Friday the 13th part 2 (1981) - Review Blitz
Originally published March 2015.After the success of the first film, the sequel was put into production and rushed out the following year. Immediately, you can see the bigger budget that the film has over its predecessor with the increase in cast size and the improved film quality. Does that make Friday the 13th Part 2 a better movie, though? Yes and no.
This is the first movie with Jason as the killer, however, he would not get his iconic hockey mask until the next movie in the series. With a longer list of people to kill, there’s less time available to spend between the deaths of the characters, which means less downtime and not as much filler with Monopoly games and coffee brewing techniques to slow down the movie's pace.
The kills are more graphic, but the quality of the special effects isn’t quite as good, as Tom Savini would not be involved with any of the sequels, except Part 4. However, there is some variety to the deaths which is what Friday the 13th had over the Halloween films. The other day, I saw a Would You Rather? question that asked if you would rather be stalked by Jason or Michael Myers, the answer was pretty unanimous among the Dagon Dogs that we'd rather deal with Michael Myers as he tended just to stab you and move on, as opposed to Jason who got pretty elaborate with his methods. With addition of Jason to the series in Part 2, this is the start of the series that would showcase his multiple methods of murder.
Paramount Pictures
As for the characters, everyone is very easily forgettable without so much as a Mrs. Voorhees to steal the show. I remember a few faces based on the single quality you could apply to their character as I'm sure the brainstorming session was pretty brief. There's a guy in a wheelchair, there's the girl who likes to be naked or wear the skimpiest of clothes, there's the perverted dude who is always after her, etc. So while we have more characters than the last one, there's just as little to be said about them.
I will give a few nods to this movie for its creepier sections. Two scenes stand out in particular. The first is the campfire scene where we get some details on Jason told through the cliche campfire story method. It's supposed to be just a legend, but we all know that what is said about Jason in this bit of exposition is true. It may be a tired old trope/ tactic to make the movie scary, but I certainly felt more drawn in by this part than most other parts of the movie.
The other section that stands out is when our remaining survivors find Jason's shed that he's been living in, out in the woods. It's a creepy old house and the altar that he constructed for the remains of his mother is pretty creepy. It evokes something of a person's visit to a haunted house. We also get a little more characterization for Jason with a brief cameo by Betsy Palmer in the scene, which also held my attention; a little character depth goes a long way.
There’s not much else to note about this movie other than it doesn't feel quite as slow as Part 1 and it’s the first of the series you can really point and laugh at, for one reason or another. There are a few particular moments where Jason, being new at the whole murdering bit, kinda screws up or is played a fool. There’s a moment where he falls off a chair trying to stab a girl, and another moment where he gets kicked in his testicles to slow him down. Even though he’s still a relentless killing machine, he hasn't quite developed the intimidating confidence and unstoppable willpower he’d come to be known for. Before Jason would don the iconic hockey mask and calmly stroll after his prey to magically appear in front of them, he darted around in overalls with a sack on his head and would crumble when someone kicked him in his nuts like a regular dude.
Pros
With more characters to ignore till their deaths, there is a lot less boring downtime
Seeing Jason as a more regular human being instead of the hulking behemoth he became in later movies is somewhat refreshing
The characters talk about Jason and provide some background information, giving a little depth to his character, which is mostly ignored in the later films where he’s just merciless killing machine
More boobs and nakedness
While not the funniest of the laughably bad movies, it’s a start
Cons
No character is relatable or interesting
Special effects aren't so great
Other than the stuff in relation to Jason, nothing really interesting or memorable
All the typical problems with the other movies of the series like slow start, annoying music, etc.
Final Verdict: Friday the 13th Part 2
Not a terrible entry in the series. A lot of forgettable characters, but the vulnerability of Jason in this movie, which you don’t see in future films, is kind of a breath of fresh air. Worth viewing if you're interested.