How do you follow a groundbreaking horror film like “Friday the 13th”? Follow the same formula? Make it another whodunit? Have Jason’s mother come back from the dead to avenge her death? The answer with “Friday the 13th Part 2” is none of the above. “Part 2” takes everything that worked about the original (creative deaths, camp setting, horny teenagers, etc) and amps it up a notch plus it has something that the original doesn’t have….Jason.
“Part 2” begins with our sole survivor, Alice, taking a break from Camp Crystal Lake. Emotionally troubled by what has happened, she is plagued with bad dreams. She believes that she is finally safe and ready to move on with her life. But there is just one problem. It turns out Jason never drowned in Crystal Lake and lived in the nearby woods as a hermit all this time. The day that Alice beheaded his mother, Jason saw everything and he is pissed. Two months later, Jason hunts Alice down and stabs her with an ice pick in the temple. Five years later, a new Camp Crystal Lake is built and the new counselors are soon picked off one by one. It is up to our new hero Ginny to stop Jason once and for all.
“Friday the 13th Part 2” is the kind of sequel that takes a lot of chances and most of them work. The film is well paced, well acted (big props to Amy Steel who does an incredible job as Ginny), and the deaths are effectively gruesome. Also, for what its worth, I’ll take potato head Jason over hockey mask Jason any day. This is a fun sequel that doesn’t exactly advance the series (the godawful Part 3 actually does more to define Jason than this one does) but doesn’t destroy its legacy either. The characters aren’t particularly memorable but they aren’t particularly annoying either. This is really the last point in the series were you actually still feel some affection for the characters. They aren’t quite stereotypes…yet. Furthermore, it contains the two best “jump scares” of the series and the ending is pretty damn scary. Sure the middle act drags a bit but don’t let that stop you, “Part 2” is a fine slasher film that does the series proud.
Buy It Here: Friday the 13th, Part 2 [Blu-ray]
Potato sack Jason is by far the scarier of the two Jasons. Just being able to see the one eye darting at you from behind that potato sack is enough to give anyone the chills. I saw this film for the first time when I was about 6 as well. What an experience! It is definitely my favorite of the Friday sequels.
I too would take potato sack jason over his hockey mask. When i saw this movie at the tender age of 6, thanks dad, my mind went wild with who or what is under there. Theres that little hole for his eye and that alone scared the shit out of me, its so much creepier.