Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988) - Review Blitz

Originally published March 2015.

So, we're at the seventh movie in the franchise and the slasher formula is in full force. By this point, the franchise has become so formulaic that they felt the need to start introducing strange variables to the mix, such as psychic powers, but that's not the most notable fact about Friday the 13th Part 7.

The most notable thing about this movie is that it’s the first one to have Kane Hodder in the role of Jason Voorhees. Kane Hodder, if you don’t know is a stuntman who has been in a ton of movies and has become somewhat synonymous with the role of Jason Voorhees, as he would retain the role of Jason for the remainder of the Friday the 13th sequels up to Jason X. When viewing Part 7, I got the impression that they really wanted to advantage of the fact that Kane Hodder is a stuntman because this is probably the movie where Jason gets the crap kicked out of him. He falls through floors, gets lit on fire, and is thrown through tons of debris by the time the movie is over; a lot of stuff happens in Part 7's climax. Too bad the rest of the movie leading up to the climax is pretty forgettable.

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Frankly, I have even less to say about this movie than Part 6. As is typical of these movies, the opening and the ending are the parts that stand out in my mind the most. The opening of the movie has some young girl unknowingly using her psychic powers to kill her abusive/alcoholic father. Years later she’s at Crystal Lake again and her powers awaken Jason at the bottom of the lake where he was left in the previous movie. At least they’re keeping the storyline consistent, so there’s that. I don't know, this is the movie I remember the least of the franchise. A fair amount of Part 7 is spent talking about this girl’s psychic powers and showing off the typical Jason-fodder archetypes roaming around Crystal Lake.

The only part that is entertainingly memorable is where Jason meets his end in the movie. It’s such a random, “jump-the-dock,” out-of-nowhere moment that makes so little sense it only helps me forget the rest of the film. There’s not much else to this movie, so I couldn't tell you the rest of it.

Pros

  • Jason’s end

  • Kane Hodder takes a beating and makes it look good

Cons

  • Can’t remember anything about this movie other than the last few scenes

Final Verdict: Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood

Watch the beginning and then watch the rest at 1.5x speed until you get to the end. It’s not unwatchable, but it’s pretty forgettable/boring.

movieAriel Feisthorror, film, review, friday the 13th, jason, vorheesComment