Friday the 13th: Part VIII – Jason Takes Manhattan

Though the title is far from accurate – Jason doesn’t spend more than a third of the movie in New York City – Friday the 13th: Part VIII – Jason Takes Manhattan, which at least shakes things up by moving things away from Camp Crystal Lake and its surrounding woods, ultimately stands as a very slight improvement over its various predecessors. The narrative follows Kane Hodder’s Jason as he terrorizes a group of characters first aboard a luxury cruise and then in Manhattan, with an affable teen named Rennie Wickham (Jensen Daggett) ultimately forced to battle the supernatural, seemingly unstoppable monster deep in the bowels of New York City. There is, as expected, very little to get wholeheartedly excited about within Friday the 13th: Part VIII – Jason Takes Manhattan, as the movie boasts (or suffers) from all the problems that have plagued this series right from its initial installment – including wafer-thin characters and a frustratingly episodic storyline. The sheer novelty of a changed setting does go a long way towards keeping things relatively interesting, however, although, perhaps predictably, there’s just never a point at which the viewer is able to forge a genuine connection with either the characters or the plot. (Daggett is, admittedly, one of the more likable heroines contained within this bloated franchise.) Friday the 13th: Part VIII – Jason Takes Manhattan would appear to be incontrovertible proof that this series is simply unable to rise above the level of total mediocrity, which is a shame, certainly, given the amount of palpable potential contained within. (Wouldn’t it be amazing, for example, to see Jason wreaking havoc in an amusement park or an office building?)

** out of ****