Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) - Review Blitz
Originally published March 2015.Right off the bat, I'm going to answer the first question that popped into my head when I first saw the title of this movie: Does Jason go around tearing up New York? Despite the fact that Manhattan is in the name, and the destination is alluded to throughout the movie, Jason spends a little less than 20 minutes of the movie in that city. The rest of the time, it almost exclusively takes place on a cruise ship with high school kids who just graduated. How their school was able to secure a cruise ship for their graduation party, or whatever the hell the premise is, is beyond me.
This time, the main female character of the movie has some demons, like the last one, and is traumatized about something, just no psychic powers. At the end of the film, it's revealed that her trauma has something to do with a weird experience she had as a kid involving Jason and her over-the-top uncle who acts more like a creepy child molester than a concerned father figure. Seriously, this dude may be trying to act like the asshole character of the movie that you love to hate (which he does a good job at), but if he’s trying to be the over-protective dad type, he just comes across as creepy. Maybe that was the point, who knows?
Regardless, something about this movie catches my attention. Maybe it’s the larger-than-usual budget this movie clearly has. Maybe it’s because it takes place on a boat most of the time, then eventually in New York, even if only for a moment. I guess the main thing about Friday the 13th Part 8 is the setting change, which obviously isn't saying much. Regardless of the eye-catching flavor that Part 8 has, the rest of the movie is pretty bland and the kills are lame with one or two exceptions.
Paramount Pictures
There was something else that caught my attention, which was how Jason was defeated. It alerted me to the fact that, according to Friday the 13th Part 8, apparently New York's sewers in the ‘80s were so terrible they were constantly dumping thousands of gallons of toxic sludge. WTF? Was this a real thing? Or did someone just say, “Fuck New York, that place might as well be radioactive!” If so, I guess that explains why the Ninja Turtles are there.
The only other thing I’ll mention about this movie is that this is the one that feels like Jason is able to teleport the most. He’s always been able to do the classic killer thing by getting around or ahead of his prey somehow, despite being slow. In this movie, however, he’ll be in one place, then suddenly another in a surprisingly short amount of time. So he’s not just a zombie in this one, he’s a ghost too, or something ethereal. Can't wait for the movie in which he becomes a Jedi or a sorcerer.
Pros
Production value is higher
Different setting
Plenty of asshole characters who deserve to die and do
Kane Hodder reprises his role... and he kicks a boombox at one point
Cons
Most kills are off-screen and boring excluding the fight on the rooftop towards the end
Acting is still terrible like always
Don’t put the setting name in the title if he’s going to be there for less than a ? of the movie
What’s with the toxic waste issue? Was this a real thing in the 80's?
Ghost Jason?
Movie doesn’t know when to end
Final Verdict: Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan
I remember this movie more than Part 7, but I’m not willing to say it’s better. I suppose it’s more interesting because it feels like there’s some variety to it due to the setting change, but it’s all surface-level anyway. The core of the movie is no different from the rest and, excluding a few highlights, it’s still pretty boring as a result.