After nine
sequels Jason still wasn't content with his blood count.
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First there
was the original 'Friday the 13th', a low budget exploitation quickie
designed to cash in on the success of "Halloween".
Jamie Russell
It was scary,
it was nasty, and it was very, very bloody. Then came eight sequels,
which replaced the original killer (Mrs Voorhees) with her dead
son, Jason.
They were even scarier - not because they were terrifying, but because
they were just so terrible.
Fortunately, "Jason X" breaks the franchise curse by offering something
original - a fiendish sense of humour.
The plot
The story is a lazy rehash of the "Alien" series. After being cryogenically
frozen in the early 21st century Jason (Hodder) is revived in 2455
on board a spaceship that's been salvaging material from Old Earth.
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| Why does
everyone keep running away from me? |
With him is
the girl who froze him, Rowan (Doig), but of course no one believes
her when she explains that Jason's an unstoppable serial killer
with a talent for regenerating dead tissue and a penchant for slicing
and dicing.
Next thing, Jason's all thawed out and killing off the disbelieving
crew one by one. Where's Ripley when you need her?
The Verdict
With a series of hilariously yucky deaths, some very camp dialogue
and a female android (Ryder) who's given a martial arts upgrade
before being sent off to battle Jason, pumping him full of bullets
and shouting "Who's your momma?", this makes a refreshing change
to the usual slice and dice tedium.
Horror purists
may complain that it flounces every rule of the slasher movie, isn't
in any way scary, and it shamelessly sets itself up for the next
sequel.
Well, they'd
be right, but as far as the "Friday" series goes, this is more fun
than anyone had any right to imagine.
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