Of all the slashers
out there, Jason Voorhees has probably been the most trademarked with his
signature hockey mask. But the storylines from most of his films are
essentially the same. There is very little substance. A warning to all who have
not seen all the films: this article contains spoilers.
The routine plot is
Jason stalks a bunch of misbehaving teenagers who have accidentally trespassed
on his territory. He kills them off one-by-one until only one or two characters
remain, typically at least one is female. They are usually able to
"kill" Jason, or at least incapacitate him, until the sequel. This is
how most of his movies go, the only difference being an occasional change of
scenery.
But of course, not
all the Friday the 13th films go exactly like this. For
example, the first one features Jason's mother Pamela as the killer. She,
unlike her son, is very human with no supernatural strength or invincibility.
The lone survivor decapitates the vengeful mother.
The next two
sequels follow the typical plotline I described earlier. One female is left
suffering from severe hysterics or dementia after her ordeal is over.
Friday the 13th:
The Final Chapter changes
up the formula somewhat by establishing a connection with the next two sequels
by featuring the only character to appear in more than one of the films in a
relatively significant role, besides Jason himself. That character is Tommy
Jarvis. This movie features Tommy as a 12-year-old boy who loves to make masks
but whom we later find out is quite disturbed after he brutally murders the
hockey mask killer.
The next part (A
New Beginning) has Tommy in a half-way house after having been released
from years of psychiatric therapy. After the murders mysteriously begin again,
in usual Friday the 13th fashion, he and the other characters
assume Jason has returned from the dead once again. But this story has a plot
twist: the killer turns out to be a copycat. It was a psychotic paramedic who
was seeking revenge over the death of his son at the same half-way house Tommy
was staying in.
The follow-up film
(Jason Lives) again features character Tommy Jarvis in his final
appearance in the series. The only substance to this story was Jason was being
brought back to life with lightning, giving him superhuman strength and
invulnerability. But Tommy once again incapacitates the killer by chaining him
to a rock at the bottom of the lake.
Its sequel (The
New Blood) had a female character, Tina Shephard, with telekinetic
abilities. The plot, except for this aspect, follows the same pattern as the
others.
The next chapter (Jason
Takes Manhattan) takes place primarily in Manhattan, NY. This, again, was
the only difference in the story formula.
Its successor (Jason
Goes to Hell) has perhaps the most plotline substance of any of its
predecessors. Jason's body is destroyed early in the film, but the coroner eats
his heart, putting the killer's soul inside his body. Throughout the film,
Voorhees jumps from body to body attempting to be reborn via a blood relative.
After he finally succeeds, his niece kills him "for good" by sticking
a dagger in his heart.
The final film of
the original series before the Freddy Krueger crossover puts Jason in space. It
takes place in the distant future but, aside from that, everything is
essentially the same.
As you probably
realize by now, the Jason Voorhees film series provides little in terms of
story substance but the character's mere popularity is what contributed to the
length of the series.
Kevin T. Dillehay
has written more than 100 movie reviews from all genres. He provides a unique
perspective on the movies you see all the time but may not stop and think about
in depth. You are invited to check out his work at http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/kmonk10.
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