It's kind of a dirty secret of mine, but outside of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, I'm woefully underschooled in 80s/90s horror's biggest franchises. I've only seen the first three Halloween films, the first two Hellraisers, and until last night, only the first of the Friday the 13th films. (I'm not counting bits and pieces gleaned from late-night cable as a teenager.) Part of the reason I've ignored the Friday films is that the first is such an underwhelming movie - Sean Cunningham is far from what you'd call an auteur and the first installment is completely lacking in any charm or innovation, ending plot twist aside. Imagine my surprise when Part 2 turned out to be a much more interesting and weirder film. Let's throw out the fact that this film renders the first utterly meaningless - after all, if Jason is still alive, why was his mother on a murderous revenge killing spree in the first film? If Jason was standing right by when his mother was killed, why didn't he spring into action then? One doesn't go into a slasher franchise expecting continuity, however. (Or logic - how does a mute, backwoods, unschooled, mentally retarded, and cash-strapped hulk of a man investigate, track down, and stalk his mother's killer? He's not a superhuman demon as of yet in this franchise.) All that said, the conceit that Jason's been keeping a shrine to his dead mommy, which our final girl exploits through psychology, makes for a much more interesting ending, and that final jump scare is worth full price. Although, what DID happen to Paul???
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