FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 5: A NEW BEGINNING (1985)
Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning has long been the red-headed stepchild of the Friday franchise. Since the day of its release, fans have bemoaned this film's existence, and lamented its stylistic differences from the other installments of the series. Apparently these people never bothered to read the movie's title.
For what it's worth, I understand the complaints. The problem is not the film's execution, but audience expectations. Director Danny Steinmann and screenwriter Martin Kitrosser crafted a very solid slasher movie, but a very bad Friday the 13th sequel, at least in terms of what the fans wanted on the heels of the much-loved previous film.
At the conclusion of Part 4, the so-called Final Chapter (ha!), we saw Jason well and truly dead, and young Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) struggling with his grip on sanity. As Part 5 opens, young Tommy (Feldman in a cameo) wanders through the woods during a thunderstorm, searching for Jason's grave. He finds it, just as a couple of teenage yokels arrive, intent on digging up our favorite psycho killer. Quickly making short work of the shallowest grave in movie history, Jason's body is revealed... only he's not dead! After rewarding the teens who freed him by shoving a couple of machetes through their stomachs (how's that for gratitude?), Jason emerges, spies young Tommy, and raises his blade for the kill. Tommy screams...
...only to wake up as an adult in the back of a van. Tommy (now played by John Shepherd, who has almost no dialogue in the entire movie), has been suffering mental distress for several years. He experiences waking visions of Jason, and has visceral nightmares about the killer's return. After several years in mental institutions, Tommy's doctors now believe that the temperamental young man is ready for a halfway house as part of his reintegration into society. He is transferred to a rural retreat, a combination of a camp and a farm (ooo, nice blending of Part 1 and Part 3 there).
Although competently run, the camp soon falls victim to a string of murders (the first of which, involving an unwanted candy bar, ranks among the most genuinely shocking scenes of the series). Tommy must determine if Jason has returned from the grave, or if someone else has taken up the hockey mask for purposes of his or her own.
Colorful supporting characters dot the film, some of which are genuinely memorable. These include the dim-witted but eager-to-please Joey (Dominick Brascia, who is now [no fooling!] a conservative talk radio host), the always furious Vic Fadden (Mark Venturini, who looks like he prepared for his role by licking the sweat off Clint Eastwood's forehead), and the robot-dancing Violet (Tiffany Helm). Ethel and Junior Hubbard (Carol Locatell and Ron Sloan), the troublemaking rednecks who live down the road, bring some amusing comic relief, while the exceptionally well-endowed Debisue Voorhees steals her scenes in a vastly more carnal way. Young Reggie (Shavar Ross, who played Gary Coleman's friend Dudley on Diff'rent Strokes) and his kindly grandfather (Vernon Washington from The Last Starfighter) round out the supporting cast, and often upstage top-billed Melanie Kinnaman in the process.
Okay, I'm going to throw down the gauntlet: I like this movie. I like it quite a bit, actually. I admire films which have the courage to try something new with an established franchise, cheerfully violating the rules of what came before. There's a good story underneath the hood of A New Beginning, and this film both mirrors and trumps Part 1 in one important respect: it's a murder mystery, and the murderer is actually a character to whom we've been introduced!
Even if the film's denouement plays out like the final scene of Psycho, with motives laboriously and unnecessarily explained (and how, exactly, did a certain photograph find its way into the killer's wallet?), I give the movie credit for playing fair. Indeed, rewatching this film after you learn the killer's identity brings a whole new level of comedy: the scenes with the unmasked killer are hilarious! Steinmann is doing everything but telegraphing the murderer's identity with a flashing neon arrow, thanks to judicious use of close-ups and ominous music.
No, the killer isn't Jason this time, and that's the biggest problem most people have with the movie. But give the producers credit for keeping their word: The Final Chapter was advertised as Jason Voorhees' swan song, and they had every intention of adhering to this statement. If the series was going to continue, therefore, a new villain was needed, and as such, one was dutifully provided, as uninspired as the choice might seem in retrospect. Although Part 5 attempted to take the series in a bold new direction (the finale in particular opens up all sorts of intriguing possibilities), the fans made their displeasure known at the box office. Although still a moneymaker, Part 5 made substantially less than earlier installments. As such, when it came time to develop Part 6, one thing was made clear: the real Jason Voorhees would be back.
In the meantime, I've got to give Part 5 credit. It's a great piece of horror entertainment, and has grown on me steadily over the years, once I decided to approach the film on its terms rather than judging it based on its stylistic differences with Part 4. Especially in light of the Friday the 13th films which would soon follow, Part 5 stands out as a fun watch.
Most important lessons learned while viewing this movie? If the guy with the ax tells you he doesn't want a candy bar, don't press the issue. Don't eat enchiladas in your van. Ethel Hubbard makes the best damn stew in the world. If you're going to pop-lock in your bedroom while listening to Pseudo Echo on your jambox, you might want to lock your door. And if you really love somebody, you'll sing to them through a closed outhouse door every time they have explosive diarrhea.
Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning is available on VHS. It's also available as a stand-alone DVD, or as part of the Friday the 13th: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan DVD box set, which contains the first eight films in the series.
RATING: B
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