Film Review: Friday The 13th Part 2 - A Very Polished Film

In 1980 Fans were blown away by not only the surprise jump scare with Jason Voorhees grabbing Alice in the final moments of the original film but by the film as a whole. Friday the 13th may have gotten it's template from Halloween but it was definitely it's own film. However back in the 80's it wasn't common for sequels let alone sequels for horror movies but coming fresh off the success of the original it was inevitable for a sequel to arise. As i was born 1 year after the movie was released i unfortunately did not have the chance to see it in theatres but i will give my thoughts on the film as i see it and why i think it was a great sequel to an already great movie.

As the film starts we are greeted by a view of the streets and as a kid jumps into a puddle and walks off, the feet of someone comes into frame and the familiar score of Harry manfredini kicks in to full force signifying things were going to pick up. After Alice has the phone call with her mother the phone rings again and this time she is greeted by silence and then dial tone. As has been debated over the years if it was in fact Jason who called her, how did he get her number, how did he learn to read, how did he find her.
All that is quickly forgotten in the instance she opens the fridge to see the head and then be stabbed with the ice pick which then leads us into the title sequence which to this day i still love along with the musical number by mr manfredini.

As the film progresses we get to meet several interesting characters such as Ted, Jeff, Sandra, Paul, Ginny and of course the returning.....Crazy Ralph.  He continues to spread the word of "The Curse" to residents of Crystal Lake.  The introduction of Ted the practical joker is great and my love for this character still stands today. I feel that the film does real well in terms of the overall character development and helps to sympathize which each as they meet their demise.

One Captivating scene for me as well as many is the campfire scene where Paul gives his epic speech on the legend of Jason. Even today i still love this scene due to actor John Furey's incredible performance

While gore was definitely trimmed in this film, it still had a fair share of creative death sequences. I think many will agree that one of the most creative deaths which also was sadly trimmed is the famous double impalement of Jeff and Sandra. From the slow build up to Jason entering the room to the shadow of the spear being raised to the look on Sandra's face just before the spear is plunged into both of them is horrific and is punctuated nicely by the final groan made by Jeff as they are killed.

As the film started winding down and it came time to get the reveal from head to toe as to who the killer was, i can still say that i was impressed with and still love the bag head Jason. It adds a very creepy and terrifying presence to the character. Still to this day it is one of my top three looks for the character.

After the confrontation with jason in the shack which holds the shrine to his mother and her decapitated head Ginny and paul go back and retreat in a cabin and when startled by a sound outside Paul goes to the door and Ginny holds up what is left of the pitchfork and is prepared to defend herself once more.
Once again we are tricked by the re-appearance of Terry's dog Muffin and just before Ginny gets a hold of her....BOOM..... Jason now bagless comes crashing through the window and grabs ginny in slow motion and then fades into white. This is an ending from which i think the image will forever be burned into my memory as one of the coolest shots in a horror film.

Probably up until the release of Peter Bracke's Crystal Lake Memories one of the most controversial ending's to a film was here, where after it comes back from the fade to white we see Ginny on a gurney and she continues to call out to Paul. Paul is nowhere to be seen and as Ginny is loaded into the ambulance and it drives away, we are brought back to the shack one more time and zoom in on Pamela's Head which holds for a few seconds and then fades to the credits. This left many fans confused, but now with the explanation that Pamela's head was supposed to smile as to say "Yes Paul is Dead" would have made sense but unfortunately it didn't come across as that. However in Closing i can say that from start to finish this is a very polished film and i highly recommend it to anyone who for some reason has not seen it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Machetes

Review By: Adam Wilson

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