The Slasher Movie Encyclopedia: Friday The 13th part II

Star: 1981
Year: Amy Steel
Director: Steve Miner

Hey guys. Before we begin I'd like to thank Jason for allowing me the chance to write for the website. I'm very appreciative. I'm Caliber Winfield, one of the millions of horror fans out there who also happens to be a writer. Although I fancy myself a little better looking, and I think with time you will too. Anyway, awhile ago I started writing action movie reviews that were beyond the whole "I like this, I don't like this", and tried to bring a lot more to the table with them. Well, I've always loved writing about horror films, the Friday The 13th franchise in particular, and decided to try them out in a similar style. So, as a new content provider for the site, I'll be bringing those to you guys, along with other various pieces like Top 10's, and reviews of things like action figures and what have you. I hope you enjoy it. On with the show...

When you make a low-budget horror film in order to make a few dollars, and it’s number one at the box-office and an accidental smash-hit, what do you do? You keep the ball rolling. Cunningham, Miller, and Savini opted to not return because they didn’t think Jason being alive made much sense. Thankfully though, Francuso JR & Steve Miner knew there was something to be had, and we got Friday 2.

The film starts off with a flash-back of the last 10 minutes of part 1 via Alice’s dreams. She’s obviously still spooked by all that happened to her, and seems on edge. She makes the fatal mistake of trying to feed her cat, and TADOW! Mrs. Voorhees’ head! That’s why I make it a point to never feed my pets, I’m not an idiot.

I always thought the idea of Jason hunting down Alice was pretty funny. I mean, did he place a few phone calls to try and track her down? How’d he get there? Did he take a bus? Did he rent a car or something? Is he filling up his car and using the drive-thru with the sack on? Does he explain to the cop it’s OK for him to use the HOV lane because his mother’s head counts as a passenger?

Back at the camp it’s a new batch of counselors. It’s been 5 years since anything has happened around those parts. Camp Crystal Lake has been sealed off, but Jason cares not about property lines.

After a cop busts two of the counselors for trespassing on Crystal Lake property, he heads back to the station when he sees yet another lawbreaker trying to escape. Well, he chases after the stranger at the speed of crapMPH before arriving at the greatest hobo chantey of all time. Naturally, one shouldn’t call for back up or anything, but just go in and check it out. Well, our stranger turns out to be Jason, and he shows his hospitality by sharing the claw portion of his hammer with the sheriff. It’s pretty awesome.

As it eases into the night, Paul says that they can have one last night out, and most opt for a night of boozing.

One girl decides she’s gonna go for a walk, then feels she must skinny dip. At which point we basically get a look at the crypt-keeper wrapped in skin. Seriously, she looks like Skeletor’s sister, she’s so damn boney. A sly little troublemaker by the name of Scott runs off with her clothes, why this is, I don’t know. If I had to stare at this girl naked any longer I’d be so anti-turned on I fear it'd kill me dead. Well, Scott stumbles into one of Jason’s traps, as Terri runs off to get a knife. While he’s hanging about, Jason uses the chance to slit his throat, and take care of the skeleton from Jason & The Argonauts.

Back at the pad, the two no-good-knicks that trespassed are continuing their parade of debauchery by having pre-marital sex. It’s funny, they finish having sex, and Jeff just lays there on top of Sandra. How uncomfortable would that be? I mean, he just lays there. That always made me laugh. Anyways, Jason comes in and rocks one of the coolest kills ever as he drives the ol’ spear right through both of’em.

Next up, Vickie is being a major slut and trying to bed Mark, the wheel chair hunk. She goes off to spray perfume in her granny panties, and Mark catches a machete right in the face. It’s awesome, and out of no where. A lot of people speculate about whether or not Mark deserves it, and the answer is HELL YES. He was about to get a little action, and that’s just a no go. Vicki comes back and wonders just where the hell Mark is, so she heads up stairs to look for him. Looks for the guy in the wheel chair. Up stairs. She of course get’s knifed for her stupidity.

Ginny & Paul come back to find a good batch of death. Jason gets on it quickly and attacks Paul, who’s of course a total wuss and get’s taken down pretty quick. Jason would have at least taken one Johnny Cage Splits & Punch In The Nuts from me if I were in that situation.

Ginny and Jason then have one of the best chase/fight scenes of the whole series. While he’s certainly scary in part 2, they hadn’t really refined the character yet, because he’s kind of a bumbling goof. He’s always falling, or missing the target. Ginny finds the ultimate chantey and ducks inside. Out the window we see Jason approaching in one of the series’ best shots. I mean, it’s still scary to this day. The focus of the shot is Ginny looking around in wonderment, and out of the window, out of focus is Jason running to catch up. It’s fantastic. They have their final showdown as Ginny pretends to be Jason’s mom before she drives the machete into Jason’s shoulder, taking him down for awhile.

They head back to the safety of a cabin, and Jason says no way as he leaps through a window as they fade to white.

Official Slasher Movie Encyclopedia Tally:
Killed: 8 [I don't count Terri, because she didn't die on screen, and Mrs. Voorhees was a clip from another film]
Swear: 9
Boobs: 2
Slow Motion Scenes: 3
Foot Chases: 2
Fake-Out Scares [ie, a cat]: 4
Car Stalling: 1
Instances of Drugs/Drinking/Sex: 2
Warned But No Belief: Yes

Box-Office Business:
Created on a budget of $1.25 million, Friday The 13th part II was released in 1,350 theaters on May 1st, 1981 by Paramount Studios. It came in at number one, with a weekend tally of  $6,429,784, averaging $4,762 per theater. At the end of it's run it brought in a domestic total of  $21,722,776. It brought in 20 times it's budget, pretty impressive.

Things You Need To Know To Stay Alive:
In the movie, Jason uses the pick-axe to block Ginny’s machete attack. In real life, the first take happened and she missed, slashing Steve Dash's hand [the actor playing Jason]. He went to the hospital in costume, with the machete stuck in his shoulder. The attending nurses and such freaked out when he walked in.

The ending is vague, and confusing. What was suppose to happen, is when the close up shot of Mrs. Voorhees happens, she was suppose to open her eyes and smile. Hinting at the fact that Jason had in fact killed Paul, and was loose. But at the last moment Miner cut it because it said it looked cheap.

This film marks the first, and only time Jason was played by a woman. His legs in the beginning actually belong to the costume designer.

48 seconds were cut by the awesome MPAA to avoid getting an X-Rating.

Much like Halloween, Friday the 13th was  suppose to be an anthology series, with something different happening in each movie. But the people wanted their Jason, and smarter heads prevailed.

Final Rating:
4 and a half head-butts out of 5

This is a major fan favorite, for a lot of reasons. Sure, the characters aren’t as fleshed out or interesting as in part 4, and the deaths aren’t as cool as part 6, but 2 has a charm all it’s own. Sack-head Jason is fantastic, and there’s a lot of great shots. The desalinate setting truly does give the feeling of hopelessness. Really, does it get better than the shot of Jason’s shrine with the bodies strewn around it? I think not. One of the best of it’s kind, a great film.

Well, hope you guys dug my first time out. Below is ways of getting a hold of me, or if you want to read more of what I’ve got that isn’t Friday the 13th related. Thanks for those who’ve taken the time to read this, and to those that comment.

- Caliber-
caliberw@hotmail.com
scrublife.wordpress.com