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Yes, the fourth film in the venerable Friday the 13th franchise was truly meant to be “The Final Chapter.” They even got the legendary Tom Savini, who did the makeup FX in the original 1980 film, to come back to kill the character he helped create. In gruesome fashion! It was to be the perfect swan song. But Jason had the last laugh…at the Box Office. The Final Chapter raked in more than $30 million on a budget of less than $2 million. How could Paramount walk away from that kind of financial success? They couldn’t.
Paramount greenlit Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning and put it in theaters less than a year later, in March, 1985. There was no Jason. Well, not really. But there were still plenty of fans buying tickets. A New Beginning was another financial success, earning more than $20 million on a $2.2 million budget. The franchise Paramount seemed intent on killing just plain refused to die.
While A New Beginning made money, the fans were upset. Let’s face it: copycat killer Roy Burnes was no Jason Voorhees. If the franchise was to continue, Jason needed to rise again. And rise, he would, in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. The year is 1986. Look back with us on this franchise changing classic…
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Synopsis
Still haunted by horrific childhood memories, an adult Tommy Jarvis seeks closure by confronting Jason Voorhees one last time. Intent on burning the body, Tommy digs up Jason’s grave and unwittingly releases the killer from his tomb. Rejuvenated by a freak lightning strike, a super powerful, undead Jason stalks the Crystal Lake area leaving dead bodies in his wake. As the body count rises, Tommy must find a way to stop Jason and return him to his final resting place.
As a franchise, Friday the 13th was somewhat of an enigma at Paramount. The studio never wanted it front and center on their release slate, and they never really knew how to promote it, either. All they really knew was that it made money…and it was always a good time to make another one.
The studio brought Producer Frank Mancuso Jr. back to give the franchise another go. After A New Beginning‘s chilly critical and fan reception, he knew (and the studio knew) that for this new film to succeed, the fans needed to know the real Jason was back. Jason’s return was front and center in the trailer, and front and center on the original poster: one of the most iconic in the series!
Back To The Basics
After Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, the original plan was for that film’s survivors to return. John Shepherd (Tommy) and Melanie Kinnaman (Pam) had signed two picture deals in 1985. Shavar Ross (Reggie) was also asked to return. Shepherd found religion and ultimately decided he wasn’t interested in a sequel. Ross also backed out when he learned his character would be killed off. This left Kinnaman as the odd one out. Her contract was ultimately voided by the studio when they realized they needed to go in a new direction.
Longtime Producer Frank Mancuso Jr. brought in Tom McLoughlin to pitch him the project. A relative unknown at the time, McLoughlin had dabbled as an actor before writing and directing the horror feature One Dark Night. Just prior to Jason Lives, McLoughlin wrote one of the most iconic episodes of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories: “Go To The Head of the Class.” After an initial meeting, McLoughlin marathoned the films, since he’d only seen the first, and decided he was interested. McLoughlin took the job and started immediately on the script.
McLoughlin cast Thom Mathews as his new Tommy. Mathews had history with the horror genre, having done Return Of The Living Dead the year before. McLoughlin hired Jennifer Cooke based on her work in V: The Original Series. Darcy DeMoss was fired from A New Beginning for refusing to do nudity, but returned for Part 6 (in non-nude scenes). The director also cast his wife, Nancy, in the film. Several characters are named after McLoughlin’s real life family and friends.
McLoughlin asked Mancuso if it was okay to make the film humorous. Mancuso said that was fine, as long as you don’t make fun of Jason. That was off limits. The only other guidance Mancuso gave McLoughlin? You need to bring the real Jason back.
He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask)
At the (punched out) heart of every Friday the 13th sequel is its Jason. Up until this point in the franchise, it didn’t really matter who that was. This wasn’t Psycho or A Nightmare On Elm Street, after all. Jason didn’t have to be a face, or a name, or a known commodity. He could really be just about anyone. To their credit, the studio approached stuntman Ted White about the role. White portrayed Jason in The Final Chapter (brilliantly, I might add), and was also offered the role in A New Beginning. He declined both offers. White only embraced his role as Jason later in life, after shunning it initially. He would later go on to say it was a mistake to decline the chance to come back, particularly in Jason Lives.
White was out, but the film was ready to shoot. Stunt coordinator Dan Bradley was initially chosen to play Jason. The first scenes they shot were on the paintball course. Bradley’s Jason dispatched the group of corporate paintballers in comedic and bloody fashion. But something wasn’t right. Jason wasn’t tall enough or lean enough or powerful enough to be convincing on screen. After reviewing the dailies, it was decided Bradley needed to be replaced by someone who was a better visual representation of the character. But who?
Enter C.J. Graham.
Graham originally auditioned alongside Bradley after he was spotted by some crew members in a night club. He was dressed as Jason Voorhees as part of a hypnotist show and made quite an impression. He was invited to the casting call, but the production team originally went with Bradley. Once it was decided Bradley didn’t quite have the look, it was C.J. Graham’s turn to shine. The former soldier was more than up for the task.
Let The Fun Begin
With the possible exception of Jason X, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is the most fun of any film in the franchise. McLoughlin sets the tone from the opening scene when Jason is brought back to life by a bolt of lightning. Moments later, in a big ass thunderstorm, he has his hockey mask and a spear and a Harry Manfredini musical cue, and this sequel is ready to rock. The opening splash is done James Bond style with Jason walking across the screen and then slashing it with his machete the way Bond always shot the camera. You knew right then you were in for a wild ride.
McLoughlin’s script is smart and funny and full of self-referential humor. The characters and locations have names like Garris, Carpenter, Baker, Cunningham, and Karloff. The characters mock horror movie tropes, long before the Scream and Scary Movie franchises came along. The caretaker even breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. I remember as a young kid alternating between terror and laughter and realizing this approach was magic. This film, in a lot of ways, pioneered a formula which was used with great success in the decades that followed.
From a more fundamental “Friday the 13th as a slasher” standpoint, the kills are a ton of fun. From the triple beheading on the paintball field to the face crush in the back of the RV to the blood splattered cabin to the Sherriff Garris backbreaker, this film had some of the best kills in the franchise. Composer Harry Manfredini’s score is here through all of it, setting up each kill beautifully. This soundtrack, to me, is the best out of all of the Friday films.
Release And Reception
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives opened on August 1, 1986, in 1610 theaters. With an opening weekend gross of $6.75 million, the film debuted in 2nd place behind James Cameron’s Aliens (read our 35th anniversary retro here) and ahead of Howard The Duck. It was the first Friday the 13th film to not open at #1 at the box office in the United States. By the end of its theatrical run, Jason Lives had grossed just shy of $19.5 million. This made it the lowest grossing film of the series to that point. But, in perspective, with a budget of just $3 million, it still made a pretty penny for Paramount.
While the box office numbers underwhelmed, critics actually responded favorably (relatively, you understand) to McLoughlin’s tongue-in-cheek sequel. Even famed Friday hater Gene Siskel heaped on the praise (again, relatively) in his review:
”Part VI” is the least offensive film in the series, because it does display a sense of humor about itself. At one point two young male campers are huddled under one bed, fearing Jason`s knife. ”We`re dead meat,” says one. ”Well, what did you want to be when you grew up?” says another. It’s a big laugh in an otherwise all-too-familiar bloody ritual.
Siskel hated these films so much, he once gave out Betsy Palmer’s home address so people could send her hate mail. If I’m Tom McLoughlin, I’m having that review framed and hung in my house! Jason Lives has the 2nd highest TomatoMeter score at Rotten Tomatoes (behind only Friday the 13th (1980) and ranks 4th on IMDB. Cinemascore audience rankings give it a B: the highest scoring Friday film on the platform. The key word in all of these reviews? FUN!
Jason Lives has fun in spades.
Jason Lives Trivia
- Tommy’s pickup truck in the opening scene is the same truck Pam drove in Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
- The only Friday the 13th film to contain no nudity.
- C.J. Graham performed all of his own stunts, including the water, fire, and driving stunts, despite not being a trained stuntman.
- The first Friday the 13th film where Jason gets shot (for all the good it did).
- David Kagen (Sheriff Garris) worked as an acting teacher. One of his students: Co-Star Jennifer Cooke, who plays his on-screen daughter
- The most expensive film in the franchise ($3 million) at the time it was produced in 1986.
- The studio complained the body count (13) wasn’t high enough, so they paid for reshoots to add more kills to the finished film.
- Thom Mathews, C.J. Graham, and Vincent Gustaferro have all returned to the Friday the 13th Franchise to do various fan films like Never Hike Alone, Never Hike In The Snow, and Friday The 13th: Vengeance
- Director Tom McLoughlin kept the “Jason Voorhees” tombstone prop from the film and still displays it in his yard
Final Thoughts
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is the quintessential Friday the 13th film. If it’s not the outright best of the series, it’s certainly in the top 3. I don’t think you’ll find any self-described Friday fan who will argue that. For me, it’s pure comfort. It’s a film I can pop in any time I need a pick me up, and it never disappoints. If you were ever going to introduce a non-fan or a casual horror fan to the series, I’d recommend starting with this one.
Jason Lives is available on DVD and Blu-ray as part of several very affordable Paramount boxed sets released over the years. You can find them on Amazon. If you really want to experience the film in its greatest glory, however, I recommend you grab a copy of the Scream Factory ultimate Friday the 13th boxed set from 2020. The Jason Lives Blu-ray from that set contains tons of bonus features, including deleted scenes and multiple commentary tracks from the Director and cast. You can still grab that box on Amazon as well. It is amazing.
Jason’s return from the grave in Jason Lives changed the course of the franchise…for the better. It helped spawn 4 more sequels, featuring zombie Jason killing machine Kane Hodder and it ultimately made Freddy vs. Jason possible. After all, what fun would Freddy vs. Jason be if it was Freddy vs. redneck guy in a green work shirt? You know I’m right. Jason Lives is important, to the franchise and to the fans.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to watch it again.
