Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood
Obviously after the euphoric high that was Jason Lives, there really is nowhere for the series to go but down at this point, but at least the producers made a heck of a try with a great concept: pitting Jason against a telekinetic girl (ala Carrie) who can use her mind to throw everything AND the kitchen sink at our favorite indestructible killer. In that lead role, Lar Park Lincoln has beautiful soulful blue eyes, and displays a sweet vulnerability thatās unique to the series, but the script ultimately lets her down somewhat. In the role of the psychiatrist trying to help her but actually using her to learn more about her skills, we get Terry āBernie Lomaxā Kiser, playing a scumbag so shameless that he actually is the first (and only) character in the franchise to PHYSICALLY HOLD DOWN SOMEONE so that Jason may slaughter them. In addition to his fascination with the girl, Kiser appears to have an unhealthy obsession with Jason Voorhees that is never adequately explained (we know that he keeps newspaper clippings of Jason and that heās the first one to discover a body, yet he does nothing and carries on like nothingās wrong). The script once again backs down when we want to know more of what makes this guy tick. Then there is Kane Hodder making his debut (of 4 outings) as Jason himself, and as hard as he tried to make himself a āhorror iconā in the part, his performance doesnāt particularly stand out from the previous Jason actors. As for the rest of the cast (your usual bunch of hard-partying teens next door), only Susan Jennifer Sullivan stands out as the ultra-bitchy Melissa, while the rest seem rather awkward in their interpersonal relationships, not surprising since most of the male actors in this (except Hodder and Kiser) were actually gay in real life. The writing for the victims is much poorer and lazier than in previous entries, with some of them doing things that make ZERO sense (like the frumpy girl who touches herself up with makeup and a slutty outfit to impress the boy she likes, then instead of going downstairs and showing herself off, decides to WANDER ABOUT OUTSIDE for no reason, only to have the Big J come calling). One has to laugh at guys like the failed sci-fi writer or the greasy stoner complete with ducktail. As for the kills, they are largely weak due to the MPAAās massive censoring of the FX work, and mostly consist of Jason walking up and bringing something down on their head before a quick cut is made, leaving the viewer largely bored with these lame deaths (save for the sleeping bag kill). Of course, most of this is largely made up for with the final third of the film, featuring the showdown between the telekinetic girl and the legendary villain, wherein Jason winds up taking an absolutely HELLACIOUS beating, easily the worst heās taken in the series, before a final denouement that reeks of stupidity and a major plot hole (why didnāt they just fish her fatherās body out of the lake when he drowned years before?). In the end, a lame entry in the series redeemed tremendously by its great high conceptā¦
7/10