Thursday, October 27, 2016

JASON LIVES: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI

Jason: Master of all he surveys?
JASON LIVES: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI (1986). Written and directed by Tom McLoughlin.

Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews), who came across a deadly Jason imitator in Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, decides to make sure Jason Voorhees is really dead, so in a moment of supreme idiocy digs up his grave. A lightning bolt revives Jason, and the killing spree begins all over again. Sheriff Garris (David Kagen) suspects that Tommy is the real killer, but that doesn't prevent his dumb-as-Tommy daughter Megan (Jennifer Cooke) from  breaking Tommy out of jail at gunpoint! In the meantime Camp Crystal Lake (aka "Camp Blood") has been rechristened Camp Forest Green, and there is a new host of counselors and young campers to terrorize. Obvious targets in director McLoughlin's screenplay are some business execs turned weekend survivalists -- three of whom are beheaded with one stroke -- and some especially unpleasant police officers. Jason (C. J. Graham) moves much faster and appears even more dangerous in this installment. As usual, the film's climax with Tommy and Megan trying to fight off and demolish Jason, is exciting, and the picture has a professional gloss. One of the early victims is played by Tony Goldwyn, who would go on to better things, and other cast members include an effectively nervous Ron Palillo as the first victim, and soap star Michael Swan as a narcissistic cop. Jason walks among a bunch of sleeping children but doesn't kill any of them, although whether or not that indicates a soft spot in the monster's heart is debatable. In general, the movie is not very scary in any case. "The Man in the Mask," Alice Cooper's number for the end credits, is catchy enough. Followed Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood.

Verdict: You can't keep a good stalker down. **1/2.

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