|
Post by Rictras Shard on Dec 21, 2015 17:24:42 GMT -5
"I told the others. They didn't believe me. You're all doomed."
Well, not all of them are doomed, but a number of the would-be camp counselors will soon wish they had made another career choice. This was Jason Voorhees first appearance as a villain in the long running franchise, and he had not yet developed into the lumbering slasher we all know and love. Maybe the mask he began using later on slowed him down, because he is quite capable of running in this installment.
The movie opens with the heroine of the first flick suffering the mental trauma of the killathon which happened a few months back. She should have used that time enjoying life, because things are going to get worse for her quite soon. I found myself wondering how a young person can afford to live in a large house. It seems that Jason is also flustered by that, but unlike me, he decides to do something about it.
Five years later, two enterprising young people, Paul and Ginny, open up a training camp for camp counselors at a site nearby Camp Crystal Lake. They get a fair number of trainees, despite warnings from Crazy Ralph. The grizzled old guy should have heeded his own words, as he becomes a notch on Jason's belt before the slaughter officially begins. An officer of the law and, apparently, a muffin, also fall be Mr. Voorhees before he rolls up his sleeves and really gets down to business.
A campfire story on the first night shows that people know about the reputation of Crystal Lake, but it is widely regarded as folklore. Later on, during a night in town, Ginny philosophizes about what life would be like for Jason after his accident and seeing his mother beheaded. This is a nice touch that would be mostly ignored in later films, where each new group of people seems unaware of anything that previously happened.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, a number of the students have stayed behind to make their own fun. This leads to several of the things that would become standard to the series. People shyly, or not so shyly, initiate intimate relationships with each other. Others decide that nighttime strolls through the woods are a good idea. Soon enough, our dashing villain makes his presence felt, and the property value, along with the population, lowers quite a bit.
Right after the nick of time, Paul and Ginny return to the camp, and the final showdown begins.
This is a younger. inexperienced Jason. He doesn't seem to have the knack for killing he develops in later movies, and even shows fear once or twice. Sure, I would flee from someone wielding a chainsaw, but I'm not a supernatural killing machine. He also doesn't yet have his inhuman strength, as you'll see when he has a brawl with one of the heroes. For people who like more realistic killers, this will be a good thing for you. Being as I had already seen much of the series before watching this one, it threw me off a bit.
More than thirty years after this was released, we see the characters as cliched stereotypes. At the time, though, movies like this were still relatively fresh and breaking new ground. Thankfully, some of the characters are fairly likeable, and the acting is alright. It is far from my favourite horror movie, but it is a decent diversion for ninety minutes. I'd advise using it as a warm up for a scary movie marathon. It gets the Shard Seal of Approval.
|
|