Well, don't get too bent out of shape because Jason manages to top himself in the very next movie with a lowly kill. Once all the fodder is taken care of, Ginny and Paul are the last two standing as they must contend with Jason who is wearing a sack to cover his hideous disfigurement. First we have the plot device that Ginny is learning to be a child psychologist, then we have the contrivance that she instantly figures out Jason's psyche, and finally the car she's been having trouble with all film long conveniently breaks down in her moment of need. There's only so much bullshit I can take, movie! Ginny eventually stumbles upon, what I guess is supposed to be, Jason's home in the middle of the woods. He has set up a makeshift altar with Mrs. Voorhees head at the center and some of her clothing. This idea really should have come back more in the franchise since it was an interesting idea, and, as far we know, it's still there. Ginny puts on Mrs. Voorhees' sweater and tricks Jason into believing that she is in fact the mom; Betsy Palmer reprises her role as Jason hallucinates that Ginny is her. The ruse does not last long as Jason snaps out of the trance and attacks Ginny who is saved by Paul. Ginny chops a machete deeply into Jason's shoulder which should have practically cut his arm off but okay. Believing Jason is dead, the couple later hear a noise only to discover it's a little doggie we thought was dead. But come on, this is a slasher movie...so Jason comes crashing through the window in his fully, unmasked glory. Somehow Ginny wakes up in the morning, alive obviously, and being wheeled away in an ambulance; we have no idea what happened to Paul and, given the events of part 3, it's safe to say Paul was written out of existence for no good reason.

As a whole, this is actually a slightly better film than the first one, but it lacks that x-factor that the original twist provided. The characters are better and more interesting, Jason is obviously the superior killer since he is fucking Jason, the kills are better, and the story is more fleshed out with some decent ideas. But there were plenty of contrivances, they annoyingly killed off Crazy Ralph, Jason's origin changed, and the film suffers from the problem most of the entries in this franchise have: it's just about a dude killing people and not much else going on. The twist from the original compensated for a lot of this, but thankfully the later entries would try various methods to spice the films up beyond just a guy with a mask killing people.

Notable Moment: When the counselors are sitting around the campfire and Paul tells them the legend of Jason. This scene not only sets the tone well but would become a great setup to other entries.

Final Rating: 6/10