Review of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) by Foreverfinalgir — 20 Dec 2021

Friday the 13th Part 8 Jason Takes Manhattan is one of those movies in the Friday the 13th movie franchise that I didn’t like. It’s still not a favorite but there are aspects I appreciate more now than when it was first released. I vaguely remember before the film was released there’s a hotline set up for people who don’t like the fact that the movie had Jason going to NYC. Thought it would be bad press for the city.Yes, I call the number just to see what they say.

PLOT.

A couple in a boat inadvertently resurrect Jason. He stows away on a boat where a senior class is on their way to New York City for their Senior Class trip. Also, one senior has memories of nearly drowning at Crystal Lake because of a young Jason. A handful of students and a couple of teachers escape the ship and Jason chases them through the streets of NYC.

MY THOUGHTS.

While reading up on Friday the 13th Part 8 Jason Takes Manhattan, I read that the Director, Rob Hedden, doesn’t like the movie that much. He wanted to have most of the movie in New York, but the production company said no and wouldn’t give him the budget he needed. So instead of a movie with Jason in NYC the majority of the time, he is more on the boat. I think I would have also enjoyed the movie more if he was in NYC longer. I enjoyed the scenes in the city.

As far as kills go, I liked J.J. ‘s (Saffron Henderson) with her guitar (I liked the whole music video feel of it). I also like the scene with Julius (Vincent Craig Dupree). Poor guy. If he was going against any normal human he would’ve beaten him down quite easily. But it’s Jason, and he loses his head. There are 20 kills in this movie. Most are on screen but not a lot of blood and gore.

Kane Hodder (Jason), to break tension after a kill, would do a brief disco dance in full Jason getup to make the cast laugh. I wished they had it on tape. Would be funny to watch. Kane Hodder has been quoted as saying that one of the most fun parts of being Jason were the scenes in Times Square. He says that spectators were lined up and down the block watching the filming and he didn’t want to take off the mask to destroy their illusion of Jason. He said that every once in a while he’d turn his head and look at them and watch them all go crazy.

Character wise, we get the typical teens: the jock, the **** the follower, the final girl, the love interest, and a mix of adults who listen and who are idiots. I don’t hate Rennie (Jensen Daggett) as the final girl, but she’s not a favorite either. Just meh. One fun fact is that it’s Kelly Hu’s feature film debut. Granted, the most famous actor’s first film is Kevin Bacon.

Now to some of the issues with the movie. Ummm. The name is Jason Takes Manhattan yet the movie is barely in New York. I mentioned earlier that the issue was primarily the fault of the production company. Still, it would have been nicer if the movie was there. Also, the whole Jason child crap. Seriously, him as a child trying to drown Rennie? That makes no sense with the timeline. Jason wouldn’t be a child when Rennie was a child. Sigh, yes I know it’s a Friday the 13th movie but come on.

This is the longest running time of the Friday The 13th films.

The film takes place one year after the events of the prior film.

If you want to see my other Friday the 13th reviews, click here: Friday the 13th Franchise.

Let’s get into the rankings:

Kills/Blood/Gore: 3/5.

Sex/Nudity: 1/5.

Scare factor: 2/5.

Enjoyment factor: 5/10.

My Rank: 2.75/5.

IMDB: 4.6/10.

Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 1.2/10 audience: 2.7/10.

Letterboxd: 2.