| Jason X (2002) Dir: Jim Isaac Cast: Lexa Doig, Kane Hodder, Peter Mensah, Lisa Ryder, Melyssa Ade, Chuck Campbell, Jonathan Potts Rated R, Approx: 93 minutes A New Line Cinema Release |
| It's been way too long since a Friday the 13th film stalked the theatres, with this in mind, it must be said that the most recent entry in the beloved (and much lambasted) slasher series, Jason X stirred a whole lot of a mixed emotions in me. Easily the worst entry in the series, it does however, manage to serve up some welcome gore effects and creative deaths to entertain fans for 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the film is also sprinkled with some astoundingly horrendous attempts at comedy, these stupid bits are what mainly detract from the enjoyment that is Jason X, a sequel that wll perhaps please nonfans or the most casual of Friday fans much much more than the hardcore fans that were first intoxicated by the series long ago. |
| The film opens roughly around 2010 at the Crystal Lake Research Facility (exactly whose idea it was to build such a place in rural Crystal Lake I'll never know) where Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder returning for his fourth go 'round behind the mask in what is probably his best turn as the killer) has finally been captured and awaits cryo freeze under the supervision of scientist Rowan (Lexa Doig). It's not terribly long before the hulking slasher breaks free and in the film's best sequence (featuring an amsuing cameo by director David Cronenberg), embarks on an all too brief rampage where he ends up stalking sole survivor Rowan. As Jason is outsmarted, both he and Rowan (she quite by accident) are cryogenically frozen in one of the facilities' chambers. |
| It's here that the film jumps ahead 400 years into the future where a group of science students on a research field trip to what is now referred to as 'old earth' (an uninhabital place these days) discover both our hero and villian still frozen and very well preserved. Both are brought back aboard the spaceship Grendel where Rowan is thawed out. When the greedy Professor Lowe (Jonathan Potts) realizes that their second piece of cargo is the infamous killer, he decides to keep it a secret, for Jason Voorhess is a very lucrative discovery which will make him very rich. Unbeknownst to Lowe (and the rest of the ship initially), Jason has also thawed out and before long, he's off stalking the Grendel racking up what is sure to be one of the highest body counts of the entire seires. As the students and soliders aboard the ship begin to dwindle beneath Jason's blade, the remaining survivors make a desperate attempt to escape from the ship, however, the killer's reign of bloody terror refuses to yield and as it turns out, the masked maniac has one more surprise in store for them. |
| Jason X is far from perfect. To be fair, it's fast paced (although it manages some dull spots as characters sulk around cargo bays searching for the killer, all suspense from the earliest Friday films long since removed) and features some very attractive women (particularly Melyssa Ade as the bitchy Janessa, dressed in a very revealing top, although she displays no skin, it's tough to take your eyes off her-even if her character is one of the more annoying in the film) to maintain real interest. In the lead, Lexa Doig is not only a pretty face, but a credible actress who fits right in with the other Friday heroines. As far as the rest of the cast, the weakest links would easily be Chuck Campbell as a supremely idiotic nerd and Lisa Ryder as his equally stupid cyborg (if these two moronic characters don't grate on your nerves, you've grown to used to the Kevin Willaimson school of horror). Peter Mensah plays the tough guy Brodski who gives Jason a real fight and is definately the most likable character in the film. Fans looking for some innovative murders accompanied by some nice make up effects should be pleased with this, although it's not nearly as gruesome as say, Friday the 13th-The Final Chapter, it's been forever since a slasher film with some guts (no pun intended) played in theatres and that fact alone makes it of note to gore hounds. Perhaps the best aspect of the film is the refreshingly familiar (and at times, shockingly different) score conducted by Friday the 13th alumni Harry Manfredini. Fans have carped on Manfredini's score, but I think it's different enough to envelope this new Jason film, which is also quite different from any that has before it. To hear the traditional Friday score (the infamous chchch-hahaha-you know what I'm referring to) througout this sequel should help fans remember that while his doesn't exactly feel much like a Friday the 13th film (probably even less than the underrated Jason Goes to Hell did), Jason is the real deal as far as slashers go. |
| Sadly, Jason X is proof that you can't ever go home again. It flounders (rather embarassingly) with all of its attempts to create humor to go along with the over the top gore and violence. In what should've been the best sequence of the film, Jason is placed back at Camp Crystal Lake in the 1980's with the help of a virtual reality program. While this moment never really lives up to its full potential with the silly actresses spouting off depressingly unfunny dialogue (an obnoxious and extremely witless attempt to poke fun at the 'formula' of 80's slasher films), the scene partially works thanks to the use of Manfredini's score from the original 1980 Friday the 13th as well as an amusing murder sequence paroding one of the series' most famous murders (the sleeping bag bash from part VII). It could've been a much better scene but rather it's nostalgic enough to plesase fans as well as frustrate them. Director Jim Isaac also flounders a bit with this film overall, many moments of the film which should've been tense, or at least effective (like the first appearance of Uber-Jason) are rather flat and uninspired, deriving the film of some much needed umph! |
| With the sole exception of one funny line discussing previous attempts to kill Jason, there really is nothing funny about Jason X, the primary reason being that it simply tries too damn hard. For example, in one scene, a character is stabbed in the stomach and says, "It's goona take more than that to put a stop to me!" Upon which he is stabbed again resulting in him mumbling, "that'll do it..." before keeling over. Another grim moment (the worst in the whole series) finds one very stupid character referring to Jason as "slappy." It's quite clear that director Jim Isaac (who worked for Sean Cunningham previously on the unofficial House III, titled-The Horror Show) and writer Todd Farmer (who has a small role in the film) obviously aren't taking this very seriously and that's a shame. To be fair to Mr. Farmer, he has said that much of the humor was added during rewrites of his script, much to his dismay. The later Jason installments have always been about fun, but when the characters in the film break character (and thusly tension) to make a joke, the film severely suffers. It's too bad at some point, some schmucks decided that Jason X would work better with truckloads of moronic comedy, as the film's creater and gatekeeper, executive producer Sean Cunningham should've known better. If played more straight, this film would've been a pure success rather than the somewhat entertaining picture it is in finished form. |
| Producer Sean Cunningham (who directed the original Friday the 13th and produced Jason Goes to Hell) is obviously well aware of the fact that with the tenth film in a series, the formula must remain fresh, but infusing stupid humor throughout to please the young audiences of today just isn't the answer. What's nice about the latest outing is seeing the hulking murderer on the big screen again after nearly a decade's absence. With some really entertaining moments and a great ending, all Friday fans should definately not miss this latest outing. It's hard to believe that the man behind the mask has been around for three decades now, however, one can't help but wonder if perhpas Jason X should be the big guy's last hurrah infront of the camera before the series drastically deteriorates into something as dreadful as Halloween H20, now that would be truly scary! |
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| Matt's Rating: *** (out of 5) |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 03/25/02 |