Tuesday's With TheMovieInsta

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

"Jason, Mother is talking to you!"

Story: "Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the infamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant."

This film opens with Alice, the only survivor of the first film, who is sleeping pretty unpeacefully. Alice is dreaming the whole ending to the first film, giving the audience a recap. This takes up the first seven minutes of the run time. I think the opening to this film is so funny. Alice is living alone after the events of the first film, and we soon get the first kill in this sequel. I find it so funny, because Jason has carried his mothers severed head into town and put it in Alice's fridge. He waited patiently until Alice looked in the refrigerator to kill her. Then he politely takes her screaming tea pot off of the stove for her, you know. Since she's dead.

After the opening credits, we cut to new campers making their way to the campsite that they will be working at. This isn't technically Camp Blood, but it does share the same lake. Paul, the camp director, gives more back story on Jason. He insists that Jason is just a legend and the campers shouldn't be worried about him. Ginny, played by Amy Steel, is our new final girl. Pretty much after this, we get another story about a group of camp counselors getting picked off by another unseen killer.

Acting: Just like the first film, I do not have any issues with the acting. The stand out of the film is Amy Steel. She does have majority of the screen time, and it makes all of the other characters seem minor. Amy kills this roll. Also along side her, I enjoyed this portrayal of Jason.

Fear Factor: Although I do like this version of Jason, I do not find him to be at his scariest in this movie. He still seems very human. He falls down a lot, hides in beds to scare his next victim, and is easily fooled by our main protagonist.

Besides the opening kill of Alice, the 2nd and 3rd kills are very spaced out. This film really doesn't pick up until the last 35 minutes. I really love the second half of the film, but the first half drags for me just a little bit. I do think this sequel has one of the best ending in the entire series (except for the first film, of course).

Lastly, the special effects are nothing to write home about. The first film has so many memorable effects, and you could tell that this one was missing Tom Savini. I know the MPAA is really to blame for this. A lot of the kills are cut away, or off screen all together. The best kill by far is the one with all the stairs. You know the one.

Originality: Honestly, this story is pretty cut and paste from the original film. The biggest stand out of this movie is Ginny. She is a witty, brave, and non-virgin final girl. She doesn't just stand out in this movie, but she stands out in the series as a whole. I wish I could say that Jason was super original, but he wasn't. Yes, this was the birth of an icon, but even his look was ripped off from The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976). His iconic (and original) look did not come along until Part 3.

Overall: I do have a fun time watching this movie. I will admit that it is not my favorite Friday the 13th sequel, but I never skip it in a marathon. Ginny is one of the best final girls ever, and I love the last act of this movie. Jason Voorhees is one of my favorite slasher villains, and this was just a small taste of what was yet to come.

Scores:

Story: 4/5

Acting: 5/5

Fear Factor: 4/5

Originality: 3/5

Special Effects: 3/5

Overall: 4/5

Shelby hit the nail on the head. As this is the first movie we find out Jason is alive and well in Camp Crystal Lake. It could have done a little better job. I think 4 out of 5 is perfect. It was not my favorite sequel but you couldn't go wrong with one of the coolest Final Girl in Horror.

Guys, we will leave the older scoring system for now. We will have updated scoring soon.."Ivana"! 

Come back tomorrow for another episode of HH365!