Jason, Jason, Jason and Jason

Horror-film fan and fellow #tallyteers dude Jay (@sleestakk) dropped by recently and we plowed through four of the Friday the 13th franchise offerings.  F13 has had its ups and downs, but the ones that were decent to begin with really do hold up pretty well.  It's interesting to see how well the effects were done 20+ years ago, when the genre was still relatively young.  So, we began with...

Part 2 has always been one of my favorites.  I like it so well because it is the first true Jason-centric entry in the series, and Jason was still just a human, primally revenge-driven killer at this point.  Some iconic kills in this one too, like the wheelchair dude down the steps.  Good stuff. (I know that sounds weird, but that's just me.)

Rating: 9/10

We skipped Part III and moved on to Part IV, or the "Final" Chapter.  We should all know better than to think it's the final chapter of a cash cow like Jason.  Look at Jigsaw.  He's been "dead" for years yet still appears in more and more films.

Anyway, back to Jason.  This one is a fun watch, because it is the last true film of the original timeline with Jason as a mortal killer. (Parts 9 and 10 re-write history a bit, but I digress).

And when you can get  Corey to shave his head and go ape-shit, you know you're in for a good time.

Rating: 8/10

We jumped over the Jason-free Part V to move on to Jason Lives, only when I got Jay to commit to watching this one and the next one, since he had not seen Part VII before, and it's a true successor to this one.

This entry takes a more dark comedy approach than previous entries, as you might guess with Arnold Horshack in the first act.  Also, with some well-timed lightning, Jason really becomes the anti-hero in this one.  Add to this the fact that you get a kick-ass Alice Cooper soundtrack to accompany it, and it remains among my favorite F13 flicks.

Rating: 8/10

I hope Jay forgives me for making him watch this one.  I had only seen this one once or twice, years ago, and it was worse than I remember.

The plot concepts are even more ludicrous than bringing Jason back with lightning, and even Terry Kiser (Weekend at Bernie's) can't save this one.  This one ranks just above Part VIII in my book.  Bleh.

Rating: 3/10