Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

Director - Tom McLoughlin (Freddy's Nightmares, Friday the 13th: The Series)

Starring - Thom Mathews (Return of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead Part II), Jennifer Cooke (Deadly Nightmares, V), and David Kagen (Freddy's Nightmares, 21 Jump Street)

Release Date - 1986

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Kill or be killed"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     There has been many milestones with previous Friday the 13th films.  The second film introduced Jason, the third introduced his iconic hockey mask, the fourth was Jason's death and the introduction of Tommy Jarvis.  Part V continued the Tommy Jarvis saga but did not introduce anything new to the film.  However, Part VI: Jason Lives would be the turning point for the franchise while establishing Jason as the undead slasher that he is known for.  The film is a lukewarm entry to the series but is still an important one.

     The film follows Tommy Jarvis (Mathews) who is still obsessed with Jason after killing him at the end of The Final Chapter.  He finds his grave and unearths it with plans to burn his body to set his mind at ease.  He stabs the body with an iron spike before setting it blaze but lightning strikes it reanimating Jason and sending him on another bloody rampage through Crystal Lake that has been recently renamed Forest Green.

     Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is the turning point in the series where the films no longer feel like a slasher like the first five films.  Instead, it recreates Jason and an undead and unstoppable force that can't be stopped.  Personally, this is where the franchise took a bit of a dive for me but it is still fun and has plenty of fans out there.  The acting in this one is probably my second favorite in the series.  Thom Mathews is an amazing actor that not only kills it as Tommy Jarvis but has fans quoting him from his peformances in the first two Return of the Living Dead films.  Feldman brought the character to life when he portrayed him as a child but Mathews is the Jarvis most of us think of.  It's a real shame he was not cast as Jarvis in the previous installment.  The supporting cast is just as good with most of the characters more down to earth and serious.  I do enjoy the more out there characters but this darker story would have fell apart if those comedic performances were delivered.  The story for this one takes Jason in a new direction and this portrayal is more well known among horror fans.  When most people think of Jason they immediately think of the undead version.  His rotten and broken hockey mask is just as iconic as his rotting body.  Fans, at the time, loved this Jason which is why the franchise would have several more installments.  With that being said, the film does start the beginning of stories that are little more out there and far fetched.  Compared to the following films, this one is pretty grounded.  Finally, this film has several death scenes that features some top notch practical effects along with make-up effects.  Jason looks amazing which would be one of the many factors that contributes to this look being his most iconic.  Overall, Jason Lives is another solid entry in the Friday the 13th franchise.  It re-established Jason in a different manner than the previous films but still delivers the slasher-esque kills that slasher fans enjoy.  With that being said, the look and tone of the previous films is absent which does turn some of the fans off.  I recommend it but it's not among my favorite installments.