Saint Arnold Janssen YCC

Jason lies at the bottom of Crystal Lake, attached to the same rock Tommy Jarvis tied him to at the end of Jason Lives. At least ten years pass (which would actually set the movie near the end of the millennium, but, ah, who's paying attention?), and Tina Shepard returns to Crystal Lake, where she accidentally killed her father using telekinetic powers. Crystal Lake's death curse manipulates her telekinesis and she accidentally resurrects Jason.

Completely ignoring Part 5 for obvious reasons, The New Blood opens with a recap and narration of the series. I kinda like it when a Friday movie does that: it gives the movie an old-fashioned campfire feel, like it's a bunch of people sitting around outside, drinking, taking turns adding to the Jason Voorhees legend. Soon you have this story about zombies, and 3D, and copycat killers. Then comes the guy who really likes Carrie to tell his story.

As the series' interest in the human characters continues to bottom out, the time was right for Jason to become the "star." Enter Kane Hodder and director John Carl Buechler. Hodder is a fearless B-movie actor/stunt coordinator and Buechler is an experienced gore effects man. Both are interested in giving Jason a physicality beyond repeated forward thrusts with sharp objects and throwing corpses through windows, thus we get a very active Jason, who stood around a lot in Jason Lives. Here, he toys with his victims a bit more, such as in this scene where he mischievously blocks Tina's every move as he slowly corners her:

We also see a lot more of Jason with his head exposed, and, for the first time, it doesn't just look like a big guy with a rubber mask on. Buechler plasters on the makeup and Hodder rises to the challenge: his menacing sneers come clearly through the decaying skin and gore.

The New Blood has more endings than The Return of the king, subjecting its survivors to no less than four he's-not-dead-yet! moments. The real resolution comes with extra cheese: Tina summons her dead dad, who pops out of Crystal Lake with a triumphant roar, and pulls Jason back down into the lake.

But, underrated kill alert! The evil doctor grabs Tina's mom and uses her as a human shield from Jason's spear. That one surprised me; it's the series' first instance of one human essentially "murdering" another. The movie doesn't show or explain how the doctor gets away from Jason there, but, hey, if we're able to accept that the Joker can simply waltz out of a building after throwing Rachel out of a window, I think an exception can be made here.

Though it's rather self-serious, this one's about the same as Jason Lives for me. Jason Lives felt dramatically inert despite starring a character that had survived two Jason encounters, and, though The New Blood isn't exactly steeped in high-quality writing, the action here is much more convincing. Jason jumps in slo-mo through windows, gets electrocuted, and falls through stairs and with Hodder doing all of the stunts, the movie has this consistent visceral quality.

And, yes, this is the one wifth the sleeping bag kill.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood Vital Stats:

• Body Count: 15.
• Survivors: 2.
• Number of sex scenes: 3. (Series high!)
• Number of stalled cars: 2.
• Number of Jason-approved weapons: 9. Tent spike, sleeping bag, axe, scythe, party treat, knife, machete, spear, tree saw.

Memories of Crystal Lake:

• Todd Gilchrist of SCI FI Wire: "Make no mistake: The New Blood is terrible. It feels small and cheap and the 'tortured telekinetic girl' plot is ridiculous, even in a film series about a masked killer who can't die. But it has three really good kills that count as some of the best in the franchise. In the first, Jason takes out a naked camper by bashing her sleeping bag into a tree (probably my favorite Jason kill of all time). Second, a girl frantically attempts to escape Jason as he stalks her in a toolshed, leading to a terrific cat-and-mouse sequence. And third, an unlucky lothario wanders into the kitchen for a post-coital snack and in one truly terrific shot, a quick flash of lightning reveals that Jason is standing in a corner, poised to strike."
• Steve Barton of Dread Central: "Without question Part 7 is home to the most badass Jason we have ever seen. Not only was his look terrifying, but every single nuance of Kane Hodder's performance solidified him as a freight train of violence and terror. There's just no compromising with him. He's like a great white shark on two legs. You get in his way, you end up on the business end of whatever sharp object he has handy."