The Slasher Movie Encyclopedia - Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood

Left at the bottom of Crystal Lake & forgotten about, Jason Voorhees water-logged corpse is just waiting for a reason to head back towards the surface.

New Blood starts off with arguably the greatest montage in the series history. Part 4's is fantastic as well, but man, this one is just so well done. The talk of a curse over footage of Jason's rampage is superbly done, and a high-light of both the film and the series.

From what I grasp, it's been at least 20-30 years since Tommy Jarvis put Jason on the bottom of Crystal Lake. Things have returned to peace, and the Sheppard family are enjoying a weekend out, when Mr. Sheppard gets all saucy and begins to beat on his wife. Seeing this, Tina, their daughter, becomes upset and takes off on a boat to the middle of the lake. Her father follows, begging her to come back, filling her head with promises of never doing wrong again. However, she isn't buying it, and his obvious lies drive her rage to a level that it brings to life her telekinetic powers, and she takes down the dock he's sitting on, condemning him to the same fate as Jason.

Just then she wakes up in a car, some years later. She's rolling with her mom and they're headed back to where it all began, Camp Crystal Lake. Along with her psychiatrist, Dr. Cruz, she's there to deal with what happened to her father, and get her physic abilities under control. However, Cruz is actually there to exploit her powers, and make a name for himself. When they arrive at the cabin, we see there's a group of youngsters at the place next door. Turns out they're there to throw a surprise party for a guy named Mike, who's cousins to our dashing lead, Nick. He introduces himself to Tina when she drops her luggage, but she's not digging him just yet. Well, when you see him dressed up head-to-toe in denim like he mugged Levi Strouse, she'll be singing a different tune.

Later that evening, after being screwed with & upset by Cruz, Tina runs out to the dock, and decides to give raising her father a shot. She picks up something beneath the water, and does her best to make a connection with it. She does, and in hopes of raising her father, she accidentally brings Jason back to life. A common mistake. You go to raise the loved one you killed with your budding physic powers, and instead raise an undead killer. 

Over at the party, everyone is curious as to where Mike and his girlfriend are. Unbeknownst to them, Mike's car broke down, so he and his ladyfriend are hoofing it. On their way however, they happen to meet a freshly raised Jason. He rams a steak through the back of Mike's girlfriend's head, then throws that same spike into Mike's back before ramming it all the way through.

Nick heads over to where Tina is staying and invites her over to the shin-dig. Once there, we're introduced into a myriad pf stock 80's goodness. Science fiction writer Eddie corners her to talk about Starlacon. Honestly, Eddie isn't much of a writer, because with something as large & infinite as space, every freaking title he comes up with has “star” in it. Does he not know there are other things than stars in space? Anyway, while cold chillin' at the party, Tina has a vision of Mike being impaled. She freaks out, and leaves.

Out in the woods, a couple who have a tent the size of a circus tent, are about to get amorous when Jason intervenes. He punches a hole through the guy's chest and breaks his neck. The woman is waiting for her man to return, but when she opens the door for her dream date, it's Jason. He promptly grabs her as she tries to retreat to the bottom of her sleeping bag, and bashes her into the tree, face first.

The next day, Tina & Nick are hanging, and she's digging his vibe a lot more now that 98% of his wardrobe is denim, fantasizing about waking up wrapped in his denim bed-sheets. She tells him about the problems she's had as a child, but doesn't realize she's also telling Melissa, who's lurking nearby in the trees. Later, when they have Surprise Party V.2 for the now deceased Mike, Melissa uses her new found information to humiliate Tina. She dashes out of the house after using her powers to destroy Melissa's necklace, and heads next door. Elsewhere amongst the shin-dig, Maddy tells Robin that she's digging David, the noted stoner. Robin lets her know that it isn't going to work, because she needs a little touch up work,. Maddy does not appreciate this piece of information. As men clearly go wild for her 10x10 glasses frames, and blouse that’s so big I'm pretty sure it's actually the same tent that the couple was using earlier.

Back at her house, Tina hears that Bad News Crews plans to have her committed indefinitely, and decides to make it splitsville in her mom's car.

Russell & Sandra leave the party in order to get nekked and hop in the lake, which I'm sure Sandra just used as an excuse to get Russell out of his attire. Seriously, he's dressed like the holiday Easter would if it were a real life entity. So, they're basically begging for it, and Jason obliges via a golf-club swing with an ax to Russ' face, and then pulls Sandra beneath the water. Of course, he takes a moment in order to cop a view like he's George McFly in a tree, but hey, who can blame him. He senses that others are having a good time without their clothes, and proceeds to do something about it. Yes, the van may be a-rockin', but Jason is still goin' a-knockin'. Ben comes out thinking that Nick's cousin has finally arrived, but instead he gets his skull crushed. This would have been the greatest kill in Friday history had they left it as is. Kate wonders what's going on and does a bit of inspecting herself, making the mistake of bringing one of those obnoxious party horns that annoys everyone but the person using it. Before she can even get a chance to bother him, Jason grabs the horn and shoves it into her skull, causing one final “whooo” of the horn, which is pretty bad-ass.

While driving, Tina sees a vision of Jason killing her mother, and because she's a woman she crashes the car. Well, she then decides the best option is to get out and run through the woods. Maddy, mean while has done some touch up work, and is looking more presentable. She then looks in the mirror and says “Need a little touch-up work my ass”. That's right, Maddy, you sure showed her. She said you'd look better with a little touch up work, so you got even by doing a little touch up work which in turn made you look better. Oh, is Robin going to be eating crow tonight! Anyway, she heads off to find the gang, and instead finds some dead bodies & Jason. She ends up being on the receiving end of one of the lamest kills ever, but the stalk is brilliant, and one of the series best.

Afterward, Jason makes his way to the house and cuts the power. David gets done having relations with Robin, despite being married, and decides to make something to eat. He was probably gonna use salsa made in New York City, so Jason stabs him in the kitchen. Eddie gets dissed big-time by Melissa, and although we're suppose to think she's a bitch for this, nobody can. I mean, who's gonna get down with a dude in his 20's that's rocking big, baggy BVDs? Only people pulling that off are Kramer & Walter White. Anyway, he heads downstairs and starts opening up Mike's presents. He has one of those obnoxious gun & laser sound boxes, so Jason cuts his head off. He then heads up stairs where he feels throwing Robin through a window is the best thing for her.

Meanwhile, Tina & Nick find each other in the woods, and also discover Jason's collection of bodies. Heading to her cabin to find her mother, she discovers what Crews has been up to, and isn't pleased. They also find papers on Jason Voorhees, and put 2&2 together. Nick runs next door to warn people, but quickly discovers that it's a moot point. Tina dashes off into the woods to find her mother, speaking of which, is impaled by Jason when Crews uses her as a shield, solidifying him as one of the better bad guys in the Friday franchise. I've seen this film many times with different people, and each time it's a 1^st for someone, the second they hear the motor of the branch-saw, they do that “ooohhoho” with delight. Unfortunately, Crews' death isn't all that satisfying thanks to the MPAA. At least we get a fantastically ridiculous death face that rivals Sam's from Part 4. 

Tina finally finds Jason, and this is where the movie really picks up. The western stand-off is great, followed by the deadly branches, and electricity that was done via rotoscoping and looks fantastic. Once in the house, we get Jason leaping through a window, getting hit with a sofa, being head-butted by a pot-head, and finally having a fucking roof fall on him! Tina heads next door to tell Nick & Melissa that it's all over, but then Jason does that cool Shredder from TMNT II move where his hand bursts up from beneath the rubble. Melissa, who's been the mega bitch this whole time, gets in one last remark before she gets one of the all time best kills. Jason drives an axe into her head, and then throws her body like a shot-put. He's not just going for the kill, he's going for distance. It's fantastic.

At this point Jason & Tina have it out again, giving us Jason's best reveal, as Tina uses her powers to squeeze Jason's mask so tight that it splits. He looks absolutely gruesome, as well as one tough customer. The partial skull showing, the meth mouth, the discolored eyes, the make-up is a work of art.

Jason continues getting his ass-kicked until Tina sets him ablaze in the basement. Nick suggests that they get the hell out of there, and run for it. This has never made any sense to me. Why on Earth did the house blow up, and why did they think it would? Does Nick not allow a wood-burning furnace in his home?

“Are you kidding me?! You want a wood-burning furnace in our home?! One presto-log and we could kiss the whole neighborhood goodbye!”

Whether or not the house is built out of dynamite, Jason survives. So, after a being electrocuted, a house falling on him, a house blowing up with him, Nick feels he's got the cure to put Jason down: bullets. Shockingly they don't work. What does work is zombie dads. Tina, in a last ditch effort, is able to resurrect her father who comes to her rescue. They talked about how her dad was suppose to look much cooler, with a more corpse-like appearance, but I never questioned how her father looks. He appears just as she remembered him, and I assume that's how it'd go. Still, would have been cool to see the full effect on screen.

Either way, Mr. Shepard has saved the day. The police & firemen eventually show up and cart away Tina & Nick as they rest comfortably, knowing Jason has been taken care of. Just as long as some kid with a bad perm doesn't drag his anchor on the floor of Crystal Lake.

Slasher Movie Tally:

Kills: 17

Swear Words: 13

Boobs: 4

Slow-Motion Scenes: 21
Chases on Foot: 4

Fakeout Scares: 1

Car Stall[s]: 0

Drugs, Drinking, Pre-Marital Sex? True debauchery, all three went on
Warned of Danger, But Didn't Listen? Nope, no warning.

Top 3 Deaths:

3. Jason Gets His Ass-Kicked By Mr Sheppard: You always have to give it to the Friday series for being insanely original. I can name only 30 other films where the zombie father of the protagonist comes back to take down a killer.

2. Tree-Hugger: One of Jason's most famous kills is the sleeping bag-death. It's a favorite of mine because of how seemingly pissed off & annoyed he is at her screaming, and merely kills her because he can't simply say “Shut up!”.

1. Jason Is The One Who Knocks: Definitely one of my all time favorites. Jason isn't satisfied with just driving an ax into Melissa's skull, as he then hucks her like a bag of dirt. Jason is always at his best when he's pissed.

Things You Need To Know In Order To Survive:

Michael, played by Will Butler, was in fact the only real teenager in the cast.

Two different Friday The 13^th alum were considered for the role of Tina before 26 year old Lar Park Lincoln was cast. Marta Kober, who played Sandra in Friday The 13^th part 2 was cast, but when she eventually told them about being in part 2, they had to find someone else. Kerry Noonan, who played Paula in Jason Lives, originally auditioned for the film when it was titled “Birthday Bash”. During the audition she asked if it was a Friday film, and once it was confirmed she mentioned how she was just in the previous entry.

Crazy Ralph, who's real name is Walt Gorney, does the fantastic voice over in the beginning of the film.

Instead of seeing visions of her mother being killed, Tina was suppose to see Jason as a young-boy, holding his mother's head that would also speak.

This was suppose be Freddy vs Jason, but neither sides could come to an agreement. So they decided to go with Jason vs Carrie instead.

Jon Carl made a cameo late in the film as the fireman who finds the pieces of Jason's mask.

The bulk of the filming took place in Alabama, including Robin's original death, which was a machete to the chest. However, when they got back to LA, they realized the shot looked terrible, so it required a reshoot. They ended up going to the house from Friday The 13^th part 4 to film Robin's new death.

The house isn't the only connection to Part 4 that The New Blood has. When Jason is stalking the couple who are camping in the woods, we get a few POV shots from Jason. Instead of the dome tent that was being used by the couple, the tent is now a more traditional shape, and is in fact footage of Rob's tent from Part 4.

Box-Office Business:

Released by Paramount on Friday, May 13^th, 1988 to 1,796 theaters on a budget of $2.8 million. The New Blood was #1 for the weekend with a total of $8,245,038, averaging $4,950 per theater. At the end of it's 5 week run, the film brought in a grand domestic total of $19,170,001.

Final Rating:

Whenever I think of Part 7, the one word I always end up using to describe it is fun. Sure, a good chunk of the plot is a rip-off of part 4, and the characters are insanely stock & boring, but Hodder's Jason more than makes up for it, and the 3^rd act is easily some of the best action out of the entire series. As most fans know, the MPAA went berserk on this film and cut it down to the point where it's practically a PG-13 film. Had it not been such a neutered film, then it would definitely take my number 1 spot. It's a true shame that the MPAA gets to simply decide for the entire World what they're allowed to see and not see. Millions of dollars & hours of work going into these films, and a group of people sitting in a dark room somewhere in California get to negate all of the hard-work at the snap of their fingers if need be. Other than that, Jason's look is quintessential, and what most people think of when he's mentioned. The portion of the mask being torn away by the boat-propeller was genius, and their make-up effects for when he's de-masked is a work of art. Also, it bares repeating, that even though the characters are stock and the effects cut down drastically, the battle scenes between Tina & Jason are worth the price of admission and an absolute blast to watch. Now, even though they keep saying the extended footage doesn't exist, I call BS. Simply take the cut-scenes we've seen on the Deluxe Edition of the DVDs, clean it up, put it back in, and I'd be more than happy. Perhaps one day when I become filthy rich from writing about slasher films I'll fund the project myself.

4 1/2 Head-Butts out of 5

Hope you guys dug the new piece. If you'd like, you can get more at my website Str8 Gangster, No Chaser, as well as catch up with my updates and bullshit with me at facebook.com/str8gangster. I also do the twitter deal @CaliberWinfield

I'd like to thank Jason [webmaster, not Voorhees, well, alright, Voorhees too] & FridayThe13thFranchise.com for allowing me to write for them. As well as the readers who've been great with the feedback.