Starring: Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Directed by: Steve Miner
The first Friday the 13th film was a huge success, so it was naturally expanded into a franchise. One year later, fans were given Friday the 13th Part 2, a film that marks the debut of Jason being the main killer of the series. With only one year to put a sequel together, you're obviously pressed for time to make something that will honor fans of the original film, while also providing something different that also creates the universe of the franchise. How did Friday the 13th Part 2 do? You might honestly be surprised by my response. In many ways, it's better than the first. It still has some problems, but it's an overall easier film to sit through. So, yeah, I like the second film more than the first, but not by much. I've still got some gripes for it, but it's more nitpicking for humor's sake than anything else. Let's not waste any more time and get right to talking about Friday the 13th Part 2, starting with the man of the hour, the face of the franchise, the hockey mask wearing Jason Voorhees.
What the heck does he have on his face? A potato sack, really??!! Ugh, we're still just ONE film away from him getting the iconic look that we all know and love, so that makes his appearance in this film feel really distracting. It's almost like you have to keep reminding yourself that you're watching a Jason Voorhees movie. Seriously, this film could have been any other standalone horror film if it didn't have the Friday the 13th name slapped on it. Jason wears a hockey mask, and thankfully that's gonna become a reality in this series by the next review. I can't imagine people getting scared by that guy. Just look at him. I'll bet you're laughing instead. I would be too.The excessive rules of the sequel are put into good effect here. No more boring scenes of them setting up camp. We don't have time for that. More characters are introduced so they can have sex, drink, do drugs, and get picked off one by one. I'm not sure if more happens here than in the first numerically, but it certainly feels that way due to the pacing. We even have a scene where they gather around a campfire to talk about the legend of Jason Voorhees and Camp Crystal Lake. Stuff like that is great to add to a film, as it paints the magnitude and relevance of the character as a villain, not just for this film, but for the remainder of the series.
While the pacing is a little better than the first one, I think Friday the 13th Part 2 suffers a bit from being too close to the first one. Particularly with the victims, I feel like I've seen all these characters in the first one. There are maybe one or two that are really memorable, but the first one is a way more iconic film that general viewers know about. I'll go on record to say that this film is an unsung gem of the early films. It's probably the one of the original string of films (meaning the first four) that goes talked about the least, and I think that's a shame. It has good qualities, isn't as boring as the first, and actually has Jason as the killer. Now all they need to do is get that stupid bag off his head.Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
In many ways, Friday the 13th Part 2 is more entertaining and important to horror lore than the first one. It's the first film where Jason is the actual killer, there's a handful of memorable death scenes, and the pacing is a lot smoother than the first. We're getting closer to finding a definitively enjoyable film in the franchise, but for now, this one could be enjoyable for casual horror fans to check out at least once.
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 2 and movie images are copyrighted by Paramount Pictures
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