By the time Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan reached the big screen the series was beginning to tail off. Thankfully, nobody cared to inform Jason Voorhees that it was time to move on.
Following on from The New Blood, Jason is once again lying slumped at the end of Crystal Lake, dead. Until, that is, an accident with electricity sees the man brought back to life. Another boat trip on Crystal Lake sees a young couple unknowingly equip Jason with a new hockey mask. Before you know it, the slasher is back doing what he does best.
Killing people.
Kane Hodder is back as Jason and once again is the highlight of the film. He brings a certain level of menace to the role with the way he paces himself, the way he breathes heavy, the way he moves with purpose. He has no need to run or speak. Jason is menacing simply because of the way he looks.
Unfortunately, for a movie titled Jason Takes Manhattan, we don’t spend much time there.
In fact, most of the action takes place aboard a ship which contains a group of graduating students on their way to New York. This isn’t a bad environment for Jason to work with, so much as the fact that, given the opportunity to unleash Jason Voorhees on the streets of New York City, it’s not really explored at all.
The supporting characters aren’t exactly the most remarkable either. Rennie Wickham (Jensen Daggett) and Sean Robertson (Scott Reeves) are our main survivors, but neither are particularly compelling. Compared to characters like Ginny, Tommy Jarvis or Tina Shepard, they’re easily forgettable. I found myself considerably more interested in watching Jason do his thing than actually caring if either of them survived or not.
Thankfully, Jason does take a few memorable swings.
J.J. gets felled with her own electric guitar, while Julius has one of the series’ best showdowns with the slasher. After throwing everything he’s got at Jason for a rooftop boxing match, he exhausts himself and asks Jason to take his best shot.
Big mistake.
Jason punches his head clean off his shoulders and into a bin.
It’s ridiculous, absolutely glorious and one of those moments that stays with you long after the movie finishes.
Once Jason finally reaches New York there are some genuinely entertaining moments. He takes on a couple of criminals, tosses a restaurant cook aside (played by Ken Kirzinger, who would later go on to play Jason himself in Freddy vs. Jason) and continues his crusade of murder towards wherever he was heading.
One of my favourite moments features Jason walking past a group of punks with a boombox. After tossing it aside they obviously take offence, until Jason turns around and lifts his hockey mask.
Suddenly, nobody wants an argument.
I love that moment because Jason doesn’t kill them. He has somewhere to be and people to murder and these idiots aren’t worth his time.
Charles McCulloch, Rennie’s controlling uncle, is another character you won’t miss when Jason finally takes him out. He’s an unpleasant bastard throughout the movie, making his death at the hands of a barrel of toxic waste quite satisfying to watch.
There are still plenty of reasons to enjoy Jason Takes Manhattan, particularly when Hodder is on screen. This Jason is ruthless, menacing and capable of some wonderfully inventive kills.
The problem is everything else around him.
Eight movies into the series and it’s beginning to feel tired. The characters don’t have much personality, the New York setting isn’t explored nearly enough, and the movie simply fails to take advantage of the possibilities presented by its title.
If we’d spent more time watching Jason terrorise Manhattan it could have been something special.
Instead, it’s an entertaining, but ultimately forgettable sequel elevated by another excellent performance by Kane Hodder.
Jason Voorhees is worth watching.
I just wish the movie around him had been as interesting.
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