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FRIDAY THE 13TH...A RETROSPECTIVE

The Positive Influence of Jason Vorhees
Of course you can guess the primary storyline without even seeing the film: Jason kills (sometimes semi-) attractive chicks and their boyfriends, and doesn't say much.

I have to say that it's great to see this latest installment in the series get this much attention (good OR bad), I'm just glad folks took an interest in it. It helps all films in this genre to get greenlighted, and helps pave the way for the long anticipated Jason vs. Freddy movie.

Sure, Jason X is the 9th sequel to a cheesy, low-budget, slasher flick, but that's the whole point, isn't it? It's a staple of a "healthy" well-rounded horror diet. This movie doesn't have to stand alone, it stands as a part of a 10 part story (with little, or no, continuity). This series made slasher flicks popular and pretty much established almost ALL of the gags and cliches that this genre is famous for. These gags and cliches are what draw people back to see these films again, and again, it's what a cult following is all about: No one's here to see any potential Oscar winners, or finely-crafted plotlines or scripts, or exquisite locations, they're here for the fun. Yes, the experience is two-dimensional, and without any depth (beyond what you attribute to it), but that's WHY it's here!

Fan-sites for the series don't explore in-depth character backgrounds, or gossip about various interactions between characters, or hell, do ANYTHING beyond superficial movie information, such as: Goofs, continuity error lists, favorite gore pictures, actor bio's, filming locations, etc. That's because these films are supposed to deliver quick jolts of horror to the uninitiated, SOME suspense (not elaborate stuff), a good smattering of gore, yells/laughter/gasps from the audience, boobs, and that's about it... Well.. that's it for the average fan.

For a crazed fanboy it goes a little further, and get's a little darker.

The character of Jason Vorhees has thrilled me ever since I first came into contact with these films as a kid. I watched part 2 on Cable TV over at a friend's house while staying overnight at his house. "Friday the 13th, Part 2" was released in 1981, so I would have been about 11 or 12 when it hit cable TV. It was my first horror movie, but even as a kid, I knew the buzz about "Friday the 13th" long before I actually got to see it. As I recall, it was very late at night when it came on, and my friend and I snuck out into the main living room area to see it while his parents were sleeping. I didn't have Cable TV (my parent's waited til I moved out!) so this was actually probably my first rated-R movie. In any event, my friend had seen Part 2 before, so he knew when the "deaths" were coming.

I was scared of the death aspects, and the possible associated gore, so I asked him not to tell anyone, but I wanted him to change the channel whenever Jason was actually about to kill anyone. He teased me of course, and then explained that the death parts were "no big deal." He went ahead and did as I asked though, and, being a naive kid at the time, I assumed I was taking the "stinger" out of the movie. What I was actually doing though, was allowing the suspense to build without release, and encouraging my imagination to take-over where the movie was leaving off.

The result? A VERY long night spent watching the windows and door of my friend's bedroom, and a new understanding for what the "R" rating meant. I had essentially heightened the experience WELL beyond what the actual film could have done. Even as much as two weeks later, the intensity of the film had stayed with me. I stayed the night again, and as was typical at the time, Showtime was running the film again. This time, I was determined to sit and brave the entire film, (despite the fact that my friend could care less, and had seen the film enough to be sick of it.)

I still remember seeing the first murder, and feeling a sense of disappointment in the effects.. (I sure wish they had CGI back then, ha ha). I was amazed that the film had ever gotten me that worked up. As I sat there with disappointment mounting, I took a good look at Jason and really studied him. I tried very hard to imagine what it would be like to have this giant-of-a-man just kinda' smash through the front door, and stand there capturing your eyes for a moment. Then to see the "decision" and the "force of intent" inscribed into every movement as he strode across the room to destroy you with his machette or bare hands. That mask etching itself into your last vision of life, the blank, uncaring mask, with the eyes behind it that seem to plead with you, and accuse you, even as they register the determination behind the decision to crush your throat with the filthy, bloodstained hands of an animated rotting corpse as you're lifted off your feet.

I could imagine it as though it were real, I was in awe of the power that was readily apparent there. The best way to describe the Jason I saw would be to say that when he moves, he's unstoppable and relentless, when he stops, he's unmoveable. Just a damnable force of nature, and as silent as the grave itself. I recognized that the actors surrounding this character were acting, but even to this day, I suspect that there WAS some real fear there when Jason pursued them during filming.

I won't get overly personal here, but I'll say that I had a rough childhood, and really needed SOME way to get a semblence of empowerment. I also had issues with older kids in the neighborhood that I felt needed to be taught a lesson.

Although, I obviously had little interest in actually killing folks, but I liked the power Jason had over others, and realized that it was something I could make my own. I used to imitate him at times (without the mask, costume, and weapon) to see how it affected folks, and was pleased to note that you CAN scare someone just by looking at them right, and using the correct body language, without uttering a single word.

It sometimes irritated my parents though because I sometimes stood in the hallway and gave my sister "the look," and she'd scream like I'd just poked her eye out! She and I could have a conversation (or she could.. she talks too much ;) ) and as I got bored, I'd subtly start doing the Jason body language thing and she'd start freaking out. I loved doing that, because my dad would show up with murder in his eyes as soon as she started screaming and/or slamming doors, I'd say, innocently, "What? I only looked at her."

I took more than that from Jason though. The older kids in the area suddenly got a dose of a kid that was unrelentless in dealing out retribution, no matter what kind of condition he was in. All local bully activites halted immediately and were replaced by whispered fanciful tales of how I'd kept coming at them, despite a bloodied nose and being ridiculously outnumbered, but determined to make them pay in spades for the crap they'd put me through. Those tales travelled with me throughout high school, and grew more fanciful every time I heard them. I had found the empowerment I'd been looking for, and it really DID alter the course of my life.

I suppose, as a result, I read into the character more than I should. Everytime I see him, I see a young boy getting his revenge on older kids that allowed him to drown in a lake (explained in part 1, even though it's his mom that does the killing in that film). I also see a mind twisted by the fact that he can never have enough revenge, and has never been able to grow up beyond the emotional maturity level of a child. There's even room in me to pity the adult child that doesn't know, and can't get, what it really wants. The other concept I like is that his "force of intent", willpower, or whatever you want to call it, is stronger than even death itself, and keeps bringing him back for more. In some of films it was cool to see Jason running around part of the movie killing folks with a machette lodged in his head, or sunk deep into his shoulder.

To quote Alice Cooper's song: "Freedom" ( freedom of speech) : "..you can take my head and cut it off, but you ain't gonna' change my mind."

As far as the actual films themselves, the only film in this series that I didn't really like was part 9: "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" this one featured a bunch of possession garbage that I didn't care for, and had a bunch of scenes with various folks pretending to be Jason. To me, it just wasn't Jason. It had a cool beginning though, where Jason pursues a scantily clad female "victim" through a house and out into the woods. He's hot on her trail, but as she rushes past some trees, the "victim" (actually an undercover FBI agent) signals for a military team to uhh.. "dismantle" Jason which they do quite spectacularly.

Part 5 was my other least favorite, due to the story pacing, but I love the rest of them. I have all of them on video, and can't wait until my kid's old enough to watch them with me. I WILL wait though, he's not going to have the kind of childhood I did, and he's not really going to NEED this kind of thing to make him strong.

In any event, that's why I keep going back to see Jason in action, regardless of some of the lousy storylines.. he'll always be Jason, and I'll always enjoy seeing him again, to watch that bastard in action, and to remember the empowerment that I gained from him when I needed it the most.