Kill Of The Month: Julius Gaw - Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
The students of Lakeview High School are in mourning after their graduating class of 1989 were brutally murdered on their end of year trip to Manhattan. The story told from survivors, Sean Robertson and Rennie Wickham, is almost unbelievable until you realize that Lakeview High is located in Crystal Lake.
Crystal Lake. Just the name of this quaint little town conjures up images of a psychopathic killer wearing a hockey mask and brandishing a machete.
Luckily for this coroner report, we’re heading to the back alleys of the Manhattan docks to scrape together the body of a boxing prodigy.
NAME: Julius Samuel Gaw
KNOWN AS: Julius
BORN: Unknown
KNOW RELATIVES: Unknown
POLICE REPORT
The deceased was found atop a rundown building backing onto the docks of Manhattan. The deceased was decapitated, his body splayed on the rooftop in a pool of his own blood. His knuckles were bloodied, suggesting he had been in a physical altercation prior to his untimely death.
The deceased was a local boxing prodigy, therefore suggesting the assailant was larger and stronger, getting a clear advantage against the victim.
The head was last seen in a police cruiser. It was a confronting sight for the survivors who had been in the back seat of the cruiser. Under the influence of drugs, survivor Rennie rammed the car into another building, the vehicle exploding. The head was incinerated, along with the body of teacher, Colleen Van Deusen. The police officer whose car it was is still MIA.
WHY IS THIS DEATH MEMORABLE?
Julius Gaw’s demise was one of the most brutal kills in Jason’s body count. Ranked as the 82nd kill of Jason Voorhees (source Friday the 13th Wiki), the decapitation is quite unique in a genre filled with creative kills.
Julius uses his boxing abilities to take Jason on in a match on the rooftop. Jason takes each hit without any back peddling or damage. As the fight goes on, Julius is worn down, his knuckles bloody from connecting with Jason’s hockey mask.
Tired from the fight, Julius tells Jason to take his best shot, to which the big man does. One swift punch, connecting with Julius’ head, sending it flying from his shoulders, down a fire escape, and into an open dumpster.
At some point, after the survivors are seemingly rescued by a police officer until they get into the car only to discover Julius’ head sitting on the dashboard. The cop understandably freaks out, attempting a radio call for help when Jason grabs him, pulling him off camera and presumably killing him. Rennie, out of her mind on hallucinogens after being drugged by two lowlifes earlier in the film, climbs into the front seat and begins to drive the car away. Seeing a young Jason standing in the way, she runs over him, crashing into a wall. All escape except for teacher Colleen Van Deusen. Upon realization that Colleen is still in the car, the survivors turn back only for the car to explode in an impressive fireball, incinerating the vehicle.
This kill has a special place in pop culture, appearing in the 2017 video game Friday the 13th as an unlockable kill. It has also won the Golden Chainsaw Award in Dead Meat’s Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan kill count, as well as appearing on WatchMojo.com’s Top 10 Brutal Jason Voorhees Kills, placing 5th on the list.
Julius was portrayed by Vincent Craig Dupree. Dupree hasn’t been as active in the acting world in recent years, but does have some exceptional roles in his filmography, including South Central (1992) in which he played Loco, and Eastwick (2009). There were rumors circulating that he had passed away after a car accident in 1997, but those were debunked by Dupree himself. He is currently filming The Once and Future Smash which is set to be a comedy/horror film and will also star Nightmare On Elm Street alumni, Mark Patton.
In the slasher sub-genre of horror, it’s hard to stand out among the countless victims and run-of-the-mill kills. To stand out, a character has to be compelling enough that the audience is rooting for their success, or rooting for their demise to come quickly, and creatively. Julius won a slew of fans with his “take charge” attitude and his stoic final stance against one of horror’s biggest villains. He will always be a champion in the eyes of the Friday the 13th fans, even if he should have a quit while he was ahead…
