THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Jumping the shark can be a bad thing for any franchise because that's just desperation for relevance. For the most part though, it kinda worked for Friday the 13th.
PLOT
Part VI: Jason Lives takes place a few years after the events of New Beginning. Tommy Jarvis is released from the Hospital for the Criminally Insane after a breakdown he had resulting from the trauma he's had encountering Jason Voorhees. Although the serial killer has been dead fro some time, Jarvis wants to dig up his grave and cremate his body to put the past behind him for good. That backfires exponentially because when impaling his corpse with a fence post, a thunderstorm strikes the post and resurrects him. Now, Jason is reborn as a revenant with superhuman strength. He quickly resumes his killing spree by killing Jarvis' friend Allen Hawes (Ron Palilo) by punching his heart out and when Tommy himself retreats, he goes to the police to tell them what happened but Sheriff Mike Garrett does not believe him, preferring to hold him in a cell for the night. Jason of course continues killing in his return to Crystal Lake, now renamed as Forest Green to dissociate from his past. His next targets would be the married couple Darren Robinson & Lizbeth Pott (Tony Goldwyn & Nancy McLoughlin) who stabs both with a spear. They get reported missing by other teens they were going to work with for as camp counselors in Forest Green. The new counselors are: Sissy Baker (Renee Jones), Cort Andrews (Tom Fridley) and Paula (Kerry Noonan) who is also Liz's sister. The sheriff's daughter Megan also visits and becomes attracted to Tommy who warns the others about Jason which they choose to ignore. Near the summer camp, Jason kills a different group of people in the middle of a corporate paintball game: Burt (Wallace Merck) gets his face smashed into a tree, Jason also decapitates Stan, Larry & Katie (Matthew Faison, Alan Blumenfeld & Ann Ryerson) simultaneously before mutilating Roy (Whitney Rydbeck) last. Tommy then makes a run during a transfer when wanting to prove Jason is back, but the caretaker Martin (Bob Larkin) has already covered it up to deny responsibility of the grave being robbed, with Hawes' body replacing the slasher's. By night, Martin is killed by Jason with a glass bottle who then fatally stabs another couple nearby who notices the incident, Steven & Annette (Roger Rose & Cynthia Kania). He then goes after Cort who was hooking up with a girl named Nikki (Darcy Demoss). When they drive away, he kills them both while driving, slamming Nikki's face through a wall before stabbing Cort in the head, causing a crash only he survives. When Roy's remains are found, Sheriff puts the blame on Tommy due to his known institutionalization. Megan tries helping Tommy escape, but is quickly intercepted by her dad before they can get to Forest Green. At the renamed camp, Jason keeps on killing when ripping off Sissy's head and kills Paula offscreen. Once back at the holding cell, Megan is able to successfully help Tommy escape by trapping one of the cops watching over him. When Mike goes out to find a possible accomplice, he and two of his deputies instead encounter Voorhees at the camp who kills them one by one; Jason throws a dart to the face of Deputy Thornton (Michael Nomad), crushes the head of Deputy Pappas (Michael Swan) and cracks Mike's spine in half. Surprisingly, Jason shows restraint when not killing the children at the camp. By the time Tommy & Megan reach the camp, the former lures Jason to the water to successfully drown him by chaining a boulder to his neck. Despite also drowning as well, Megan saves him via CPR. Although they believe Voorhees to be gone for good, the film ends with Jason being shown to still be breathing yet powerless to free himself.
THOUGHTS
With A New Beginning not pleasing anyone on the idea of having anyone take up the mask, Paramount needed to set things right in going back to the basics and boy does it feel grand when they do it. Writer/Director Tom McLoughlin had the budget to make this an absolute blast and it does within the stakes especially with the iconic big bad back for good. Rather than hide in the shadows to be surprised of his appearance, CJ Graham makes him front and center to ensure he is not wasting time anymore in what he wants to do and that difference is what can make him scarier when you think about it before basking in the bold practical effects done by Brian Wade and Gabe Bartalos who succeed in not only making Jason as grotesque you'd expect for a now zombie-like being and the violence he commits. I'm still stunned in how he pushed someone's face through a wall like that. This film being meta as hell with victims being self aware was hilarious and useful since everyone in the audience knows what they're in for by the mid 80s. Noticing this makes it clear how it is strong inspiration for Kevin Williamson when he wrote Scream. Putting aside this, I think this film is a standout in her own right for still having it's own spin in saying you can't put the past behind you until you do it yourself which is the whole point of Tommy's arc here. All the previous actors had great takes on where the character can go, but Thom Matthews has a great approach in showing him to be a desperate yet determined individual willing to get rid of the trauma that's held him back for so long. The fact he's able to kill Jason all on his own makes him an absolute badass because he ain't even sure how to stop him but has to since he is at fault for unintentionally bringing him back. If we were in his shoes, we'd probably go on with our lives if we believed Voorhees died right then and there. But since the slasher is now invincible, this is the real new beginning we'd have to prepare for. Since Tommy felt alone deep down, it was neat to know he never was. David Kagan gave an accurate take on Sheriff Mike expressing his own paranoia since he's known about Tommy for some time. And he acts realistically to the fact to how absurd it'd first sound to hear someone is back from the dead. He still had legit morals since he was all about eliminating an actual threat until he couldn't. After Hawes died, the only friend he had was one he wasn't even trying to have. Jennifer Cooke is a solid final girl as Megan because she was a playful rebel. Being the daughter of a sheriff sounds boring half the time because that means you got a parent that's strict nonstop. So in her case, she tests/pushes his boundaries however she can. She helps Tommy out to the point of being attracted to him because she sees how troubled he is and bets deep down he's got a big heart. Did she put herself in danger? Oh yes, but it was worth it as paved the way for Tommy to halt the body count. Because of the presumption, I hope he can truly move on. This movie is generally fun, but there are some moments where I feel like could've been approached differently. Personally speaking, why hit a corpse with a fence post? Honestly, a machete does the job in venting. And why doesn't the Liz do a u turn? It looked like she had the space before Jason threw the spear at the car. Also, why would Roy shoot paint at Jason? You know that ain't a bullet, so run first and strategize later man. Looking back, Nikki should've put on a seatbelt because it likely would've gotten Cort's attention to the point she would tell him to pull over after seeing Jason. Megan even takes her recklessness too far by holding the cop at gunpoint when she could've went for the taser instead. Lastly, I don't see the point of Jason stopping himself from killing her when he has no moral compass apart from sparing kids. If he doesn't care, he would've not been bothered of Tommy calling him out. Other than that, this one ain't so bad for what it is. In short, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is a vast improvement from before that holds back a bit, but is grounded enough to remain invested. If you're still a slasher fan, check this out.
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