31 Days of Halloween – Day 19

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (directed by Danny Steinmann, 1985) I suppose you are wondering why I would choose the fourth sequel of the Friday the 13th franchise as the only Ft13 film on my 31 Days of Halloween list, and why choose the film of the series that does not feature Jason Voorhees (besides the original film, in which mommy was doing the killing)? Well let me tell you why my friends. This is my favorite of the Friday films. Yes, the story is completely lame, even by horror movie standards. There is so much cheese squeezed into this film, it’s like eating a box of Kraft Dinner made with TWO packages of orange power. Yet, I am completely entertained by this film, and know ninety-nine percent of the dialogue by memory. This is my guilty pleasure when it comes to horror movies. After being killed by Tommy Jarvis at the conclusion of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Jason is a fading memory. Except to Tommy, who is now teenager, and living in a halfway home for troubled youth. He is still tormented by Jason through hallucinations and nightmares. After a resident of the home is murdered by a fellow troubled teen, the father (ambulance driver Roy) of the deceased teen dawns the familiar hockey mask and goes on a kill rampage under the disguise of Jason Voorhees. This movie has so many memorable characters and funny scenes that I never get tired of watching it. Victims include a leather-clad rock star named Demon (the incomparable Miguel A. Nunez Jr.) who lives in a van with his girlfriend, a motorcycle riding simpleton and his bitchy mother, a new-age goth girl who dances alone in her room, and a buxom gal who receives hedge clippers through the eyes. A lot of the murder scenes are original and well done, if a little far-fetched. A New Beginning does not have Jason except for a brief dream sequence at the start of the film, but that does not mean it is not a quality entry to the series. Compared to a couple of the sequels, Part V is a cinematic masterpiece. This Halloween, give Roy a chance. His hockey mask might have blue paint checks instead of red, and he may not be an unstoppable ghoul, but there is plenty of Jason to go around for all other occasions.

Recap

• Day 1 – The Conjuring
• Day 2 – You’re Next
• Day 3 – Rob Zombie’s Halloween
• Day 4 – Dog Soldiers
• Day 5 – Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
• Day 6 – Psycho (1960)
• Day 7 – John Carpenter’s The Thing
• Day 8 – The Prowler
• Day 9 – Pet Sematary
• Day 10 – The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Day 11 – Near Dark
• Day 12 – The Lost Boys
• Day 13 – Child’s Play
• Day 14 – Sleepy Hollow
• Day 15 – House of 1,000 Corpses
• Day 16 – The Devil’s Rejects
• Day 17 – Night of the Living Dead
• Day 18 – Dawn of the Dead (’78)
• Day 19 – Friday the 13th: A New Beginning