Friday the 13 VII: The New Blood

[CT]

Rate this movie one a scale of 0 - 5 stars. (5 being the 'best'!)

[GL]

“Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” is one of the more imaginative entries in the series.

**SPOILERS**

After the events in Part VI, Jason is now trapped under water at Camp Crystal Lake. Figuring that the lake is now safe from Jason, Dr. Crews, (Terry Kiser) uses the lake as a medical retreat for teens. In his care is Tina Shepard, (Lar Park-Lincoln) a teen who has dark memories of Crystal Lake. Next door is another group of teens there to party. As Dr. Crews and Tina begin their session, Tina begins to exhibit strange telepathic abilities. Dr. Crews seems to want Tina more for her telepathic ability than to cure her, and she wanders off down to the lake. Feeling guilty over killing her father, she tries to resurrect him, but accidentally raises Jason from his watery grave. One of the teens from next door, Nick, (Kevin Blair) comes over and invites Tina to a birthday party next door. Jason slaughters the two of the guests (William Butler) (Staci Greason) and runs into more of the guests for the party next door to Tina's cabin. Even though nothing strange is happening to her, Tina begins to see the guests as they would be killed later in the movie. As Tina begins to have even more vivid delusions, she finally forces Dr. Crews to end her sessions at the lake. Jason begins to slaughter the guests for the party until only Tina and Nick are left. She uses her psychic powers to battle Jason to the death.

The Good News: One of the main reasons why I like this film is the high body count, and the various means to dispatch it. Simply some of the kills are an ax in the head, a metal spike stabbed into the chest, a butcher knife in the stomach, a sickle in the abdomen, a head crush, and being thrown out of a two-story window. There are a lot more, but these were done to the characters you had hoped would die anyway. It is one of the more variety-filled Jason films, and I think only Part VIII uses more variety. This is also Kane Hodder's first film as Jason, and that to me holds a bit of sentimentally value as well. I think this was his best turn as Jason, because his performance was very creepy and in certain parts of the film, you were afraid of Jason. His movements and mastery of the tools he used were nearly flawless. I still hold this as his premier performance, because of those reasons, but also for another more important one as well: Jason was only in the film in scenes of killing or stalking. He never had any unnecessary time and he was able to really come across as a threatening force when he was. I also want to give a final comment on Jason's suit that he wears. I think this is the creepiest jumpsuit that he has worn and it really adds a lot of menace to him as well. The mask is frightening, and the body parts exposed by the torn and tattered suit are the best ever. I still consider this Jason's creepiest hour, make-up wise. Even more important, I think, is that the film is one of the better-written films. You can tell that the "Freddy vs. Jason" influence on pre-production was heavily influenced on the final script. The battles between Tina and Jason very easily could've been Freddy fighting Jason in the dream world. Using technology of that time, I wonder how that would've been. The battles are very well choreographed by Kane and use both sides effectively. They never loose your interest and are very believable as well. By both sides having effective punches to the other, it isn't that unbelievable to see them both having good shots on the other and really inflicting pain on each other. Jason could've had a few more shots at Tina and it could've been a tad longer, but as it stands, this is still a very effective fight and remains the true highlight of the film.

The Bad News: One of the few Jason films that was hammered by the MPAA, this film isn't one of the gory films in the series. With all of the different types of possible gory deaths in the film, none of them is really all that bloody. The most blood for a death was the head ax, and even that wasn't as bloody as it could've been. Even when you sound off what happened to people, that is a shame. Perhaps the film would have a more positive reputation if it would've been a bit gorier. This is my only real complaint against the film.

The Final Verdict: Simply up the gore and I think this would be a better entry in the series. I still enjoy it, but it could stand a bit more improvement in the gore department. Jason fans will find it interesting, and slasher fans of the eighties will find a lot to enjoy here.

Rating R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, several sex scenes, and drug use

[Conan]

I love this movie. It is my favorite friday by Paramount. I love how Jason looks in it. I think it the best he has looked untill Jason Goes to Hell.

[wolfspirit]

4/5 again, its not a masterpeice but its realy good.

[GL]

conan said:

I love this movie. It is my favorite friday by Paramount. I love how Jason looks in it. I think it the best he has looked untill Jason Goes to Hell.

I think so too. The look in this one is the best Jason look he's ever had, that ratted jumpsuit, imposing statue and that mask is the best. My all-time favorite look.

[CK]

3/5 I didnt hate it, but I dont love it.

[GL]

This is my favorite of the Zombie Jason films, and is in my top 4 in the series overall.

[HNT]

I give it a 5. Not quite as good as PArt 4, but I say that it is the second best in the entire series. Jason vs. Carrie is a pretty original idea. Almost succeeded in breathing new and original life into the series

[GL]

And we almost had Freddy vs. Jason twenty years before it actually happened! That alone is enough for me to love this one.

[Bloodycamper]

I gave it a 3, if it were possible i would have given it 3 and a half.

I loved jasons look in this movie and the telekenectic stuff was alright but cheesy in parts and there were a good few scenes.

Tinas father jumping from the lake would of been a lot better if they kept the original look where his facial features were more decomposed. Check out pic in Crystal Lake memories for ref..

Rounding this up though i just felt if it wasnt for the telekenetic angle, this film is just basically a poormans version of Final Chapter with a funkier looking Jason. The characters were to samey to final chapter.


Enjoyable to watch though.

[GL]

Agreed, this is one of the better ones. Samey characters are pretty much the norm with the series.

[speeddemon]

i enjoyed this one , not brilliant ,but i agree with jason's look , he was his scariest yet methinks (at least my little one thinks) .
after having a friday 13th marathon over the last couple of weeks i am finding the movies all kind of blurring into each other , probably because they are all so similar, but having the special powers in this one makes it stand out a little.
you know how it is by now ....lights out, beer in hand (full tummy from the takeout) not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

[GL]

Great thoughts, Speedy. Perfect account of the film.

[Dr. Butcher M.D.]

The idea for this movie is just full of cheese. It makes for a pretty fun watch though. Not to mention the awesome sight of Jason's hideous face after being submerged under water for so long.

[FireStar]

I really like this installment, Jason's look is by far the best IMO in this one. I gave it a 3, it would have been a 5 easy if the film hadn't been hacked to death by the censors prior to release. They took all the quality kills and gore and what not and just watered it down completely.