Liking a film for “what it is” is a difficult thing to explain. To say I liked “Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives” may make some people want to throw something at their computer or call me names. I do not care. It will be a difficult matter to explain why “Friday the 13th Part 6” is a good film, but I will make the attempt.
At first mention, it would be far too easy to talk about all of the things to dislike in installment number 6 of the Friday the 13th series: deaths of random people at the hands of Jason, dumb teenagers running around, no motivation for the killings. Yeah, that is too easy. The teenagers and some of the ancillary characters in this film are likable, which is why some rewriting should have taken place allowing some of the kids and ancillaries to live. The film is definitely the funniest in the series as it uses humor several times to diffuse the reason for the film’s existence. The problem with this is that along the way, it introduces a few funny and likable characters, only to have them killed off minutes after we meet them. That is where the rewriting should have come in. It is not a great idea to introduce likable characters, then kill them shortly thereafter. This is one way the film falters. “Wait a minute! I thought you said you liked this one!” I did, but I do have a few problems with it. What I have detailed so far is my main issue with the film. As I stated before, the teenagers in the film are not goofy, lifeless automatons either. They are well-played by some good young actors including Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, Renee Jones, and Ann Ryerson. It would have been nice to see more live than die in this film. The producers could have gotten the requisite amount of kills in, but allowed the more interesting and likeble characters to live.
In Part 6, Jason is played as a cartoon character. You could, I suppose, discuss the morality of this, however, it is a discussion that is, in the end, futile as films like this are meant to be taken for what they are: money-making endeavors by Paramount Pictures in the 1980’s. What is interesting about this particular film and what makes it better than most of the other films in the series is the humor director, Tom McLoughlin uses. Yes, life is to be cherished and watching representations of death onscreen, especially in films like this, is not always pleasant. At the same time, however, knowing that what I was watching was a money-making venture, but that the director attempted to make it better than just another factory-made product increases it’s entertainment value. The director is no simpleton and realized what he was getting into, so his effort to do a bit more than churn out a piece of junk was appreciated. I have listened to the director’s commentary track of this film. It is clear that McLoughlin took the duty of making this film seriously and that his motivation was to lighten the mood. What more could he have done, quite honestly, other than the rewrites I suggested earlier?
“Friday the 13th Part 6” is not a brilliant piece of filmmaking. It also is not an abysmal piece of filmmaking and would not be deserving of being brushed off as just another “Dead Teenager Movie,” as Siskel and Ebert used to refer to these types of films. If they would have read what I have written today back in 1986, they likely would have wanted to fight me. By the way, for the record, Siskel and Ebert are awesome! I have watched every incarnation of their show since 1983. I have not always agreed with their assessments, however, they articulate their views flawlessly. The new show, “Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies,” with Christy Lemire, Ignatiy Vishnetsky, and occasional reviews by Roger Ebert through the use of a narrator speaking for Ebert, is very good as well. Two reviews in one blog post—That’s Value!!
One more attribute in favor of "Friday the 13th Part 6"--Ron Palillo, Horshack from "Welcome Back, Kotter," is in this film. It's always pleasant to see Ron Palillo.
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