Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) Review:

Jason Vorhees is one of those special villains who manages to stay a float no matter how bad the films revolving around him got. The first three films told one storyline centering around Jason's mythology. Then the fourth and fifth films connected to those by introducing a new character by the name of Tommy Jarvis. After seeing friends and family massacred by the machete wielding masked killer, Tommy has remained haunted by those moments since. However by this film, storytelling was way off, the characters were uninteresting and the series was really hitting a slump in its creativity. But for the series sixth outing, it actually managed to step it up a bit. By no means is it fantastic, but it is better than the previous entry before it.

Thom Mathews (right) as the new Tommy Jarvis

Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) is now a bit older than previous events and has made it his mission to destroy Jason (C.J. Graham) and the grave where his body rests. After failing to do so when a lightning bolt revives Jason from the dead, Jarvis heads back Camp Crystal Lake now renamed Camp Forest Green to warn the authorities headed by Sheriff Garris (David Kagen). Much to no one's surprise, Garris does not believe Jarvis and holds him captive. Meanwhile Jason begins doing what he does best; racking up the body count. All the while Garris' daughter Megan (Jennifer Cooke) wants to get to know more about Tommy. The script and direction was taken care of by Tom McLoughlin. Who actually helps make this film much more watchable.

The script isn't perfect because it still has big hurdles to overcome, but it shows there was effort put in. First the problems. Being that the last film concluded rather obnoxiously, McLoughlin sort of had to overwrite the prior story. This leads to bad continuity in this second saga of Jason Vorhees Vs Tommy Jarvis. On top of that, much of the supporting characters are still as bland as ever. David Kagen plays his role like every other non believer, Kerry Noonan, Renée Jones, Tom Fridley and Darcy DeMoss are completely oblivious as to what's happening. The only three actors to really make anything of it was Thom Mathews as Tommy Jarvis, who at least has way more personality than John Shepard in the last film.

Jennifer Cooke also tries to help when needed. C.J. Graham as Jason works too, with his lumbering yet imposing presence. What does work in the script though is the satirical tone that is used. Right from the beginning, the intro credits are introduced by Jason walking in on the screen like he's 007. There's also a character that references the fact that "any weirdo wearing a mask isn't friendly". These are things not expected, but clever. There's also a little more tension to this feature because the campsite is actually populated with kids this time. That can be scary. Unfortunately, the kills and the cliches that bring them are still not the best. It is still a step in the right direction though.

"I'm back,........surprised?"

The cinematography shot by Jon Kranhouse was well lit. Seeing Jason walking around during the day is different even though over time, the settings convert to night time. Even then, the images filmed are nicely lit. There's an underwater scene that looks very impressive too. Kranhouse would also film for Kickboxer (1989), Decoy (1995) and Something More (1999). Lastly was Harry Manfredini's score which also has improved and has thankfully stuck around. The score not only continues its usual Friday the 13th stings, but also includes the latin hymn Dies Irae into it as well. This not only makes the motif for Jason more distinguishable, but also more memorable. Nice.

Concluding the Tommy Jarvis saga wasn't as good as it could have been, but it definitely finished better than expected considering its prior entry. The characters are still not that interesting and the kills are regaining some of their uniqueness, but it’s not there yet. What really stands out though is the music, camerawork and some of the satirical additives the script throws in.

Points Earned --> 5:10