Greetings, all.
For those who don't know me, I've been with F13Franchise for a number of years, writing reviews of the films under my article series The Slasher Movie Encyclopedia. For those who remember the previous entries, I apologize it's been so long. But it came to the end of the line, and I didn't know what else to do.
However, I went back and re-read some of the first entries that I did for the series, and quickly realized they were not up to my quality standards. So, I've decided to go back to the first three entries, Part 2, 3, and 4, and do a special edition. A deluxe edition, if you will. Different pictures, higher quality write-up, things of that nature. Just a much better presentation of the product. So, for those who remember the original, I hope you like this one even more, and to those who've never read an article of mine, I hope you dig it the first time around.
Now, I’m gonna give it to you guys straight about Jason. I fell in love with the franchise as a kid. My mom would let me watch the films when they aired on USA, because all the gore was cut out. I use to have so much fun whenever a Friday The 13th would roll around, because there was no doubt going to be a marathon.
I’d run to get the Sunday paper so I could see which ones were going to air, and I’d be almost sick with anticipation the whole week. I’d be drawing pictures at school, telling everyone about my favorite kills and how I wished so badly he was in Mortal Kombat. Of course, little did I know years later my wish would come true, sadly however, the last system I bought was a GameCube.
As I grew up, I never lost my love for the series, and it’s as strong as ever. I collect all the awesome action figures and masks, and whenever October comes around I break out my box set.
When you make a low-budget horror film in order to make a few dollars, and it’s number one at the box-office and an accidental smash-hit, what do you do? You keep the ball rolling. Cunningham, Miller, and Savini opted to not return because they didn’t think Jason being alive made much sense. Thankfully though, Francuso JR & Steve Miner knew there was something to be had, and we got Friday 2.
The film starts off with a flash-back of the last 10 minutes of part 1 via Alice’s dreams. She’s obviously still spooked by all that happened to her, and seems on edge. She makes the fatal mistake of trying to feed her cat, and TADOW! Mrs. Voorhees’ head is in the fridge! Just then, she’s stabbed in the head with an ice-pick. That’s why I make it a point to never feed my pets, I’m not an idiot.
I always thought the idea of Jason hunting down Alice was pretty funny. I mean, did he place a few phone calls to try and track her down? How’d he get there? Did he take a bus? Did he rent a car or something? Is he filling up his car and using the drive-thru with the sack on? Does he explain to the cop it’s OK for him to use the HOV lane because his mother’s head counts as a passenger? I’ve always thought it sucked that Alice died like that, because she kicked a boat load of ass in the first, and then didn’t put up an ounce of fight.
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Back at the camp it’s a new batch of counselors, obviously. It’s been 5 years since the events of the first film, or since anything has happened around those parts. Camp Crystal Lake has been sealed off, but Jason cares not about property lines. After we meet the new group of counselors, later that night Paul hosts a camp-fire session, and in one of the series’ greatest moments, he tells the legend of Jason, it’s fantastic. Pranks ensue, levity is felt. Soon after, Paul & Ginny are talking before being interrupted by Crazy Ralph, who does his duty by reminding everyone that things still aren’t safe. Unfortunately for him, he isn’t either, as Jason doesn’t play favorites at all, and Ralph is strangled with barbwire.
After a cop busts two of the counselors for trespassing on Crystal Lake, he heads back to the station when he sees yet another lawbreaker trying to escape. Well, he chases after the stranger at the speed of crapMPH before arriving at the greatest hobo-chantey of all time. Seriously, this thing is like a bum mansion. What makes Jason the burliest of all killers, is that there’s a toilet in this chantey. Meaning he had to steal it. Meaning Jason had to carry a freaking TOILET for like, half a mile, if not longer. Anyway, back to the cop. Naturally, one shouldn’t call for back up or anything, but just go in and check it out. Well, our stranger turns out to be Jason, and he shows his hospitality by sharing the claw portion of his hammer with the sheriff’s skull. It’s kills like these that make the series. It’s simple, yet brutal.
As it eases into the night, Paul says that they can have one last night out, and most opt for a night of boozing.
One girl decides she’s gonna go for a walk, then feels she must skinny dip, skinny being the operative word. She’s gotta be the thinnest girl in the entire series. I’m actually surprised Jason didn’t just offer her a sandwich in lue of killing her. Scott, who’s been after her the whole film, shows up and runs off with her clothes. Well, because he’s no-good-knicking, he stumbles into one of Jason’s foot snare traps, hanging him upside down. Terri finds him, as he’s hollering like a smashed cat. She offers to find a knife to cut him down, and once she heads off, Jason uses the chance to slit his throat, and take care of her when she returns.
Back at the pad, the two no-good-knicks that trespassed are continuing their parade of debauchery by having pre-marital sex. It’s funny, they finish having sex, and Jeff just lays there on top of Sandra. How uncomfortable would that be? I mean, he just lays there. If Jason weren’t a killing machine, he probably would have killed him just for being a weirdo who laid on top of his girlfriend like she was a cot Anyways, Jason comes in and rocks one of the coolest kills ever as he drives the ol’ spear right through both of’em. That’s one of those kills where you know Jason probably wished he had at least one friend, because he’d brag to the moon about this one. Or in this day and age he’d take a selfie with those two dead in the background, and then hashtag it with Mondays.AmIRight?
Next up, Vickie is being a bit of a hussie, trying to bed Mark, the wheel chair hunk. She goes off to spray perfume in her granny panties, and Mark catches a machete right in the face. It’s awesome, and out of no where, one of the most memorable kills in the entire series. A lot of people speculate about whether or not Mark deserves it, and the answer is HELL YES. He was about to get a little action, and that’s just a no go. However, if Jason would have simply waited, he would have seen Mark turn her down. I mean, if a girl shows up wearing something from the Naughty Grandmother Collection via Victoria’s Secret, as that’s where I assume Vicki got her undergarments, most dudes are gonna fake a heart attack to get out of it, or something. Anyway, Vicki comes back and wonders just where the hell Mark is, as she looks for him upstairs. My only guess is she assumed he held the wheelchair in his teeth and drug himself & the chair upstairs. She inspects a bloody bed sheet, only to find Jason, and is quickly stabbed.
Ginny & Paul return from the bar, find the lights off, the place in disarray, and a good batch of death. Jason gets on it quickly and attacks Paul, who’s of course a total wuss and get’s taken down pretty quick. Jason would have at least taken one Johnny Cage Splits & Punch In The Nuts from me if I were in that situation.
Ginny and Jason then have one of the best chase/fight scenes of the whole series. While he’s certainly scary in part 2, they hadn’t really refined the character yet, because he’s kind of a bumbling goof. He’s always falling, or missing the target. Ginny finds the ultimate hobo-chantey and ducks inside. Out the window we see Jason approaching in one of the series’ best shots. I mean, it’s still scary to this day. The focus of the shot is Ginny looking around in wonderment, at this absolutely creepy & destitute monument, and out through the window, out of focus, is Jason running to catch up. It’s fantastic.
Ginny heads to the back where she finds Jason’s stash-spot, a place with all the bodies he’s piled up. One of them happens to be an unidentifiable corpse, with the exception of an ice-pick sticking out of the left side of it’s skull, letting us know it’s Alice. However, the prized piece in his collection is the head & sweater of his beloved mother. Ginny, looking for a Hail Mary, puts on the sweater, dresses her hair up like Mrs. Voorhees, and does her best to confuse him. Lucky for her, it works, however it’s only for a moment. Before Jason can make good on his violent intent, Paul shows up to not save the day, and loses to Jason AGAIN. I mean, what’s his thought processes when he wakes up after the last scuffle with Jason?
Paul: [thinking] Oh no! I’ve got to find Ginny. She only saw me getting my ass beat for about 10 seconds, I have to show her I can keep taking sustained beatings, other wise, she won’t respect me!
He might as well just let Jason kill him, because he has zero shot with Ginny now, after this pathetic display. Anyway, while Jason is about to finish off Paul, Ginny drives a machete through his shoulder and into his chest, assuming him dead.
They head back to the safety of a cabin, as Muffin, the cuddly dog, makes her return from the dead. However, she isn’t the only one, as Jason comes crashing through the window in one of the series most memorable, and debated moments.
It then fades to white, and suddenly it’s next day, as Ginny is on a stretcher being taken to the hospital, inquiring about Paul’s whereabouts the whole time. Some people say Jason’s return was a dream, but I say no way. He came back, he got Paul, but some how she managed to evade him once again.
Official Slasher Movie Encyclopedia Tally:Killed: 8 [I don’t count Terri, because she didn’t die on screen, and Mrs. Voorhees was a clip from another film]
Swear: 9
Boobs: 2
Slow Motion Scenes: 3
Foot Chases: 2
Fake-Out Scares [ie, a cat]: 4
Car Stalling: 1
Instances of Drugs/Drinking/Sex: 2
Warned But No Belief: Yes
Top 3 Kills:#3 – If I Had A Hammer: There’s no blood, no masterful effects, or anything flashy to this kill, instead it’s the absolute gnarliness that earns it it’s place. From the very thought of how bad that would hurt, to the expression on the cop’s face, absolutely confirming our belief, this remains one of the series most cringe worthy.
#2 – Now, You’re Really Screwed: Really, the first kill of the series that would scream “Friday The 13th”. Yes, I know it was done already in Twitch of the Death Nerve, but folk state side have no idea about that film, and it’s honestly done better here. It’s just an awesome idea, and one that plays to Jason and Friday The 13th’s elements so well.
#1 – Machete On Wheels: C’mon, who doesn’t have this high in their favorites? We’ve seen people get it with a machete before, but this was just so brutal. It literally comes out of no where, with the actor selling it perfectly with the look on his face and twisted hands. Afterwards, the wheelchair cascades down the stairs in the rain before fading to white, and helping to cement Part 2 as one of the best in the series.
Box-Office Business:Released by Paramount on April 30th, 1981 to 1,350 theaters, Friday 2 brought in $6,429,784 it’s opening weekend, with an average of $4,762 per theater, earning it the #1 spot. At the end of it’s run, it brought in a domestic total of $21,722,776, which is a massive number for a film that only cost $1.2 million.
Things You Need To Know In Order To Survive:In the movie, Jason uses the pick-axe to block Ginny’s machete attack. In real life, the first take happened and she missed, slashing Steve’s hand. He went to the hospital in costume, with the machete stuck in his shoulder. The attending nurses and such freaked out when he walked in.
The ending is vague, and confusing. What was suppose to happen, is when the close up shot of Mrs. Voorhees happens, she was suppose to open her eyes and smile. Hinting at the fact that Jason had in fact killed Paul, and was loose. But at the last moment Miner cut it because he said it looked cheap.
This film marks the first, and only time Jason was played by a woman. His legs in the beginning actually belong to the costume designer.
48 seconds were cut by the awesome MPAA to avoid getting an X-Rating.
Much like Halloween, Friday the 13th was suppose to be an anthology series, with something different happening in each movie. But the people wanted their Jason, and smarter heads prevailed.
Final Rating:4 and a half head-butts out of 5 This is a major fan favorite, for a lot of reasons. Sure, the characters aren’t as fleshed out or interesting as in part 4, and the deaths aren’t as cool as part 6, but 2 has a charm all it’s own. Sack-head Jason is fantastic, and there’s a lot of great shots. The desolate setting does really give you the feeling of hopelessness. Really, does it get better than the shot of Jason’s shrine with the bodies strewn around it? I think not. One of the best of it’s kind, a great film.
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