Friday the 13th, Part 2

Friday the 13th Part 2 Directed by Steve Miner

The body count continues

Part 2 in the Friday the 13th series takes place just across the lake at a separate camp with new faces and a new antagonist, Jason, taking the reins.  Jason is not like his other incarnations, though.  He is human, he has not tasted death, and he has not found his iconic mask yet.

The first 10 minutes of this film shows our heroine from the first movie, ready to be brought to justice for her crime against Mrs. Voorhees.  It takes place in a random town and feels like it was added last minute. This will be the only time until Jason takes Manhatten that Jason will leave Camp Crystal Lake. Honestly, the first 10 minutes really don't need to be in the film as they discuss what happened to her later during the camp fire tale scene.

Speaking of later when does this movie take place? The head counselor says the events of the first take place 5 years before and this leads to some weird consistency problems. In the first film what little we see of Jason in flash backs show he is a kid and in the end, whether it is a dream or not, he is shown to still be an adolescent. The head counselor says it was 30 years ago while the first film states the accident happened 20 years ago yet in the first film he is shown to be around 12. Jason's age is disregarded in this movie's continuity.  He would either be 22, 38 or around 50, seeing as how he does not age and is still a boy after 20 years, but becomes a man 10 years later. Maybe I'm delving too deep into this, so I'll move on.

The cast is fairly bland, with few notable performances. There are a lot of camp counselors you get no backstory or even dialog from, The only black guy in the movie literally has one line of dialog and a single chuckle during one scene, he is seen in the movie quite a few times but has no character development. The nerdy prankster has a fair amount of lines but is taken out of the movie around the final act to go party in town. Mad Ralph, the town doomsayer is back from the first film and only other returning character. Sadly he won't be making it to the 3rd... shame, I like that guy

YOU"RE ALL DOOMED!

The most likable counselor and the one I hoped would make it was Mark, A man paralyzed from a motorcycle accident. He is quite the (pardon the pun) stand up fellow and seems oblivious to being hit on by one of the girls, He gives possible the best performance among the secondary cast and his character really is dedicated to counselor training. He is not there for a summer fling or joined to the camp with a significant other.

The heroine of this film is much better then the first. Ginny is resourceful, athletic and even the small detail of her majoring in child psychology has a role to play. The last 20 minutes of the film is a chase scene and one I find entertaining. She evades Jason, running from cabin to cabin, eventually stumbling upon his "home", a ramshackle mess of metal in the woods. Remember, he is still alive and did not drown in the lake (another inconsistency). 

The ending is not unlike the first with the viewer unable to discern what finally happened. Ginny is attacked by Jason while Paul, the head counselor, is on the other side of the room. Ginny wakes up in the hospital and asks where Paul is.  The policeman says that they did not find him. We jump back to Jason's shack and he is not there.

Before the hockey mask there was... a burlap sack?

Body Count: 8

Audio: 7/10
The audio has aged well, and the timing is almost perfect. The score is a little below average.  There are a few minor errors here and there but the average movie goer won't notice them

Video: 7/10.
Not much to say. Looks like the 80's, was made in 81's, and the effects are better then the first.

Effects: 6/10
Unlike the first installment, no kills happen off screen and the deaths are shown in detail, be it a slit throat, a well place spear though 2 lovers, or barbed wire choking. It's all shown on screen. The only gripe I have is Mark's death. They used a dummy fastened to the wheelchair while it is falling down stairs. Of course it wouldn't be a real actor, but it is so obvious that it hurts. The aforementioned scene is the possibly best shot in the whole movie despite the use of a dummy.

Story: 4/10
It's the same as the first but with a different killer and there are really only 3 camp counselors you get to know. Half of the cast leaves for the final act to go clubbing for the last time before the camp training begins and that never gets resolved. We never hear from those 6 people in this movie except a few jump cuts to the bar to explain why they never came back.

Overall: 65/100
A pretty good sequel with minor inconsistencies, but its horror not drama. There is a lot more nudity and visible violence than in the first. Unmasked, Jason looks a lot like the good guy doll in Child's Play. That made me laugh a bit, despite this movie being almost a decade earlier then Child's Play.  I enjoyed watching this and I am really looking forward to the 3rd. Definitely a good watch for people wanting an early 80's horror movie.

- Rosanderman