Friday the 13th, Part V - A New Beginning (1985)

Jason is back, hockey mask and all. And he's up to his old maniacal tricks in Friday The 13th, Part V: A New Beginning. This time he seems to have set his sights on the young patients at a secluded halfway house. And more than a few of his teen targets end up in half, in quarters...you name it, Jason does it.

A slap in the face of all loyal Friday the 13th fans

Maybe someone will write a dissertation on why some horror movie franchises eventually have that one movie that basically sticks a middle finger down the throats of its fans, betraying everything the whole series has been and should be about. Friday the 13th Part V - A New Beginning may well be the worst offender of the bunch. When a slasher film has to painstakingly explain itself at the end, you know it has some serious problems. It's bad enough that the very concept of the film reeks with utter stupidity, but these characters? It's like one of those rabid anti-horror fanatics wrote the script with the express purpose of turning horror fans off so much that the Friday the 13th series would quickly wither and die.

Some people defend the film by saying it's still a maniac in a hockey mask killing people in gruesome ways, but I'm here to tell you that the blood and gore in this film is close to pathetic. Not once do we actually see an actual death blow: someone gets stabbed in the stomach and we see a shot of his face looking down and grimacing; a guy gets beheaded and all we see is an incredibly fake head hitting the ground; etc. If the special effects of all the scenes cut to avoid an X rating were this unimpressive, they might as well have left them in there. The least they could have done was make "Jason" look like the real deal - if he doesn't look like Jason, if he doesn't walk like Jason, he's not Jason.

The opening scene of this film is actually pretty good, even though it does feature a cameo appearance by Corey Feldman (whose commitment to The Goonies kept him from truly reprising his role as Tommy Jarvis - that role went to John Shepherd). After that, though, look out below. It has been three years since Tommy bested Jason in Friday the 13th The Final Chapter, and he's still pretty messed up about the whole ordeal. He has now left the mental institutions and come to Pinehurst, a halfway house for those with mental and emotional problems trying to ease their way back into society. The place basically has no rules and no discernible method of treatment or counseling, which helps explain why one of the patients brutally murders another one shortly after Tommy's arrival. The next thing you know, someone starts killing off characters in rapid succession. Has Jason somehow returned to life and set about on a brand new killing spree?

There is a great deal I dislike about this "new beginning," but nothing sticks in my craw as deeply and uncomfortably as the characters of Ethel (Carol Locatell) and her halfwit son Junior (Ron Sloan). They live near the halfway house and don't like having a houseful of mental patients so close to them. The problem is that these two are way beyond even the most clichéd hillbilly characters you're ever likely to find. Some viewers like them because they are the only things even close to entertaining in this mess of a film, but I say their presence herein makes for vivid proof that director Danny Steinmann and the writers just didn't care.

I really can't point to even one good thing about this lamentable chapter in the Friday the 13th series. It's a stupid story with idiotic characters, unimpressive gore, absolutely no suspense, no effort to deliver a single scare to the audience, and a horrible two-tiered twist ending. Much like the infamous Dallas dream season, this entry in the Friday the 13th series is best forgotten. November 3, 2008

A decent entry, nothing more...

A New Beginning is like the ugly duckling of Friday the 13th movies. Universally hated by fans for not having the real Jason. The way I see it... Jason is as Jason does. The killer here wears a hockey mask and his kills are brutal. That he turned out to be a copycat is of little consequence. It is certainly more faithful to the franchise than 'Jason Goes To Hell', which really did mess up with the formula. So my own problem with 'A New Beginning' wasn't really with the story twist, it's the fact that the movie doesn't really stand out. The characters aren't particularly likable, and the kills aren't all that spectacular (except for maybe the flare-to-mouth one).













October 28, 2008

Fun to be had

We have a little mystery brought back into the Friday the 13th series this time. Jason's spirit dominates the movie from beginning to end.

We follow Tommy Jarvis from the previous sequel, all grown up now. He is suffering the after effects of his one time meeting with Jason. He has a vacant look throughout the movie that indicates he has some disturbing things going through his mind.

Tommy moves into a house for the mentally challenged. He is surrounded by young people who are suffering their own mental handicaps.

Night soon falls and murders begin to take place. The murdering continues into the next day and we are all left with the question of why they are happening and what connection Tommy has to it.

We are introduced to many wild characters along the way. There is the unbalanced Tommy to start. There are some goofy characters in among the mentally challenged. The randy couple look destined to be murdered in nasty ways. All of the characters thus far seem to be ready for the axe.

There are plenty of funny moments throughout this movie. Tommy's fight scenes are especially funny as he goes off without warning. The one guy eggs Tommy on as he grabs the guy and suddenly flips him over onto a table. Then later, he erupts and bursts out some kung fu on a goofball character. There is the scene with the guy in the port-a-potty that is bizarre yet comical. There is a hick woman whose foul mouth is on display here.

There are long drawn out stretches in between the kill scenes which only adds more chances for intentional and unintentional humor throughout the movie. Plenty of interesting characters inhabit this movie and get disposed of along the way. Its worth a look. Maybe even a couple of looks. October 16, 2008

Goes for camp and manages to be entertaining!

The scares and seriousness are starting to wear off with Friday the 13th: A New Beginning and instead we have something a little more comical, a little more campy and a little more entertaining. Now none of these films have ever been high art or considered serious horror. However it is obvious with this film the writing is weaker, the performances are weaker and the effects are weaker. Yet it still manages to be fun and watchable. The killer's identity (using Jason's mask and machette) is predictable. The script could have been better if it were re-worked and more red-herrings had been thrown our way to keep us guessing. The Tommy Jarvis character from the previous installment Final Chapter is presented here all grown up, still trying to battle his inner demons from the horror he experienced when he was younger. The setting is a home in the woods where the mentally-challenged try to get back to living a normal life. Another problem was that some of the characters were not developed near enough. They were basically just there for the kills. And in films, characters need to be created and developed properly in order for the audience to identify with and care about them. Otherwise, the impact isn't as great. For example, I liked the Violet character yet we didn't find out anything about her. The most overused cliche's are also present here. The broken down cars, the cat jumping out, the heroine falling down when being chased by the killer, etc. Some pluses were the settings they used which were used effectively. The infamous rain storm, the woods, the barn and the final chase scene near the end are all on nice display here. The lead heroine Pam, played by Melanie Kinnaman is very likeable and good-looking. As mentioned in other reviews, the actress who plays the "Ethel" character who lives near the mental home with her over-grown, dim-witted son was over-the-top and definitely the scene-stealer. Despite the flaws, I found enough to enjoy this film. Hopefully people are not giving this a poor rating due to the fact that the killer wasn't really Jason. I always give credit to the producers from trying something new (and yes, I'm one of the few who like Halloween III: Season of the Witch). Many fans complain that the sequels become to redundant and dull yet when something new is tried, they complain even more. Take this one as a stand-alone film with little inspired touches from the previous films and you may be pleasantly surprised. October 14, 2008

A Disappointing Beginning...

I bet when this was released, it pissed off a lot of Jason fans. It should have been obvious when Roy looks mad when Joey died, because Jason just appears out of nowhere! The gore scenes are pretty cool. The Jason mask was different with blue stripes. If you want a good Jason movie, try another one in the series, but if you desperately want to watch it, you might like the new beginning... August 3, 2008

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