PopHorror Let's Get Scared
You know how you find yourself falling into patterns in life, or maybe ruts would be a better word for it. We all do it, and when it comes to horror franchises, I’ve spent enough well-heeled time with them to be comfortable in the major ones. However, there are always installments in even my most beloved favorites that I’ve visited less than the others. I’m a Friday the 13th guy first and foremost, but I have to admit, I’ve revisited Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood and Rob Hedden’s Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan the least amount of times. To give it some scale, I’ve seen Jason Lives probably 100 times, but I’ve seen The New Blood and Jason Takes Manhattan maybe 20 times each, tops.
In an attempt to undo this potential violation to my Friday the 13th fan creds, I just picked up copies of John Carl Buechler’s The New Blood and Rob Hedden’s Jason Takes Manhattan (my first ever) to properly complete my collection. After watching them back to back, not only was I glad to revisit them after a much too long hiatus, but I noticed something pretty interesting. There are some glaring similarities in both the plot and structure of both films. Each director made daring choices to set their installments apart, which makes it even more amazing. It’s probably more serendipitous than intentional, but it’s pretty far out, just the same. They share much more than just being chronological sequels. So enough with the intro. Let’s try to lay down some empirical evidence.
Final Girls
The final girls, Tina (Lar Park-Lincoln) and Rennie (Jensen Daggett), didn’t have the greatest of childhoods, experiencing lake trauma as children. Tina’s dad died in an incident that she always blamed herself for, and Rennie got pushed into the lake, pulled down by a young Jason, nearly drowning.
Tina and Rennie both had psychic powers. Tina’s abilities are a lot easier to define. She could move objects, light things on fire, and see visions of the past and the future. Rennie’s was on a much lower tier than that, but she did have some kind of psychic link going on with Jason. Some might dismiss this as paranoia, but what about the weird kid looking in the porthole?
Bad Guys – The Human Version
Both girls had terrible male guardians. Tina had Bad News Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser), who wanted to exploit her abilities for his own professional gain, while Rennie had her killjoy Uncle Charles (Peter Mark Richman). Both guys did the teens more harm than good under the guise of protecting their fragile conditions by sheltering them from all the usual adolescent debauchery.
Protectors
Both girls also had well-meaning female guardians. Tina had her sincere but naive mother (Susan Blu) that Dr. Crews was manipulating to control her, and Rennie had the teacher (Barbara Bingham) that gave her Stephen King’s pen and acted as buffer between her and her stiff Uncle Charles.
Boyfriends
Both girls also had potential boyfriends who looked past their weirdness and genuinely liked them. Tina had Nick (Kevin Spirtas), a guy who could’ve had the preppy Melissa, but chose the crazy girl that could move things with her mind over the crazy girl that would divorce him later on and take his house. Smart choice, Nick. Rennie had the ship captain’s son (Scott Reeves) that couldn’t read nautical navigational instruments and could spontaneously produce a souvenir Statue of Liberty necklaces, even before they got to New York. This was before the internet, so he didn’t get it off of Amazon. He will probably come through on future anniversary gifts as well. He’s a keeper, no doubt.
Mean Girls
Tina’s arch nemesis was Melissa (Susan Jennifer Sullivan) and Rennie squared off against Tamara (Sharlene Martin). Both manipulated guys in the group that were low on the popularity food chain, all while bringing their own evil plans to fruition. Melissa used Eddie to simulate a straight jacket to humiliate Tina at the party, only to lead him high and dry in his tighty whitey underwear. Tamara used Wayne for her Slim Goodbody ploy to blackmail Rennie’s uncle. She even caused Rennie to fall overboard, thinking she narced on her for doing drugs on the ship. Both of these antagonists were blonde and, up to that point, the most manipulative and cruel chicks the series had ever seen. They’re right up there with the other heartless succubus that poured a bucket of pig’s blood on another girl with telekinesis. There was an Uber Jason, these were the uber bitches of the series.
Film Geeks
Eddie (Jeff Bennett) and Wayne (Martin Cummins) were the two guys that I would have talked to during study hall. If they had lived, adulthood would have been way cooler than that awkward lake trip or cruise. Everyone has a higher tolerance for these dudes now. Eddie would’ve been fine if the internet had been around to find someone that his film references wouldn’t have been lost on, and to pick up some reasonably priced AV equipment to shoot that Star Mummy thing he was always going on about. Wayne sported glasses that are popular now and a bulky camcorder that isn’t. Both were also pawns in Melissa and Tamara’s wicked games.
The Missing Couple
Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives deserves an honorable mention here, because it was the first to have this particular plot element. The New Blood and Jason Takes Manhattan followed suit. Both films had couples that were going to be – at worst – fashionably late, but alas, late turned into never. The New Blood had Michael (William Butler) and his girlfriend, Jane (Staci Greason), heading to Michael’s surprise birthday party, only to be waylaid in the worst way. Jason Takes Manhattan had Jim (Todd Caldecott) and Suzi (Tiffany Paulsen) taking their own pleasure cruise before rendezvousing with the ship bound for New York. They didn’t make it, either. Both couples were taken out by stuff you can find at a Bass Pro Shop location in the camping and boating sections. Jason really does like to mix it up every now and them.
Sometimes, even after 20 viewings, it just takes that 21st watch. I should go back and revisit the latter Halloween stuff too. It all may be connected beneath the brilliant disguise of a lack of continuity.
