Jason Takes Manhattan On This Day In Horror Movie History
We were blessed with the 8th installment of the famed Friday the 13th franchise on this date in horror movie history. Director Rob Hedden had Jason Voorhees finally put on his traveling pants and venture outside of Crystal Lake in this one. Stowing away on a ship bound for The Big Apple, Jason stalks a graduating cast of students on their senior trip. He’s skulked around the grounds of Camp Crystal Lake for far too long. This time, Jason Takes Manhattan!
Although this film largely maintains the known details of the previous parts of the saga, Jason Takes Manhattan is remembered for some real oddities in its storytelling. The towering terrorizer is once again jumpstarted to life via some form of electric shock, this time while underwater. If you’ll remember, a convenient bolt of lightning struck a metal rod in Jason’s chest at the open of Part 6. In flashbacks, memories of final girl Rennie, Jason seems to be around the same age as Rennie. Swimming lessons from her childhood reveal that Jason was just living underneath the water far before he was ever an undead force of destruction. Rennie graduating high school recently, puts her around 18 years of age, meaning Jason would be in his early 20s? The math ain’t mathing.
Lightning Strikes Twice
The film takes place one year after the events of Friday the 13 part 7: The New Blood. Jason Voorhees, wrapped LOOSELY in chains, lies dormant under the quiet ripples of Crystal Lake. Young lovers Jim and Suzi are spending the night together on a boat, exploring each other before their post-graduation class trip. Big mistake. Jim and Suzi made such a lovely couple. The boat anchor gets snagged on an underwater electrical cable sending volts through the blackened heart of Jason, waking him from his eternal slumber. Let the killing begin.
The vast majority of Jason Takes Manhattan is set upon the cruise ship, “Lazarus”. In the early moments, we are introduced to the graduating class and chaperones whose fate was sealed when the ships foghorn blew.
Theatrical Trailer
The Killer Icon
Kane Hodder was born on April 8, 1955 in Auburn, California. He is best known for his role as horror icon Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), and Jason X (2001). He is also known for his role as the deformed serial killer Victor Crowley in Hatchet (2006), Hatchet II (2010), and Hatchet III (2013).
The Final Girl
Jensen Dagget was born and raised in Connecticut. She has several various credits to her name; most of them television roles (including a recurring role on the Tim Allen classic 90s television sitcom show, Home Improvement (1991)). Her films include The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them (1992), and Telling You (1998).
– IMDb Mini Biography By: tonymurphylee
The Heroic Love Interest
Scott Reeves was born on May 16, 1966 in Delight, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for The Young and the Restless (1973), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) and General Hospital (1963). He has been married to Melissa Reeves since March 23, 1990. They have two children.
The Overprotective Uncle
An amazingly prolific screen actor, Richman was first brought to Hollywood by famed director William Wyler to appear in Friendly Persuasion (1956). There were a few subsequent big screen outings, but the lean, edgy and coldly handsome actor reserved his best for the small screen. By the early 60s, he starred in his own series at NBC, Cain’s Hundred (1961).
His numerous roles have included appearances in The Twilight Zone (1959), The Fugitive (1963), The Virginian (1962), Mission: Impossible (1966), Longstreet (1971) (as James Franciscus‘ cynical boss, Duke Paige), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Standouts have included The Outer Limits: The Probe (1965) in which Richman plays a scientist determined to explore another dimension at any cost, and the first of two guest spots on The Invaders (1967) as an ally of the chief protagonist David Vincent. He continued to perform on screen well until his late eighties.
Lazarus
The crew set sail, with no real explanation on how the ship got from Crystal Lake to an actual ocean to make the voyage to NYC. Let’s not put logic into an illogical situation though. A maniac has climbed aboard and he’s not there for the square pizza in the galley.
The prime time players include the athlete, Julius, who has the fastest hands on the ship. He’s the top boxer on his team. We have J.J., the musician, who just wants to find a space with excellent acoustics to film her music video. Keep in mind, this was smack dab in the middle of the music video craze that killed the radio star. There’s Tamara, the bad girl who knows how to score cocaine and champagne. Finally, Tamara’s friend, Eve, is a good girl played by a debuting Kelly Hu.
New York, New York
When everyone gets wind that passengers are dropping like wounded birds, they do the only thing they know to do. They take up arms against the instruction of Mr. McCulloch, who doesn’t believe that Jason Voorhees could possibly be alive. Ugh, there’s always one.
We know there’s no stopping the bum rush and by the time the crew realizes it, they’re down to 5 members and must flee the ship via raft. Through the crashing waves and foggy night, the gang finds themselves at their destination. It’s the city so nice, they named it twice. New York. The other name’s Manhattan. (I shouldn’t expect a horror reader to get a joke from The Office, but here we are)
Once they’ve safely reached dry land, the survivors are immediately separated as they realize Jason has somehow reached the city along with them. For a kid who drowned, he navigates the waters like Magellan, doesn’t he?
Julius, The Fighter
Shocking Finale
Without spoiling the final scenes, I will say they are some of the most confusing in the entire franchise. To this point, Jason has been a young man, still human who eventually became undead. Those tropes aren’t uncharted in horror. However, Jason Takes Manhattan takes an approach at the end that left viewers, including myself, puzzled. Regardless, take some time to check this one out. It’s certainly worth the watch after all these years.
Promotional Taglines
I LOVE NY [heart symbol in the shape of a bloodied ice hockey mask denotes love]
The city that has seen it all ain’t seen nothing yet!
The biggest city in the world is about to be scared down to size…
Life in the city is murder (Deluxe Edition DVD)
New York has a new problem
The Big Apple’s in BIG trouble!
Box Office Info
The film entered the box office at number 5 for the weekend with earnings of $6.2 million. The film faced strong competition at the time of its release from high-profile genre fare such as A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and Fright Night Part II, and was considered one of the biggest disappointments at the summer box office. Ultimately, it would go on to gross a total of $14.3 million at the U.S. box office, making it the poorest-performing film in the franchise and ranking at number 70 on the list of the year’s Top 100 earners. – Wikipedia
Hammer Award
To begin, I need to preface. This should not be taken too seriously.. We’re not here to objectify or degrade anyone. Growing up, I once heard my father refer to Sophia Loren, as “an absolute hammer”. This award is a silly recognition to whom we find in this film to be the “hottest” in the cast. At the end of the day, don’t take it too seriously. We don’t. With that said…..
A huge thanks to both IMDB and the fact finders who did so much legwork on Wikipedia. Your research is invaluable.
Stream It!
You can watch Friday the 13th Part VIII on PlutoTV for free! (possibly time sensitive link)
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