From the marketing campaign came promise, however, as print media, movie trailers, and tv commercials displayed front and center that this Friday was going to take place in the biggest place of all, New York City. From this promise, fans were willing to let go some of the major changes that were taking place in the franchise and gave Paramount at least a chance to have a hit on their hands. Unfortunately, some ill-conceived plot points and lack of funding ultimately tanked this new Friday. The silly dream sequences and back story of Renny and Jason just made no sense in the story of Friday the 13th. The dream sequences came off as desperate attempts to keep up with the franchise’s biggest rival, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

It was the money, in the end, that was the biggest rival of Jason Takes Manhattan. Rob Hedden’s vision was severely excised as he had a grand vision of Jason in Times Square, Madison Square Garden and so forth that would have had Jason in all of the scenarios that the fans were expecting in a Jason Takes Manhattan movie. If you’re putting Jason in Manhattan, why not see him in the craziest, most out there situations. Paramount’s limiting budget forced Rob’s vision to be taken to Canada and Rob, who had already worked on Friday the 13th: The Series, enlisted that shows composer and previous The New Blood collaborator Fred Mollin to commit a completely new score for the franchise.

Fred’s score is a time capsule of the late 80’s with the use of heavy synthesizer and a hard industrial edge. Many part’s of the score work well within this one movie. The new ki ki ki ma ma ma is replaced with a kill kill kill jas jas jason. None more prevelant than in the opening title sequence with the famous Paramount mountain.

What really put the nail in the coffin with this movie is the none to popular and horrendous ending. The idea of Jason drowning in Toxic waste in the sewers of New York is not a bad idea and a perfect way to end the franchise. You eliminate all remnants of Jason and it is done away from Crytal Lake with no chance of Jason returning easily for another sequel. The execution and some questionable makeup ideas were what made the ending almost unbearable to watch. Jason screaming after having toxic waste being thrown on him (Jason is the walking dead) and then young Jason crawling out of undead Jason after succumbing to a toxic waste bath is just the silliest thing imaginable. Fans dump on the 2009 reboot, but look to the ending of Jason Takes Manhattan and rejoice that the ending was nowhere as bad as this.

At the end of the day, Jason Takes Manhattan is a fun romp of a movie. It is definitely different from the rest of the franchise as it tried something different as the 7th sequel of a franchise in the same decade. The concept idea was sound. It was lack of execution in some scenes, some bad plot points and really lack of funding that caused this movie to be a mediocre entry into the franchise. I enjoy it for the fun characters, Kane Hodder’s portrayal of Jason and some great kills. What do you think about this highly debated entry into the franchise.

Ali (Part 3)
To this point, Ali has faced his fellow biker gang and THE Final Guy, Clay. Now he faces his stiffist challenge yet, Ginny. Can he handle his business with her like he handles his business with Fox? “Make a wish.”

Ginny (Part 2)
After Ginny dispatched all other Final Girls and her main squeeze Paul Holt, she now has to deal with the local arsenist. Many have tapped Ginny the odds on favorite to win the whole competition. Can she withstand the full on stench of Ali’s gasoline soaked breath?

Thanks to Mark for sharing his interview. Read below to see what Harry had to say about rejoining the franchise and for the full article click on the website link above.

“Were you even approached to be involved with the remake?

I think a lot of fans were asking for me, and I definitely would have done it if someone had asked me. But I think that the powers-that-be felt that it was going to be a whole new Jason. They didn’t even use Kane [Hodder] or the guy from Freddy vs. Jason [Ken Kirzinger]. They used somebody else completely, and they also went with a different composer [Brian Tyler].

Now, I haven’t seen the movie, nor do I know what the music sounds like. I was getting phone calls like crazy when it came out from people saying, “this is all screwed up,” “this doesn’t make any sense,” “Jason doesn’t run,” and whatever else bothered them. And they didn’t seem to like the music at all – at least the hardcore fans. I know there is a big push from a lot of fans to have me back for the new one next year. Like I said, I’d be more than happy to do it. I would have also been happy to do that last one, too! But those are things that are not in my control.”

This EPK was originally created for television studio use, is in BETA data form,  and contains trailers, selected film clips and audio bites (interviews) from actors, producers and the director. For collectors, I think this is a pretty cool item to own and I really enjoy seeing how studios come up with different ways to market and promote their films.

Tommy Jarvis (The Final Chapter)
Tommy and Ralph have one thing in common. Both characters are Peeping Tom’s! Tommy spends nights staring at Judie Aronson undressing. Ralph goes to the counselor training center and stares at Ginny undressing. Which perv would you rather pick to go on to the next round? There taste in women could factor in.

The US DVD of Jason Goes To Hell is a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and everything looks good in frame. In talking with Mario Kirner, his DVD German bootleg and UK version is displayed in a 4:3 aspect ratio. This ratio reveals some objects in frame that shouldn’t be seen. Check out below and see the stunt mat that the Jessica Kimble character falls onto that should be out of frame.

Visit Shopecko for more details. 

From Camp Blood Reunion Website:

Friday the 13th 5 director Danny Steinmann makes his 2nd appearance in TX!

Last, but certainly not least, everyones fave, and Fear Fest 07 attendee Stu Charno

(*Potential Spoilers* Ahead)

A sequel to this year’s Friday the 13th reboot hasn’t even officially been greenlit yet, but we already know it’s got an official release date — August 13th, 2010 — and that it will be in 3D. However, that 3D sequel — co-financed by Paramount and New Line Cinemas — is still being held up by New Line, most likely because of the relative lack of success of the initial installment, which had a whopping $40 million opening, but only eked out a $65 million gross before the end of its run. Add the $26 million international gross and subtract the $20 million production cost, and there’s a decent enough profit there to suggest that the sequel will likely be greenlit. And soon, if they expect to meet the August date.

But how do you bring an audience to an already slumping franchise? Easy. According to our inside source, The Hollywood Cog, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift — who wrote the reboot and are also penning the sequel — have been instructed to kill off Jason and end the franchise.

Granted, Jason has been killed off plenty of times before, but given the already iffy nature of the sequel, it looks as though they already have plans to send Jason off into the sunset — and that may be the only way to really kill him: Launch him into the sun. Of course, if killing Jason racks up enough box-office business, I suspect they’ll find a way to bring him back. But, going in, anyway, producers Brad Fuller and Walter Hamada want this to be the last of the Friday the 13th movies, and you can bet your ass that that proposition will make its way into the marketing, spoilers be damned.

No director has officially signed onto the project to fill the vacancy left by Marcus Nispel (who is now directing Conan). And though the script was being shopped to the usual suspects — James Wan, Xavier Gnes — we can also report that a dark-horse contender has risen to the top, and looks to be the most likely candidate for the position. His name is Richard Wardlow, and he’d be making his directorial debut. But, in addition to doing the visual effects on Drag Me to Hell, Mr. Brooks and the original X-Men, Wardlow is an experienced 3D effects animator, which makes him ideal for the 3D sequel.

Mrs. Voorhees:  48 votes
Mrs. Jarvis:  3 votes

Young Jason vs Street Urchin

Young Jason:  37 votes
Street Urchin:  11 votes

The Best Jason Voorhees Character
Part 2:  4 votes
Part 3:  13 votes
The Final Chapter:  20 votes
A New Beginning:  0 votes
Jason Lives:  7 votes
The New Blood:  21 votes
Jason Takes Manhattan:  2 votes
Jason Goes To Hell:  4 votes
Jason X:  2 votes
Freddy vs Jason:  0 votes
Friday the 13th 2009:  7 votes

- Trailerpalooza Watch trailers of every movie in the franchise including some modernized versions!

- All New Interview With Adrienne King She reenters acting after 28 years!

- Bracket Challenge: The Best Jason Voorhees Character Your favorite version of Jason

- Friday Conversation: Your Favorite Jason Actor and Your First Friday Theater Experience

- Contest: Win Rare Friday the 13th LP Soundtrack From 1982 Create your own soundtrack to win the LP

- New Update for Friday the 30th: The 30th Anniversary Reunion August 13th, 2010.

In order to participate in this contest, you must do the following:
1. Create a Friday the 13th mix audio clip. You must use music that was composed by either Harry Manfredini, Fred Mollin, or Steve Jablonksi from the Friday the 13th films. As an extra creative bonus, you can also throw in audio dialogue excerpts from the films. Be creative. The more creative the mix, the better your chances of winning.

2. Give your audio clip a creative title. It can be anything you like. The more relevant to your audio piece the better. Remember, the more creative the better.

3. Send an email with either a link to your audio clip or an audio clip attachment along with your name and physical mailing address to jason.parker@fridaythe13thfilms.com. Please include “LP Soundtrack Contest” in the Subject line of the email.

Entries will be accepted up to Sunday December 6th. The winner will be announced the following week and their audio mix displayed on the website. If you have any questions send me an email. Good Luck to all and have fun!

What was your first Friday movie in the theater and what was your experience like?

VOTING HAS CLOSED!
Now, I want to set this straight right off the bat. This bracket challenge is to pick the best Jason character, not the actors behind the mask. There were many people that contributed to the Jason character in Part 2. Some were stand-ins for hand and feet shots, others did the window crashing scene and wore the infamous sack. Kane Hodder played Jason in four movies, but some people actualy like one Jason character he portrayed better than the other. So, to be fair and follow with the contest at hand, we are voting on the Jason characters themselves within the context of the movie they were represented in. Also, yes I did include Roy. He is playing the Jason character, so all of you Part 5 haters have to deal with it today. Saying that, which Jason is the one you would not want around when going to camp, smoking a little dope, and having a little pre-marital sex?