Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981)

FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 2 (1981)

After Friday The 13^th made an absolute crap load of money compared to the miniscule budget it had, Paramount jumped right on to making a sequel. It was decided that Friday The 13^th part 2 would use Jason Voorhees as its antagonist- even if his character was never intended to be used for a sequel- and fresh young faces that he could swing his machete into. Like most sequels, this movie is practically a carbon copy of the first with a few differences that help remind the audience that it is a different movie. While Part 2 is a relatively good sequel compared to others (lets be honest; it didn’t really have much to live up to), a few things hindered it from being as ‘good’ as Friday The 13^th.

It has been five years since the events of the first film. A new camp has been built adjacent to the one of Friday The 13^th, and new camp counsellors are brought in to help revitalise the area as a campsite. What happened to Pamella Voorhees and the counsellors in Friday The 13^th has managed to achieve legendary status (don’t you think it would have been all over the news?) and the new batch simply brush it off as fiction. Well, turns out Jason saw his mum ‘loose her head’ in more ways than one, and he never actually drowned. He has been scraping out a living in a wooden shack deep in the forests surrounding Crystal Lake, and these new kids on the block are unwelcome visitors.

The new camp councillors sitting around a fire while they chuckle at the story from the first film. Idiots.

 With ‘classic’ horror/’slasher’ movies like this, its’ hard to differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ aspects of the film. What would usually be bad- like terrible acting and dialogue- are really just part of the genre. For this reason, the following discussion is more of a mish-mash off good and bad aspects. The first scene involves Jason tying up a loose end with Friday the 13^th’s heroin Alice Hardy (Adrienne King), starting things off with an unintentional funny note. Her dreaming is terribly acted (she sounds as though she is constipated and having sex at the same time) and some flashbacks of that hilariously goofy scene towards the end of Friday the 13^th between her and Pamella Voorhees make this even funnier. Other than that this scene where the heroine from the first film is killed off is pretty good. Some effective tension and jump-scares managed to give me the heebie-jeebies, at least. The choice to return ‘crazy Ralph’ to the cast was a good one; he was both funny and creepy in the original, as he is here.

Ok I think even people who say 'Im up for anything' in terms of sex would agree that this is a tad extreme. Well except Jason, because he is into all kinds of weird shit apparently.

 The score is good, if extremely outdated, and much the same as the first with a few deviations; that famous ‘kee-kee-keee-mah-mah-mah’ queue is used whenever Jason is lurking around and it’s very un-nerving. Some of the deaths are pretty good; particularly an unfortunate fellow who takes a machete to the face and then gets pushed down the stairs. They are pretty gore-less compared to the crazy blood and guts of movies these days (It’s clear these where cut significantly so they could be shown back then). I’m not sure which copy I watched, but I couldn’t get my hands on an uncut version unfortunately. Still, the kills are good but brief. A few constants in the Friday the 13^th series are the camp setting with the wooden cabins, horny teenagers who get killed and a storm with lots of rain and lightening in the last third. It’s definitely a combination I love. This campy, haunted-house type feeling is a classic horror movie atmosphere. It’s good that Betsy Palmer from the first movie came back to do a few more shots of Pamella Voorhees. It really helped to tie the two movies together. The actress for the heroine also does a good job in terms of acting.

This is the heroin of Part 2, Ginny. More like Ginnysquisha, am I right? You can just tell this bitch is from the ghetto, and she is ready to cut Jason UP. 

 Most of these negatives are part of the movies charm. For example, the dialogue is pretty bad (never distractingly so, however). One of our characters says “this place is creepy” when she gets out of the car, and then goes for a walk around in the woods alone? Now that’s what I call common sense. You cant help but laugh at all the short-shorts exposing ass-cheeks, the mid-drift shirts that barely cover a women’s boobs, the 80’s haircuts and the sweat bands, and the abundance of turtle-necks. It’s pretty obvious that most of these characters are going to die, but Friday The 13^th part 2 was made before this became a painfully predictable cliché. The movie structure is much the same as the first (Although the last third is not as comical the first movies).

Hmmm, yeh I'm not sure how scary the 'pillowcase killer' sounds or looks.

Jason doesn’t get his iconic hockey mask until part 3, so he is stuck with a not-so-scary pillowcase for a mask in Friday the 13^th part 2. Not that we see it much, most of the time he is just a pair of shoes. It’s pretty funny when some of these teenagers just stand there while Jason walks very slowly towards them for a stab, but its just part of the fun and charm of these movies; we are meant to think “bitch, what the hell are you doing?! RUN!” The ending is a little confusing, even if the jump scare (again similar to the one from Friday The 13^th) is good. It was all just a bit sudden and unexplained. However the movies main negative is a big one: how is Jason still alive? That scene right at the end of Part 1 was meant to be a dream sequence, not actually Jason (if it was, the police would have seen; they where standing on the shore), and so him still being alive is a huge plot hole. Oh well, if they hadn’t brought him back for this one, we wouldn’t have the next ten movies! Although the dialogue is bad there isn’t’ much of it, so that made quotes limited, but I did find it funny when Amy steel (the heroin) theorises that Jason is a ‘boy beast’ in the woods and he could be a ‘frightened retard’ in a very serious tone (it took many takes because she couldn’t say it with a straight face).

Pamella Vorhees's rather shrivelled decapitated head. Well, I suppose that's one way to create a memorial for a loved one...

 Friday the 13^th Part 2 is an ok sequel for a good movie. If I went on a rant about how big my expectations where for this after I watched the first I would be lying. These are simple movies, and they are hard to stuff up (although some of the sequels managed to stuff themselves up). If you watched the first film and liked it, think of Part 2 as going on the same roller coaster a second time; it's not quite as thrilling but you should still have a good time.

3.5/5

Recommended classification: 15+ for strong horror violence, nudity, brief sex scene and infrequent coarse language

Friday the 13th (1980)

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

“He should have been watched, every minute…my only child… my sweet, innocent...Jason.”- Pamella Voorhees. These where the words that birthed my favourite horror icon, Jason Voorhees, and although he isn’t the main antagonist in Friday the 13^th part 1, it is this movie that set the seed for another eleven movies in years to come. First off, this movie was initially made to cash-in on the popularity of the equally as classic Halloween by John Carpenter. While that is a good movie, I automatically favour Friday the 13^th because of my affinity to the hockey-masked, machete wielding mass murderer. There where only a  few of these movies floating around in the late 70’s and early 80’s, and it was this and Halloween that established a now well-worn formulae still used in what are now called ‘slashers’- a sub-genre of horror that involves a murder (usually masked or unknown), sex and often graphic violence.

The storyline is pretty simple. Upon the re-opening of a camp, new horny councillors are brought in to help prepare ‘Camp Crystal Lake’ for re-opening. One by one, they are picked of in the dead of night at the hands of a mysterious assailant who is not revealed until the finale. And that’s it! Among the cast are a few familiar names, including Kevin Bacon in one of his first major roles (although he doesn’t last long).

Our Camp Crystal Lake councillors lined up for the slaughter. from left to right,  Laurie Bartram as Brenda,  Mark Nelson as Ned, Jeannine Taylor as Marcie, Kevin Bacon as Jack and Harry Crosby as Bill.

The wooden cabins, the clouded moonlight, the surrounding forest and a ferocious storm; it’s just all so classic now. Even if the movie is very dated (I had no idea how popular and short short-shorts where back then), the first scene and a few others still send shivers down my spine. Friday the 13^th’s score introduces the iconic ‘kee-kee-kee-mah-mah-mah’ (actually made from the composer saying ‘kill-kill-kill-mum-mum-mum’). I know crazy Ralph's character was meant to be scary, but he is just SO funny. Apparently the actor who played him was pretty quirky himself. You can't help but have fun with a movie that has characters standing there going ‘no..no!’ right before their throats are slit. Most of the scenes where done on one take, which explains why some come off as awkwardly funny. All the characters are the standard card-board cutout ‘slasher’fair. However it should be noted that both this and Halloween established this trend before it became a cliché. Despite this, these characters are in no way unlikable; something modern horror films have a major problem with.

There's nothing like an axe to the head after some sexy-good-time cabin sex. Or is that just me and her...?

A great element of the film is Marcie’s recount of an ominous dream. Coupled with the oncoming storm, its pretty effective in creating a perfect atmosphere for the film. Some of the kills are pretty damn good, but don’t expect anything profoundly gory compared to modern films. Kevin Bacon gets an especially bloody death, and the lead up to Marcie’s ‘axe-to-the-head’ is well done. Friday the 13^th is at its cheesiest when in its last half an hour. Alice goes to great lengths to barricade a door only to need it minutes later, and the killer is revealed. Your reaction to this will either be a gasp followed by ‘OH MY GOD’, or an ‘OH MY GOD!’ followed by laughter. The fight between the heroin and the killer is so poorly staged that it is comic gold. This consists of Alice knocking out the killer in an amusing fashion, running away and the killer regaining consciousness; repeated about three times. Seriously, I was yelling “FOR GOD’S SAKE KILL THE BITCH!” Her reactions to finding her mutilated friends is priceless. I believe her method of acting for these scenes is called ‘shocked constipation’.  The decision to leave the perpetrators identity until the last few reels was a good move, and like I said your reaction to this might be very different to mine.

How the FUCK she slept after chopping the head off an old lady and seeing all her friends dead mutilated bodies is beyond me. 

This next part has some spoilers. Betsy Palmer does an amiable job as the crazed ms Voorhees, even if it is far-fetched with how much a 50 ear old mentally unstable women was able to do to these kids. Her performance verges on comic yet very creepy. Seeing this older women bash Alice’s head into the sand is just hilarious, as is her face right before she gets the chop. The jump scare at the end is just as crap-inducing as it was then, and this what truly opened the doors for Jason to avenge his mother…even if it was meant to be a dream. Oh well!

No this isn't something from an 80's Colgate commercial, this is Betsy Palmer's 'avenge my retarded dead son' face.

One problem I have with this movie is a highly personal one of ethics. In one scene, there is a snake in Alice’s cabin that gets killed. A real snake was used for the movie, and the snake was actually killed for the scene. Unfortunately this was nothing new in low-budget 70’s and 80’s movies. I know this might sound silly, but its just a personal issue I have with the movie. However this scene is very brief, so it’s not a big issue and didn’t really effect my score overall for Friday the 13^th.

While the effect might look bad now- the body is obviously a prosthetic- this death was still pretty nasty (and apparently a pain in the butt to film. The blood pump wasn't working, so the effects guy had to blow into the bag which caused the spurt of blood in the film).

Even if Jason isn’t a main aspect of Friday the 13^th, its still a well done, fiendishly corny and immensely enjoyable ‘slasher’. Think of this as a prequel to the other Friday’s. I’ll always be grateful for this film bringing Jason Voorhees into the world (maybe I should be thanking Ms. Voorhees for that?) as well as the ‘slasher’ sub genre of horror. “You see, Jason is my son. And today is his birthday”- Pamella Voorhees.

4/5

Recommended classification: 15+ for strong horror violence, sex scene, brief drug use and infrequent coarse language

And here is the gloriously corny original trailer! gotta love that last line:

Skyfall (2012)

SKYFALL (2012)

I finally got to watch Skyfall, despite initial reservations resulting from Quantum Of Solace. It has managed to top both that and Casino Royale, as many others have also said. This is basically the Bond movie I was after, and has all the elements it needs to make it work well are accounted for. The problems that Quantum Of Solace had are not present here for the most part, largely due to an extended run time. Negatives that I’ve pointed out with Skyfall are pretty nit-picky, so don’t worry about those too much.

Starting from a clean slate, the plot revolves around a list of British agents being stolen. Bond needs to find the list before it can be used against him, 'M' and the United Kingdom, but the foe- Silva- uses his advanced computer technology to remain one step ahead of James Bond whenever he gets close. However, it is soon found that Silva and 'M' have a history, and that Silva intends to seek his revenge upon her and the company. It's up to 007 and a few others to kill him before he can act upon his vengeance, and James needs to gather all his skills in order to do so.

It's clear from the characteristic opening chase that the action is miles better than Quantum Of Solace’s. The jumpy, chaotic editing and pace of the last films action scenes is abandoned in favour of less frequent, more streamlined and ultimately more effective explosions mayhem. The humour that was missing from Quantum is strategically re-injected here once again. Intense scenes would have become too dense without a little lightening up with James Bond’s sarcasm. Daniel Craig also scowls less in skyfall- which was his main expression through all of Quantum Of Solace- and shows a much broader emotional range. The artfully creative opening credits holds a few images and references to what happens throughout the movie; so keep an eye out for those. As expected, Judi Dench is marvelous as ‘M’. She is given even more screen time and hands-on scenes, which was refreshing.

Judi Dench as 'M'; I'm sure she needs to hunch over her desk in an authorising manner as much as Craig needs to take of his shirt in every movie. Probably in the contract.

The villain here is positively menacing and completely intimidating. These traits where somewhat missing from the antagonists of Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace, and Silva is the ‘Bond-baddy’ I had envisioned from the beginning. What sold me was Javier Bardem’s performance, as he becomes engrossed and convincing with this unpleasant character. From his introduction, he is a nasty piece of work that could- and does- give Bond a run for his money. Speaking of whom, Bond's character is leaps and bounds more likable than he was in Quantum- an issue that hurt the movie greatly as you can see in my review. There is a sense of vulnerability to him, assisted by his very well written back-story. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one wondering why the movie is called Skyfall; it is only hinted at in the opening credits as well as another scene. Once we find out, it was an “ooohhh right” type of moment (although maybe that was just me), and turns out to be a very fitting title.

"THIS IS MY 'SHOOTING YOU IN THE FACE' FACE. SAY IT LOOKS WEIRD AND I'LL SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE."

 Another issue that as been eleviated from the previous installment is a longer runtime. Two and a half hours usually feels a bit indulgent and stretched for me, but it is completely necessary here and just flew by. More room is given between action and shooting for dialogue, with stronger character development resulting. The two 'Bond-girls' are my favorites so far. Eve, played by Naomie Hariis, is especially good, as is Severine (Berenice Marlohe). I was expecting more of them though, but I’ll discuss that later on. Predictably, my absolute favourite part of Skyfall involves a few Komodo dragons (that  have been brilliantly digitally rendered). Its short in comparison to other fights, but my love of monster movies drove my likeness for this part. For me, it was also a vague throwback to the original spy movies, where the evil guy would use animals like henchman against the good-guy (Although they aren't Silva's, it just seemed reminiscent of that to me; think ‘mutated sea-bass’ from Austin Powers. ok maybe that's not the best example). In fact, the chunk that takes place in Shanghai is very well done overall. One of the standout scenes has a continuous zoom-in shot free of editing during a hand-to-hand fight. Good choreography shows when no editing is needed to make it look realistic.

The setting of the finale in Scotland.

 I rarely do a review where I don’t mention a films score, as personally it’s one of the first things I notice. Skyfall’s is the best yet. It uses that Bond theme like it needs to- perhaps more frequently which I liked- but the original sections are equally as exhilarating. Even though I am new to the Bond movies, it’s clear that there are many references to the series here. One that is fairly hard to miss was a vintage 007 car that eventually gets destroyed- not that any car he steps into has a choice- but it’s nice to look at and appreciate until then. The last thirty minutes or so is set in country Scotland. Together with the almost gothic architecture, a brilliantly melancholic and dark atmosphere is set for the finale. This is where Skyfall’s amazing cinematography is on show, and this portion of the movie is significantly more serious than anything preceding it. It has been said by others before, myself included, that these last three 007 movies have been darker tonally, but it's here where that is truly apparent and clear. It works amazingly well; I really loved the whole finale.

 Javier Bardem as Silva. There was some serious hair bleaching going on here.

 Every movie has its negatives, but as you might have guessed there aren’t many in Skyfall. One constant negative element Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace and Skyfall have in common is the underuse of the so-called ‘bond-girls’. I might be wrong in this opinion, but I had always thought they where more central in these movies. That may be the case in the older ones, I’m not sure, but in Craig’s Bond films their roles are less than I had anticipated. This may have been deliberate to separate these from the rest of the series. Not to worry, it barely put a dent in what I clearly believe is a solid movie. There where a few too many ‘nudge-nudge, wink-wink’, corny one-liner heavy conversions between James Bond and Eve, I thought. Again, I’m sure this is a throw back to the 007 movies more than anything else, which explains why I didn’t quite get it or like it.

"La-di-da-di-da- HOLY SHIT JAMES BOND IS IN MY SHOWER WHAT THE HELL"

Many critics and long-time James Bond fans are hailing Skyfall as one of the best of the bunch so far. From what I have seen I wouldn’t hesitate in seconding that notion. Skyfall, as well as Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace, have managed to entertain me; someone who had no initial interest in watching these movies. It’s a little unclear as to where the series will go after this installment, but lets hope its just as good, if not better than Skyfall.

4.5/5

 Recommended classification: 12+ for moderate action violence, infrequent coarse language and sexual references

The official trailer for Skyfall: