But this approach also shows the filmmakers lack of concern for continuity, as the sequel opens two months after the first film. And yes, that's mentioned during a campfire sequence later in the film, and makes no sense if you watch the opening.
Let's get into it. Alice is trying to get past her previous ordeal by living alone in a giant house and doing some art therapy. It appears she believes the threat is over, as she's not triple bolting her doors or locks windows. As expect, things don't end well, as a full grown, rather bulky Jason hunts Alice down and kills her to avenge his mother's death. Say what you will, as he's living in the woods, at least he knows how to take a teapot off a burner.
Hey, I might be living in a shack hidden in the woods, but I'm not a barbarian.
What, how, huh? The sequence with young Jason in the first film was a dream, but now he's full grown and ready to extract revenge on the mother he's never tried to contact as she sabotaged previous reopening of the camp? He can track Alice down, walking through a suburban neighborhood carrying his mother's head, and none of the neighbors are suspicious? Yeah, it's pretty silly, and makes no sense, but you're just going to have to roll with it.
Five years later, Paul Holt (John Frey) opens a camp to train counselors on the shores of Crystal Lake. We get a quick visit from Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney) warning of a death curse, and meet his assistant, and love interest, Jenny (Amy Steele), who's majoring in child psychology.
Paul mentions Jason, and Alice's death, as a campfire story (see above). The scene ends with a staged jump scare to get the idea out of everyone's system, though Paul states the original Camp Crystal Lake is off limits. But that doesn't keep a couple of counselors from heading to the abandoned site, only to be caught by the local sheriff and returned to be punished by staying behind as most of the other counselors head out for one last night out on the town.
Of course, a few other stay behind, as we need a high body count. To no one's surprise, mayhem ensues.
What, you didn't expect things to get bloody as this place has a death curse?
Let's get into some of the issues surrounding the film, starting with Alice's early demise. It was claimed that King's agent asked for more money than the film could afford, but King states she was being stalked at the time by a fan, and wanted her role to be as brief as possible (as shown in the extra features in the Shout Factory release of Friday the 13th). Stalking wasn't given as much attention by authorities and the public back in the early 80s, at least until the death of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, who's death lead to the passage of legislation in California to prevent such crimes.
So it's no surprise King didn't want more exposure at this point in her career. Thankfully, she's back on the con circuit (I met her and she's amazing to fans), has appeared in fan films as well as other horror features, and has released a series of wines reflecting her turn as a Final Girl (if you want to buy a bottle, visit this link). It's nice to see her able to embrace her legacy.
I'm so honored to have this picture. She is SO nice!
But, despite the film following the standard slasher flick cliches, it creates some issues that infest the genre for years. And the first is on me, as I have some knowledge about human anatomy. And now we get to SPOILERS. So if you haven't seen the film, skip the next eight paragraphs. Though if you're a slasher fan, you know what's coming.
Last chance. Here we go.
Mother warned you, Jason.
Towards the end of the film, Jenny uses her psychology background to lower Jason's guard and, at a point during the final act, drives a machete into his shoulder. Now, the wound visibly cuts through the clavicle bone, which would severe the clavicle artery and resulting in Jason bleeding out within a few seconds. But that doesn't happen. Now, had this been the Jason in Part 6 (a review is coming), I could have accepted it. But this Jason is just some loner out in the woods, and, like most films, we're expected to treat him like a meat-and-bone puppet, with no internal organs that would result in his death, unlike his victims.
Sorry, this troupe always bothers me, regardless of who it happens to. Traumatic injuries are something no normal human being bounces back from, whether you're Jason or Rambo. Okay, some exceptions can be made, like Ash in Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, but that was a comedy. And you might argue that slasher films aren't meant to be taken seriously, and okay, I'll agree. But the rules of the film have to be followed, and if his victims die due to a stab wound to the stomach, Jason should as well.
Look, Pamela didn't walk off her fatal wound. Why should Jason?
Let's move on. The film's ending exemplifies some of the flaws of the slasher formula. Now, I'm not slamming the characters of Alice, Jenny, or Laurie Stroud in this part, but rather, the troupes associated with the genre. So please, keep that in mind, and no nasty comments defending your favorite Final Girl. It's not the performance, but the scripts I'm talking about.
To start, Alice has a major flaw as a Final Girl. And I'm not talking the ones most early Final Girls have, such as smoking pot, drinking, and having premarital sex. No, her biggest failing is falling asleep during the final act, even though she knows something is amiss. I doubt Laurie would have done the same while protecting the children under her charge. Sure, Alice isn't tasked with babysitting, but sleeping while everyone around her is missing feels pretty lame, but again, that's the script's fault. The filmmakers had to let Bill go out and perforated by arrows, and having her fall asleep while he went out is just lazy. Alice deserves better. It would have made her better Final Girl had she and Bill go their separate ways to find the missing counselors. Which, I know, is another bad horror troupe. But much better than falling asleep in her situation.
And while Laurie does an awesome job battling Micheal Myers, it's Dr. Loomis who steps in and takes out The Shape in the original Halloween, and its sequel. Alice, however, beheads Pamela, being the first (and one of the few) Final Girl to take the killer down without any help. Unfortunately, the sequel doesn't follow upon on that trend. And it's disappointing, as the ending is one of those what-the-hell moments in horror cinema (though, if I remember Part 3 right, another one is coming).
While Jenny does trick Jason into lowering his guard, he sees through her act and blocks her attack. Which is fine, and could have lead to an epic battle between the two. I feel Jenny could have held her own against Jason, and a duel between the two would have been awesome.
Yet the script brings in Paul to distract Jason, and almost be killed, allowing Jenny to deliver a (assumed) fatal blow. It feels the filmmakers, for some reason, couldn't let another Final Girl her moment to shine without a man's intervention. It takes the power from the troupe, weakening the idea of a capable woman defending herself without assistance.
And we get this ridiculous "step aside, babe, I've got this" moment after she saved you life, you idiot.
But things get even weirder, as in final few minutes of the film. Jason comes back and drags Jenny through a window before the film cuts to her being loaded in an ambulance. We have no idea what happened to Paul, or how she survived. It's a disappointing ending for such a strong Final Girl, and one that didn't need to happen if the filmmakers didn't decide to mimic the shock ending of the first film.
And that's the last we see of Jenny, which is too bad. Her psychological take on Jason was spot on, and worthy of a revisit. But Part 3D never addresses it. At least as best as I remember.
End of SPOILERS.
Of course, the film was challenge by the MPAA, resulting in 48 seconds being cut. Scream Factory's release includes a VHS version (without sound) of effect artist Carl Fullerton's (The Silence of the Lambs, The Hunger) effects, which includes a grislier demise for Alice, and some extended footage of other kills. And it also shows Fullerton must have seen Mario Bava's Bay of Blood (AKA Twitch of the Death Nerve), though even the extended shot didn't go as full on as the European film.
Yeah, think I've seen this before. Just without hands clawing at the sheets.
Interestingly, the MPAA didn't seem to care about the sexual overtones in the film. We have Terry's (Kristen Baker) form fitting shorts and full frontal nudity shots. And let's not forget Vickie (Lauren-Marie Taylor) wanting to challenge Mark (Tom McBride) to a hand held video game with "the puck" for position, then spraying perfume in her crotch as she expects to spend the night with him. Yeah, at that point, we know she's gonna die, as well as Mark. But, to be honest. I would have loved it had they survived and come back in Friday the 13th Part 3D ready to take down Jason.
But, to be honest, Mark's death is gloriously gory.
But it appears nudity issues reared its ugly head (rightfully so), when Paramount discovered Marta Kober (Sandra) was only 16 when she filmed a full frontal nudity shower scene (according to the Internet, and we all know everything online is true). But, it if is, I'd like to thank the sensible people who found the footage and have not released it. Let's keep it that way.
Aside from that unpleasantness, sexuality in this sequel is interesting. Sure, Scott (Russell Todd) is pretty pervy as he tries to get into Terry's pants, and Jenny's relationship with Paul can be seen as an employer taking advantage of a power dynamic (though it's never played that way).
But the two other sexual encounters are instigated by women. Despite her age at the time, Sandra telling her boyfriend Jeff not to wear himself out by armwrestling Mark indicates her desires over the macho moment. Meanwhile Vickie is all into getting into Mark's pants, and it's not at all subtle. It's interesting that a standard slasher film gave women a chance to express their own desires and needs, without a man leading the way. Unfortunately, they all end up sliced and diced.
It's all fun and games, until we all die.
So, let's talk about Mark for a moment. Aside from J. C. Hooper (Steve Marshall) in Night of the Creeps, Mark is one of the best written disabled characters in an 80s film of any type. He's limitations aren't played for laughs, and the script never hinder his ability to be a fully functional person. Also, Vickie is the one instigating their (interrupted) evening together, rather than the other way around, which is also nice. As I mentioned earlier, I'd have liked to see the two come back in the followup armed to take on Jason, which could have been awesome.
Oh, what could have been.
Friday the 13th, Part 2 isn't a bad sequel, but it could have been much more. Aside from my issues with the scripts treatment of Jenny during the final act, the film had so many characters that could have made the next film more interesting had they survived. But the filmmakers abandoned such ideas to just to throw more victims to the killer. It's too bad, as I feel the sequel could have used some carry-over characters to liven things up.
That said, the next film is one of my favorites, as it's the only one of two I saw in a theater. More to follow.
What do you mean this might not be the best outfit to wear around Camp Crystal Lake?
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