Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

April 13, 2018 5:33 AM

Years after the strange drowning death of her father, Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln) returns to the site of his demise, Crystal Lake. Her developing psychic powers were responsible for ending his life, leaving Tina riddled with guilt as an adult. While deceitful Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) tries to manipulate her abilities for his own ends, both physician and patient are in for a shock when Tina's powers unwittingly free camper-killer Jason Voorhees from his watery slumber.

This is the seventh entry in the Friday the 13th Movie Club.

posted by Literaryhero (8 comments total)

I'm actually watching this now (I meant to last night, but somehow ended up watching Cockfighter, which is something, certainly), and won't live blog but wow 1988 was a bad year for fashion. Oh and I appreciate that they jump right in with the alcoholism, domestic violence, telekinesis and horrifying Reagan era views on mental illness. Wow.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:36 AM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

This isn't the worst of the Paramount series, but it's always been my least favorite...To me it's always just been this unnecessary lump of Whatever in between the intentional comedy of Jason Lives and the unintentional comedy of my God, the very idea of Jason Takes Manhattan.

It's funny to me that superfans hold on to Kane Hodder as the end-all be-all irreplaceable Jason, but his first time in the role was here at the tail end of the classic originals. Giving those fans the benefit of the doubt, maybe pro stuntmen who are able to give threatening, faceless physical presence this well are more rare than I'd have thought.

Anyway, I wasn't able to re-watch this last night either, I'm going to dive in tonight to refresh myself on the details...
posted by doctornecessiter at 6:10 AM on April 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

It hasn't aged well.

Ignoring the main issues, it surprises me that people will just venture out into the middle of a forest at night. Don't these people have any idea how big the pine barrens are?

Also, I think a post needs to be made to the blue about the role of conversion vans in 80s horror films.

Finally, how are these people able to walk into a random barn they have never seen before and find the light switch immediately?
posted by Literaryhero at 7:25 AM on April 13, 2018

Terry Kiser from Weekend at Bernie's! And, of course, his magnum opus, Tammy and the T-Rex.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:21 AM on April 13, 2018

This film really goes for that last-issue-of-Watchmen "Oh, I guess psychics are real, also, aparently?"
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:43 AM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah I mean I will accept an undying tireless killing machine wearing an old hockey mask, but telekinesis? That's a bridge too far. Hahaha.

(The battle of the gargantuan throngar really was a good movie, guys)
posted by Literaryhero at 2:38 PM on April 13, 2018

I always felt like this film must have begun life as an idea to cross the series over with Carrie. Of course, Carrie died in Carrie, but Jason dies in every installment, so that's no obstacle.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:23 AM on April 15, 2018

Okay, so why does the Black couple have noisemakers taped to the wall of the inside of their van with "Happy Birthday" banners? Who decorates the inside of a vehicle for an indoor party? And why tape noisemakers to the wall?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:27 PM on September 14, 2022