Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning (1985) - Review Blitz
Originally published March 2015So, the last movie was supposed to be the LAST movie. However, it made lots of money and a cash ship like that can’t be left to sail. So, naturally, the series had to continue. They did do their best to try to maintain some sort of finality to it, but we’ll get to that later.
Friday the 13th Part 5 would definitely be a contender for the black sheep of the movie series, as it’s pretty terrible and not necessarily in a laughable way. There are some moments that are so bad and absurd that you can only laugh to get through the awkwardness. In some ways, this was probably the first movie of the bunch that really tried to push the comedy further than the horror. Unfortunately for Part 5, the comedy falls flat in most parts and often just comes across as weird.
"Weird" is probably the best way to describe this movie. It's just an awkward mess from beginning to end. Some Friday fans may appreciate this movie for its weirdness, but this is definitely a low point as far as I’m concerned. There are a few highlights, including the bizarre moment--that ends up being the linchpin to the plot--where a chocolate bar is involved. I don’t want to really get into it as, if you've seen it, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t seen it, well, let’s see how strong your curiosity is and whether or not you want to even see this movie.
Paramount Pictures
The main character is supposed to be Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman’s character) from part 4 all grown up and traumatized to the point of needing to be brought to various mental facilities. In the second scene of the movie, he's brought to a halfway house where the patients have more freedom than they normally would at an actual facility. For the most part, their “conditions” are all pretty benign; I guess a couple of them have “nymphomania” as an excuse for sex to occur in the film, though what's "wrong" with any of them is never explicitly explained. Regardless, they bring up the old traits about Tommy and develop his character a little further, sort of: He has a six-pack and knows martial arts for some reason, but he still makes his elaborate masks. I appreciate that they tried to bring this character back and make something of him, but the real focus of Tommy as a character is that he’s supposed to be the damaged individual who could snap at any moment. Hell, he could possibly become the new Jason, since Jason Voorhees is truly dead in part 5.
That’s really a point they try to make in this movie: Jason is dead. Someone even claims he was cremated. In some ways, it feels like the movie is trying to get away from the previous Friday the 13th movies; we’re not even close to Camp Crystal Lake anymore. Yet they were unwilling to drop something as iconic as Jason and his hockey mask from the series completely. Is it Jason who's going around killing people? We don't really see who's doing all the killing up till the final act, so the movie is really trying to play it up a mystery: Could Tommy have finally snapped? Could he be the new beginning?
The final shot of the movie sets it up for Tommy to become the new killer of the franchise, but the actual twist of this not-interesting movie is much more out of left field. I won’t go to the trouble of spoiling it, but I’ll say that it has to do with a throwaway character that shows up once shortly after the bizarre scene with the chocolate bar.
Pros
Plenty of dislikeable characters that get what’s coming to them
Nice to have a character from a previous movie to latch onto, even though he’s weird and doesn't get developed much further
I appreciate the effort to try and keep some finality to part 4
Cons
It takes a long time for things to get going
The moments that stand out the most are awkward and bizarre
There are some really annoying characters who get far too much screen time
Tries to be different, but things sort of backfire
The twist is dumb
A lot of what is set up doesn’t come to fruition
Most of the deaths are off-screen as the budget seemed to have taken a dive with this movie
Final Verdict: Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning
In a lot of ways, this feels like the Halloween III of the franchise. It was the movie that tried to get away from the elements of Friday the 13th (like the setting, the tone, and the killer) to set up the possibility of a new Jason or direction for the franchise. Yet, it wasn't quite willing to go the necessary distance of separation from the other movies to truly be a fresh start for the series. It also tries to be a weird comedy of sorts with just odd characters and terrible writing, which doesn't help either. In a nutshell, this movie is just weird, and when it’s not weird, it’s boring. Watch it if you’re curious. Otherwise, skip it.