This picks up the progression started by Jason Lives: Part VI turning Jason into a supernatural monster; Part VII finally gives him someone who can beat him on his own level.
Seven movies into a franchise means you need to shake things up a little. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood certainly does that.
We start with a young Tina Shepard witnessing her parents argue, then, her father hitting her mother. An upset Tina runs outside onto the dock, her father chases her onto the lake and in a burst of anger, she discovers she has telekinetic powers. The dock collapses and her father is dragged under the water.
Years later, an adult Tina returns to Crystal Lake with her mother and psychiatrist Dr. Crews. Tina still feels guilty about what happened to her father while Crews has his own agenda and is far more interested in exploiting Tina’s abilities.
Tina eventually tries using her powers to bring her father back from the lake. Unfortunately, she gets the wrong bloke. Jason Voorhees has been sat at the bottom of Crystal Lake since Tommy Jarvis chained him there at the end of Jason Lives and Tina inadvertently pulls him back up to the surface.
Great job, Tina.
This time Jason is played by Kane Hodder, and what an introduction it is. Initially, I would have happily taken C.J. Graham back after Jason Lives, but Hodder makes the character his own from the get-go.
This Jason is bigger, meaner and looks absolutely fucking horrific.
The years of punishment are etched into his body. His clothes are falling apart, sections of his spinal column and ribs are exposed and his damaged hockey mask reveals portions of his decomposing face underneath. After everything Jason has endured across the previous movies, he finally looks like a corpse that’s been beaten, hacked about, drowned and left to rot underwater.
Hodder’s physical performance adds to his intimidation. There’s an aggression in the way he moves, and it’s easy to see why his portrayal would become so associated with the character.
Back to the movie, naturally, there’s also a house full of young people nearby because clearly, no one around Crystal Lake has learned their lesson over seven movies and Jason gets to work straight away.
There are some fantastic kills including the party horn through the eye and Jason twisting a victim’s head around like he’s opening a bottle.
Then there’s the sleeping-bag kill which would go on to become one of the most memorable Jason kills in the entire franchise.
But the supernatural angle is what really makes The New Blood stand out. Jason is no longer going after someone who has no hope but to run and hide. Tina can actually fight the bastard and she does.
The final stretch turns into a supernatural Jason versus a telekinetic final girl and it’s great fun. Tina throws everything she has at him, using furniture, electricity, fire and eventually bring the house down around them.
Jason takes an unbelievable amount of punishment and keeps getting up.
Dr. Crews also gets his just desserts along the way. After manipulating Tina and using her trauma for his own purposes, Jason eventually comes for him. You aren’t exactly heartbroken to see him go.
The New Blood isn’t trying to reinvent Friday the 13th, but seven movies into the franchise, introducing Tina’s abilities gives the familiar formula enough of a shake-up to keep things interesting.
There are still teenagers, Crystal Lake, ridiculous kills and Jason wandering around murdering everyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.
More importantly, this is the start of the Kane Hodder era. There have been plenty of actors who wore the mask before Hodder, but he would make Jason a defining part of his career and bring a physicality to the character that instantly stands out.
Jason Lives made Jason supernatural.
The New Blood finally gave him a supernatural opponent.
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