Friday the 13th, Part VIII - Jason Takes Manhattan

 

 

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this is one boring movie.i had to fight from turning it off before the
end.there are a couple of funny moments,particularly the reaction(or
rather non reaction)of the New Yorkers to Jason.mostly though,the movie
is just silly.i guess most of the movies in the series are silly,but
this movie is silly even in the confines of the series.for me,it's the
worst one of the first 8.but that's just me.my vote for Friday the 13th
Part VIII:Jason takes Manhattan is a 2/5

Jason's my main man, and you know that - but Friday the 13th Part VIII - Jason Takes Manhattan is absolutely horrible in just about every way imaginable. It is far and away the worst film in the entire series. I simply have nothing good to say about this film. The only way I can even stomach its existence is to theorize that Freddy Vs. Jason might never have been made were it not for this cinematic atrocity. In other words, had this film not been such a flop at the box office (earning little more than fourteen million dollars), Paramount might never have sold the franchise to New Line Cinema, and I don't think we would ever have seen a battle royale between Jason and Freddy had the two slasher icons not been brought together under the same network.

Warning: beware of plot holes and inconsistencies of gigantic proportions. I won't even bother to tell you how Jason gets resurrected from the bottom of Crystal Lake yet again because it is extremely hokey. Suffice it to say that Jason's back, and this time he makes his way onboard a ship full of graduating seniors headed for a visit to New York City. As luck would have it, Rennie Wickham (Jensen Daggett) defies her uncle's wishes and decides to come along - despite her intense fear of water (which may or may not have something to do with Jason). Her uncle (Charles McCulloch) is one of the school's teachers and the man in charge of the big trip to the Big Apple - and he is an insufferable, stuck-up bore with some serious control issues when it comes to his guardianship of Rennie, whom he took in to his home after her parents were killed in a car wreck some years earlier. Guess what happens? Jason gets to work killing everyone on board the ship, and then he goes after the small band of survivors who manage to find a dock and escape into and under the mean streets of the Big Apple.

Even Kane Hodder was unable to show the least bit of inspiration or excitement in his work as Jason this time around. The whole film is just surreal, partly because it takes Jason out of his natural element, but mostly because the script is awful, the cinematography is awful, the acting is awful, and the ending is just ridiculously lame. I don't know what writer/director Rob Hedden had going through his head during filming. You have a dog that disappears and then reappears with no explanation, Rennie periodically sees vision of a young Jason trying to reach out for her, pointing to a past connection that would never fit into any possible Friday the 13th timeline, and the ending is just plain stupid. Then there's the soundtrack featuring some of the worst music I've ever heard in my life. Between that and the female actresses' hairstyles, I just have to hope and pray that young people today and in the future don't pick up this film and start to think it represents even the first thing about life in the glorious 1980s - or the otherwise sound Friday the 13th series as a whole.

Um, let's see: Jason's reanimated and on the killing rampage again, using just about every edged weapon at his disposal to systematically take out several teens until the prime hero/heroine finds a way to end his reign of terror. Oh yeah, that ain't a familiar scenario at all, heh...

But wait-- we can't forget a few elements the writers have thrown into the mix to try and give this a more distinctive look and feel from all the other 'Friday' flicks. Ya know, like the new "ship-of-death" and Manhattan settings. Or the primary heroine's weird quasi-hallucinatory 'flashbacks' linked to Jason and her legal guardian that pop up from time to time, none of which really make any sense or have any logic to 'em. Then there's the whole Jason 'death' scene, which pretty much blew all laws of logic and plausibility right out the door! Oh God, why do I torture myself by watching this trash?! But the sad thing about it is, the next time I visit the local rental store I'm gonna pick up the next installment in this horror schlock-fest to view and review! I am NOT a well person...

On a bit of an upside, I did get treated to the funniest Jason-kill I've ever seen when he literally knocks one teenage victim's block off! I was so astounded by how cheesy this scene looked, I hadda rewind the tape and watch it again to see if I really saw what I saw! Sure 'nuff, I did! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-HAAAH!!! Oh man, that bad-boy was ten times funnier than all of Jason's other so-called 'scary' kills in this movie combined! Though it's not quite as guffaw-inducing as the scene from 'Killer Klowns From Outer Space' that it blatantly ripped off...

'Late

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4.0 out of 5 stars I prefer the title "Jason Takes the Love Boat"
Not the best in the series, but Jason in a new setting! An unwelcome stowaway on the graduation trip to New York, he starts in killing the teens one at a time. Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004 by Robin M Goffinet

5.0 out of 5 stars Start spreadin' the news...with BLOOD!
I just ordered this DVD, and I cannot WAIT for it to arrive. I've never seen this movie. I haven't read any reviews, and I've avoided hearing anything about it -- I don't want... Read more

Published on Jun 9 2004 by cousinpaco

2.0 out of 5 stars Friday the 13th Part VIII - Jason Takes Manhattan
This film is nowhere near a classic, but it has a few memorable parts.(SPOILERS)One of my favorite scenes is when the gang members are mad at him and start talking trash then he... Read more

Published on Jun 4 2004 by mac301

1.0 out of 5 stars how terrible
How often can one series have so many horrible sequals that could of been really good!

Published on May 24 2004 by N. Fares

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF MY FAVORITES
ONE OF MY FAVORITES IN THE SERIES I LOVED THE OPEING WITH NEW YORK AND THE SONG DARKEST SIDE OF THE NIGHT THEN TWO TEENS MAKING LOVE ON A BOAT JASONS RESURECTED BY LIGHTNING AND... Read more

Published on April 9 2004 by RONNY WALKER

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad
Perhaps one of the most hated movies of all-time has Jason Voorhees who secretly sneeks on to a boat on its way to Manhattan for some kind of high school thing. Read more

Published on April 3 2004 by jkghjcofvkkbn

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad Title For This Film
Dont bother thinking the title "Jason Takes Manhatten" will make you think this film is about Jason in New York! Read more

Published on Mar 22 2004 by Micheal Hunt

4.0 out of 5 stars Jason ends the friday the 13th franchise with gore-less film
JASON TAKES MANHATTAN should have been the last Jason movie ever to be made. This would have been the perfect way for him to die and never ever come back. Read more

Published on Mar 17 2004 by Suzanne Howland

3.0 out of 5 stars NYC cliche
Continuing the myth that NYC is nothing but a den of seedy drug dealers, gang bangers and nasty natives, this film does inject a little humor into the typical slasher fare. Read more

Published on Mar 12 2004 by Brandon L. Harlow

1.0 out of 5 stars I Love New York but, I ain't taking this "Manhattan"
The Fat Lady has sung, people. Its over. The End. Ka-put. Throw in the towel. This eighth film to the "Friday" movies is the first of three horrible, stupid, worthless,... Read more

Published on Mar 4 2004 by the-gr8shag

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