Friday The 13th Part 2
The second entry in the classic series, which can almost be called Jasonâs âvirgin outingâ, is also sadly the weakest in the series, coming off at times as a âlaying of the groundworkâ when it comes to the actual Friday formula rather than a fresh exciting entry in and of itself. The film kicks off in dubious fashion with the (semi-unwise) decision to kill off Adrienne Kingâs Alice character within the first 15 minutes, then proceeds on back to the town of Crystal Lake, NJ, where a âCamp Counselor Training Seminarâ is underway (as opposed to setting up another actual campground). The funny thing is that most of the trainees attending are little more than glorified extras with little or no dialogue, and the main intended victims are the unlucky handful who choose to hang out at the camp while the rest go out on a ânight on the townâ. As usual, the male characters are your usual bland lot (with the exception of the welcome return of Crazy Ralph from the original), however the women definitely up the sex appeal factor here: Marta Koberâs Sandra (who looks underage) has the usual subplot about wanting to get it on with her goofball boyfriend before her demise (which set up the character of her older brother to come hunting for Jason in Part 4). Itâs also interesting to note that the actress later turned to crime when acting work dried up and has most recently gone missing; Kirsten Bakerâs Terri has a GREAT body indeed, shown to full effect when she goes skinny-dipping, but sadly her demise is of the annoying offscreen kind; And Lauren-Marie Taylorâs Vicki is among the cutest and sexiest females in the whole series, with her kind-hearted (but sadly cut short) romance with a crippled guy not to mention her âpreparationâ scene doing a fine job of showing off her flirty, naughty, yet nice-girl appeal. How she didnât become a steadily working scream queen beyond this is a surprise. In the lead heroine role of Ginny, Amy Steel is the least appealing of the bunch, but does have an interesting bit where her psychology major character sits in a bar and analyzes how painful it must be for Jason to have lived the life that he has, foreshadowing the later scene where she disguises herself as Jasonâs mother in order to try and control him (an idea that was realized to its full potential in the remake). Sadly, Jason himself is more of a circus clown than a frightening killing machine, especially in his ridiculous getup of coveralls and a burlap sack over his head (at times the scenes of him running around with a weapon border on self-parody), displaying almost none of the famous swagger that made him so legendary later on. In addition, the departure and absence of Tom Savini as the filmâs makeup FX supervisor is evident here, as the kills themselves are nothing to write home about and as usual seem rushed in that early-80s R-rated way. In the end, a notable film for getting Jasonâs legacy under way, but still one of the weakest entries in the seriesâŚ
5/10