- Release year: 1988
- Director: John Carl Buechler.
- Producer: Iain Paterson.
- Screenplay by: Daryl Haney and Manuel Fidello.
- Cinematography by: Paul Elliott.
- Music by: Harry Manfredini and Fred Mollin.
Synopsis: as a little girl, Tina inadvertently uses her telekinetic powers to kill her abusive father. Since then, she is undergoing psychiatrical treatment because she feels guilty and has hallucinations.
Shotgun Commentary: average Friday the 13th film with brain-dead characters and a touch of the supernatural.
Review
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is a decent attempt at bringing some novelty into the franchise. While there’s still another instalment to come out in the 80s, the end of the decade seems to be a time for reflection for the creators of the franchise. They seem to have caught up on the fact that there are only so many times a person can watch versions of the exact same film. So, following the precedent of the previous film, this one dives deeper into the supernatural aspect, cautiously gauging if the trend of the beginning of the century is ready to come back.
Women… amirite?
The story begins with a toddler named Jane (Jennifer Banko) who runs away from her house and into a pier on a lake to escape from one of her father’s drunken fights with her mother. She gets on a boat as her father chases her, and then she wishes her father died.
Immediately afterwards, the pier goes down and her dad drowns. There seems to be a strange connection between Jane and Jason, who is at the bottom of the lake. This might lead you to believe that it is Jason who cause the lake to go crazy and the pier to fall, but you will be proven wrong.
That right there is the first issue with the film: where do Jane’s powers come from? There is no explanation as to how they work or why. The only semi-clarification you’ll get is that it happens when she gets “emotional”… Let’s…let’s not even get into that ’cause I can feel my blood boiling at the mere mention of the word already.
A worthy face-off… or not
As we were saying, her powers seem to come from Jason in a way. She won’t stop having visions of him and they first took place when they were close by. Furthermore, she is the one who sets him free, so it appears that Jason is somehow channelling his emotions through her and vice versa.
In light of this, the connection looks solid and Jane has the potential to become the next Jason, which would be wild. Sadly, they decided to go with the old-reliable “let’s just make a slasher that takes us nowhere again”, and Jason chases a grown Jane (Lar Park-Lincoln) the same way he did her neighbours, mother, and slimy psychiatrist.
Her being the final girl provides the perfect opportunity for a zombie Jason vs Jane C. Xavier duel that is regrettably underwhelming and completely forgettable. After all, she barely knows how to use her powers and Jason is not the real villain of the film.
Patriarchy is the real killer
The bad guy in this instalment is actually Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser), a psychiatrist so into mansplaining that 99% of what comes out of his mouth are patronising explanations about Jane’s condition. A situation about which he knows absolutely nothing because it is unprecedented.
Instead, he manipulates and gaslights his way into their home to figure out how he can take the most advantage possible of Jane’s powers. He is so slimy, disgusting, corrupt and entitled that the swiftness of his demise feels completely anticlimactic. In comparison, Jason looks like the nicest guy on the block.
Of course, a Friday the 13th movie wouldn’t be anything without a group of teens/young adults being ridiculous. Sexist men and catty women plague the home, soon to be murder house, with absurd conversations, surreal and toxic stereotypes, lots of alcohol and drugs, and the ever present sex. They are so idiotic and fake that it is impossible to care in the least about their deaths, much less about when or how they meet them.
All in all, the best part about Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is Jason, and he isn’t on-screen that often. The victims are people that, for the most part, make the world better by not being in it, and the only attraction of the feature, Jane’s powers, is not even properly developed. In trying to follow the success of the previous instalment, they totally miss the mark, going back to what doesn’t work and prioritising it, as usual, over good writing.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Calling the name of your friend won’t reanimate their impaled corpse. But I guess it’s worth the try?
- Jason arriving right at sex o’clock will never not be iconic.
- Don’t fill your villains with vanilla buttercream, blood and guts is just fine, thanks.
What’s your take? Have you watched Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀