Arguably, the Friday the 13th series may be the most iconic horror franchise of all time. The Internet bustles with Jason Voorhees. He has a funko pop icon. Fans produce fan fiction tributes on YouTube. The machete and hockey mask embody the horror genre.
While the franchise is unquestionably iconic, it suffers from abundance of missteps and a bounty of blunders.
Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning holds a very special place in the timeline. This is the first episode to follow the death of Jason in Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter. Tommy Jarvis delivered that fatal blow. This put this episode of the franchise in a uncomfortable position of having to follow that act.
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Friday the 13th Part 5 – The Song Remains the Same
Anyone still watching this series knows what they are in store for. The story starts with an excuse to bring a bunch of meat together in the form of horny teenagers. Usually it takes place at a camp like Camp Crystal Lake. This time it is Pinehurst Halfway House for young people. It’s in the woods, so yeah, a camp.
Tommy Jarvis, driven mad by his first conflict with Voorhees, he has recently been released and he is going to Pinehurst to learn to live on his own.
Cue the famous theme and is the systemic slaughter of said teenagers in new and creative ways. It should be noted that A New Beginning boasts an incredible kill-count of 22.
Tommy Jarvis
As the movie begins, Jason is supposedly dead. The is a brief dream sequence that shows the death of two grave robbers trying to steal Jason’s remains. A young Tommy Jarvis, again played by Corey Feldman, witnesses the attack. The action then flashes to an adult Tommy Jarvis (John Shepard) being delivered to Pinehurst.
Vic Has Anger Issues
The first non-dream murder is committed in broad daylight, but not by Jason. Pinehurst resident, Vic Fadden axes fellow resident and chocolate eating champion Joey Burns in the back. This murder sets the stage for a lazy whodunnit. Is the perpetrator of all of the other killings Vic? Is it Jason, risen from the dead? Or is it Roy, the paramedic that stares menacingly into the camera as he picks up Joey’s body? Or, is it Tommy Jarvis, driven mad by Jason’s attack on his family?
Friday the 13th Part 5 – Putting Up Numbers
With 22 kills, there are too many to recount here. There are some honorable mentions. The Joey makes my list, because, he is so flipping annoying. It is not graphic by any means, but just well deserved. The same goes for Junior and his mother Ethyl. Juniors motorcycle decapitation gives way cleaver in his mother’s face. It’s so perfect because she has been going on about making her stew for 10 minutes, and she is in it.
While this movie boasts 22 kills, the gore is relatively tame. There is some blood, but most of the action is off camera or obscured by the victims clothing.
A New Beginning – Likeable Characters
For the most part, the characters are just cardboard cutouts stood up to be killed. There are some exceptions. The character of Tommy Jarvis was convincingly tortured. He was able to display violence at a level that left it totally plausible that he was the killer.
Then there is Reggie Winter played by Shavar Ross. His character was super likeable. He provided some comic relief without going over the top. He has a great scene where he gets to run over the killer with a mini-bulldozer in a move that would get cheers in a theater. Reggie is so likeable, that it elevated the significance of his brother Demon (Miguel A. Nunez) and his girlfriend Anita (Jera Fields). It was clear that there was much love between the trio.
Friday the 13th Part 5 – The End of the New Beginning
At the end of the day A New Beginning is not a great horror movie, but it is more fun than remembered. It was a bold move to have a fake Jason killing teenagers. Despite what people remember, this film was good in 1985 and still is today.
It should be praised that Tommy was still into latex prosthetics and masks. This type of continuity adds a bit legitimacy to a film that already has its hands full staying relevant to the rest of the series. this trope once again proves critical to Tommy’s survival.
In a further nod to consistency, in a dream sequence, the real Jason stands before an adult Tommy with anatomically correct wounds and period correct hockey mask. It also offers a clue because the in the dream is different from the real killers mask. Even more cool, they brought Corey Feldman back for a brief dream sequence at the beginning which added a nice touch.
None of these details were huge by themselves, but sometimes sequels don’t even try. Of the first 5 Friday films, it likely still ranks at the bottom, although it makes a strong case for overtaking Friday the 13th Part 3. This is not required watching for fair weathered fans of the series but hard core fans should enjoy it, even if their favorite slasher is taking a dirt nap during the events of this film.
Let the haters hate while you watch and have a good time.
Check out this review at thatwasabitmental.com
Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning (1985) - Malevolentdark
Director: Danny Steinmann
Date Created: 1970-01-01 00:33
2.5