The trailer for "Jason X" reads: 'Evil Gets An
Upgrade'. Unfortunately, they could not spread that to the
plot and storyline. This basically the same as all the
other "Friday the 13th" films, with one
exception--they're in space. It didn't work for
"Leprechaun" and "Hellraiser", so did it
work for the hockey masked serial killer? Yep.
First off--let me say--this has a terrible plot, terrible
storyline, and it remarkably unoriginal. However, just
watching Jason Vorhees slashing up moronic teenagers was
exciting and well worth the eight years I've waited for a new
sequel. The plot centers around a group of teenage
students in the year 2455 who stumble upon two cryogenically
frozen specimens--one a woman who is brought back to life, and
the other a machete wielding maniac wearing a hockey mask.
They unthaw the woman on purpose, but accidentally unthaw Jason
too. He goes on a rampage, killing teenagers and
scientists at will, for no apparent reason. Later on in
the film, he gets 'upgraded' and is given a new, titanium mask
and new armor with is invincible to almost everything.
And, of course, the ending sets up for yet another sequel.
What bothered me about this film was that it tried to be a
comedy. There is one scene towards the end when the
students distract Jason by placing him in a computer simulated
version of Crystal Lake, presenting him with two computer
programmed girls. It then shows Jason beating one girl
against the other in sleeping backs. It was
hilarious--something out of a Farrelly Brothers film--it wasn't
remotely frightening. However, there is a pretty
horrifying scene when Jason freezes a girls head, only to then
smash it against a table.
This film comes at a time when we need a new connection to the
past. And what better way to connect to the past than to
revive a horror icon from the eighties like Jason Vorhees.
He can't be killed, he can't be detected, and he can't have as
small a brain as they say he has in this film, because he seems
pretty intelligent in most areas. What I liked about this
film was that it didn't try to be a new, badass "Friday the
13th". It knew it was less than perfect, and it ran
with it. It had fun being cheesy, which is evident in the
level of excitement these actors had in delivering classic
cheese lines, like when one of the soldiers is stabbed and says,
"It'll take more than a shot in the ribs to stop me!"
He is immediately thereafter stabbed again and says, "Yep,
that'll do it."
Many people will probably dislike this movie. But, if they
could just think back to a time when a horror film was released
each week, then maybe they could see what Sean S. Cunningham was
trying to do--bring back a staple in popular culture, one of the
founding fathers of slasher flicks--Jason Vorhees himself.
There were many flaws in this film--too numerous to mention them
all--but I was thoroughly entertained throughout and will
probably keep in my Top list of the year just because it gave me
back the feeling I use to have when I went to watch a horror
film in the theater. Was this one scary? No.
Did I still get the feeling? Yes. Will I go to watch
another Jason film if it is released? Absolutely.
