Fowler's Frights 2015: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Starring: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen
Directed by: Tom McLoughlin


After the failed experiment to try and make the series continue without Jason Voorhees, the studio decided they had no other choice but to bring the iconic killer back to the big screen. Well, the last time we saw Jason, he was dead, so how do you bring him back from the dead? Simple, you make him a zombie. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives brought Jason back for a new string of films with an updated look. Skin decaying and more indestructible than ever, this film introduced us to the Jason we've been accustomed to for more than 2 decades. With Camp Crystal Lake and Jason being covered up like a conspiracy theory, our favorite hockey masked killer has been resurrected to remind them why he is one of the biggest names and faces to be afraid of in the '80s. And naturally, Tommy Jarvis is back to try and kill Jason again. Even though he is the one who accidentally brought him back to life. More on that in a bit, but my question during this film was whether or not the zombiefied Jason can make a good installment in the franchise. And to my shock, I was pleasantly surprised with the result.

The film starts off with a big bang of an opening sequence. Shot in a graveyard in an homage to the classic Frankenstein films, we see Tommy Jarvis, played by Thom Mathews, visiting Jason's grave to try and cremate him. When lighting strikes his corpse, he's resurrected as an undead zombie. Then, we zoom in on his eye and then Jason walks into view and slices the screen like something out of a James Bond opening. It's a very memorable scene in tone and imagery, setting the standard for the rest of the film to live up to.

I will say the guy they got to play Tommy is given much more to do in this film, but I still can't help but wish they would've waited until Corey Feldman was old enough to resume the role. But I digress. Thom Mathews does a well enough job in most of the scenes. I particularly love the scenes when he's working off David Kagen as the sheriff. You can see Tommy's frustration that no one believes that Jason is back, and you can see the sheriff's frustration that stories of Jason are being dug up after he spent so much time putting them to rest. You don't usually expect competent storytelling and character development like that to exist in a Friday the 13th film, so I very much enjoyed it.

The film definitely delivered with the return of Jason and the kills. While not every death is as gory as it could be, you can tell the filmmakers put effort in the effects and budget for these scenes. You look at a scene where Jason kills two teens in a driving RV and know that they would've never done that sort of thing with the first few movies. Or how about a scene where Jason is shot at with paintballs. Little touches like that really make the scenes in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives stand out as one of the better installments in the series.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

If you like cheese with your horror, then you'll enjoy the heck out of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. One of the biggest names in terror is brought back to life with a proper body count, memorable death scenes, and a creepy new look. Horror fans should be able to have a good time with this one, so you can go ahead and check it out as a rental.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and movie images are copyrighted by Paramount Pictures