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Friday The 13th Part V A New Beginning [1985]


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A slap in the face of all loyal Friday the 13th fans
Review date: 2008-11-03 Rating: 4 out of 10

Maybe someone will write a dissertation on why some horror movie franchises eventually have that one movie that basically sticks a middle finger down the throats of its fans, betraying everything the whole series has been and should be about. Friday the 13th Part V - A New Beginning may well be the worst offender of the bunch. When a slasher film has to painstakingly explain itself at the end, you know it has some serious problems. It's bad enough that the very concept of the film reeks with utter stupidity, but these characters? It's like one of those rabid anti-horror fanatics wrote the script with the express purpose of turning horror fans off so much that the Friday the 13th series would quickly wither and die.

Some people defend the film by saying it's still a maniac in a hockey mask killing people in gruesome ways, but I'm here to tell you that the blood and gore in this film is close to pathetic. Not once do we actually see an actual death blow: someone gets stabbed in the stomach and we see a shot of his face looking down and grimacing; a guy gets beheaded and all we see is an incredibly fake head hitting the ground; etc. If the special effects of all the scenes cut to avoid an X rating were this unimpressive, they might as well have left them in there. The least they could have done was make "Jason" look like the real deal - if he doesn't look like Jason, if he doesn't walk like Jason, he's not Jason.

The opening scene of this film is actually pretty good, even though it does feature a cameo appearance by Corey Feldman (whose commitment to The Goonies kept him from truly reprising his role as Tommy Jarvis - that role went to John Shepherd). After that, though, look out below. It has been three years since Tommy bested Jason in Friday the 13th The Final Chapter, and he's still pretty messed up about the whole ordeal. He has now left the mental institutions and come to Pinehurst, a halfway house for those with mental and emotional problems trying to ease their way back into society. The place basically has no rules and no discernible method of treatment or counseling, which helps explain why one of the patients brutally murders another one shortly after Tommy's arrival. The next thing you know, someone starts killing off characters in rapid succession. Has Jason somehow returned to life and set about on a brand new killing spree?

There is a great deal I dislike about this "new beginning," but nothing sticks in my craw as deeply and uncomfortably as the characters of Ethel (Carol Locatell) and her halfwit son Junior (Ron Sloan). They live near the halfway house and don't like having a houseful of mental patients so close to them. The problem is that these two are way beyond even the most clichéd hillbilly characters you're ever likely to find. Some viewers like them because they are the only things even close to entertaining in this mess of a film, but I say their presence herein makes for vivid proof that director Danny Steinmann and the writers just didn't care.

I really can't point to even one good thing about this lamentable chapter in the Friday the 13th series. It's a stupid story with idiotic characters, unimpressive gore, absolutely no suspense, no effort to deliver a single scare to the audience, and a horrible two-tiered twist ending. Much like the infamous Dallas dream season, this entry in the Friday the 13th series is best forgotten.

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Reviews


YET ANOTHER LAME SEQUEL
Review date: 2008-10-28 Rating: 2 out of 10

Another very poor sequel to the strangely successful and popular horror franchise. Nothing new here, just more kills (slightly better FX, but still a poor cast). There'S a lot better slashers out there.

Mild Curisoity Factor
Review date: 2008-08-07 Rating: 4 out of 10

Who doesn't enjoy the Friday 13th films? They are silly and stupid with tons of gore, nudity and ludicrous 'how the heck do we resurrect him this time' japes.

They aren't art by any means - the best films in the series (the original, No.4 and Jason X) are no more than four stars..just. But that's all you expect anyway.

This entry into the series is a bit of a mis-step. Other reviewers have already made mention that Jason is not the killer here so i feel no guilt in repeating that here. Especially as its not exactly well hidden! A naieve 10 year old - who wouldn't be watching this anyway! - would work out it out, along with who the killer is and why in a few minutes. It really is that lamely written and porly directed.

So why the second star? Well, a couple of the scenes are well executed (no pun intended) and it is good to see the affect of the previous instalment on Tommy. This is long before Scream of course. The last, and main, reason for that second star is fond memories though. I saw this on a scratched, messy video when i was 13 years old (a sneaky buy from a Car boot sale) and it was the first horror film of this type i'd seen. I'm still watching them 16 years on so it can't have been that bad!!

Urgh....terrible...
Review date: 2008-01-25 Rating: 4 out of 10

The only Friday the 13th so far I havent been able to enjoy (I LOVED the first four) but this is just rediculous. For a start you dont actually see very many of the murders (and this is the uncut version), they either happen offscrean or you see an extreme close up of the victims face so you see them die but dont see the violence or much gore. I thought that this was very odd as the series is well know for is gory and creative death sequences - why change it for this movie?

Even worse than the poor death scenes were the characters. The teenagers in the "psychiatric hospital" (a big house in the woods) are ok but the local yocals are REALLY annoying, especially that hillbilly woman and her retarded (inbred?) son.

Also, the acting was the worst I've ever seen in a Friday the 13th movie. Im usually not bothered if the acting in a horror movie isnt great but this was TERRIBLE and that blonde woman (Pam , I think she's called) was downright hillarious. This movie would be really good as a parody of the franchise. From abour 1 hour in it's really enjoyable if you view it as a comedy, especially Pams chase scene with Jason, it was like something out of Scary Movie.

Awful
Review date: 2005-08-03 Rating: 6 out of 10

The only reason why I have given this film 3 stars is because it is part of the brilliant Jason Voorhees collection. To start off, the directing is terrible, the acting is laughable and despite this movie has the highest body count, most of the kills are either off-screen or just very badly done(only 2 were good - the flare in the mouth and the eyes crushed in by a leather strap). The soundtrack is actually quite good - the song that Tina, the rock-punk, keeps playing throughout the film is brilliant and triggered loads of wonderful memories because it was pure 80's. Ignore this sequel and head on to part 6.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Richard Young
Corey Feldman
John Shepherd
Melanie Kinnaman
Shavar Ross

Creators:
John Shepherd (Primary Contributor)
Melanie Kinnaman (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437805331
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL,
Release date: 2002-03-18
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 87 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1985
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