In Defense Of...JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1993)
Have you ever enjoyed a movie only to realize that your opinion is in the minority? As horror fans, this is probably a more common occurrence than we realize. The internet, with the help of sites like IMDB and LETTERBOXD, has democratized access to almost anyone's opinion, especially in politics and movies. We aren’t here to talk about the former, but the latter. This (hopefully) recurring article is for those of you who are fighting the good fight for what others call a “bad movie”. This is for you horror fans who don’t care what others have to say but want your chance to defend your unpopular position on a particular film to the naysayers (see: haters) who disagree with you.
The inaugural film in this series is ADAM MARCUS’ 1993 devise Friday the 13th entry, JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY!
SYNOPSIS
Jason Voorhees, the living, breathing essence of evil, is back for one fierce, final fling! Tracked down and blown to bits by a special FBI task force, everyone now assumes that he’s finally dead. But everybody assumes wrong. Jason has been reborn with the bone-chilling ability to assume the identity of anyone he touches. The terrifying truth is that he could be anywhere, or anybody. In this shocking, blood-soaked finale to Jason’s carnage-ridden reign of terror, the horrible secret of his unstoppable killing instinct is finally revealed.
THE CHARGES AGAINST THE FILM
THE DEFENSE MAY APPROACH THE BENCH
Let me start off by saying that for all intents and purposes, I appreciate the hate this film gets and I understand it. It’s a complete departure from the series norms, and Jason is almost a tertiary character because of how the story unfolds. The best way I can actually describe JASON GOES TO HELL is by saying it’s like THE HIDDEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH had a secret love child together and this was the output. While many decry this entry for being terrible because of the lack of Jason Vorhees and its canonical digressions, that to me is actually pretty interesting. See, by this point, slasher films had reached a point of extreme saturation. The lack of new ideas and a formula that felt stale meant that slasher films would need a long hibernation until 1996 when Wes Craven blessed the world with SCREM. So sticking with the F13 formula was likely not a good move, and trying something different could entice audiences to revisit a franchise that at this point was bordering on parody. The massive horror franchises all have at least one entry that is significantly different from the rest either in narrative or structure like FREDDY’S DEAD, THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, and the entire LEPRECHAUN franchise. While many dislike these films, I admire their risk-taking in trying to move the series in a different direction, except LEPRECHAUN…those movies are something else. In an age of reboots and reimaginings, I think credit should be given to films that take a chance, even if they don’t succeed entirely.
But this is just dancing around the point because the real reason JASON GOES TO HELL DESERVES another chance is because of Creighton Duke. By far the best character to ever appear in any major slasher franchise ever. Creighton Duke is a bounty hunter who is tracking down Jason, and despite him having no appearance or reference in any other FRIDAY THE 13TH film he chews up every scene he is in here. His crass dialogue and borderline insane behavior stand out because of the contrast it creates with the rest of the characters. And let’s face facts, our supposed hero Steven Freeman is a total dweeb. At one point, Creighton Duke offers information to Steven for the price of being able to break his fingers. This reflects better on Duke than it does Freeman and just goes to show how wildly reckless Duke is and how little he cares about everything except killing Jason Vorhees. This performance is filled with classic one-liners that may not paint Creighton Duke in the kindest of lights, but they sure as hell are funny.
Finally, the practical effects in this are some of the best in the entire series. Sure, we got Savini to do some great work in the first few entries, K.N.B. Effects provide some gooey and glorious gore for this entry. In the first 10 minutes, we are treated to Jason being absolutely riddled with bullets before a rocket/grenade blows him into bits. The funniest part of this is that somehow his body is more intact after than it looked like it would be when he goes pop, but it is what it is. Aside from that, there is a scene where the sheriff is literally melting away after Jason “leaves” his body and transfers to another one. It’s an absolute onslaught of practical effects porn and to discount the movie entirely without giving credit to the great effects work is just silly. Finally, this version of Jason Vorhees is probably my favorite aesthetically. He looks like a zombie pimple with a hockey mask that is ready to burst puss and blood, and I prefer it to the Part 7&8 versions, both also played by Kane Hodder.
THE DEFENSE RESTS…
Listen, I’m not trying to convince you that JASON GOES TO HELL is a good movie, okay. In fact, I’m not even saying you have to love it, but you should at the very least give it another chance. It almost feels like a long episode of the FRIDAY THE 13TH TV series, but way better, and features one of the best characters in any horror franchise along with some of the best practical effects in the genre before the rise of CGI’s dominance. JASON GOES TO HELL is the mullet of franchise sequels, you love to hate it and you hate that you might love it.
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