Friday, March 13, 2009

Friday the 13th - A New Beginning

Written by El Fangorio

For all you sleazehounds out there, I highly recommend Part 5 (the one without Jason -- oops). It's directed by Danny Steinmann who did Savage Streets, which should be more than enough cred to those in the know. If that's not enough, the man is better known as Danny Stone, director of countless ‘70s porno films. And it shows in all aspects of this film (especially the dialogue).

This is also the installment that started the franchise's quick regression from showcasing bodycounts and gore to only showing the after-effects of each kill (if at all). After this one, the producers mistake their audience for people who just want to see Jason doing his thing -- which is basically standing in the rain looking a hundred pounds heavier than the last film.

But most importantly, this is the one that the producers, along with cast and crew, are most embarrassed about because of the atmosphere that Steinmann created on the set, which was much like a porno. While filming the sex scenes he be would standing off to the side saying, "Yeah. fuck her! Fuck her! Get her good!" It caused one of the actresses to stop the biz completely she was so traumatized by him.

In the end, you get absolutely no gore (not a drop -- all the kills are done off screen), and not even Jason. But you get a mom calling her son a "fucking dildo," you get the black kid that got joint-molested with Arnold on Different Strokes, and you have some really hot girls and boys that look straight out of the porn industry (I guarantee the dudes are from gay porn since they were the only ones with abs in the ‘80s). The lead, who was a born-again Christian, prayed for days before accepting the role, fearing it might not be the right thing to do. A born-again with abs in the ‘80s. Big surprise.

I just know that most of you will enjoy Part 5. Whereas the rest of the chapters just plain suck, this one is at least entertaining for all the wrong reasons and a milestone in that it changed the tone of the series for the rest of its duration.

All of my trivia is taken from the highly recommended book Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th by Peter M. Bracke in case you are looking for more.

No comments: