Friday Conversation: Jason Completely Takes Manhattan
The number one complaint of Friday the 13th Part: Jason Takes Manhattan is that, well, Jason really wasn’t in Manhattan. Outside of one of the sweetest shots in horror film history, Jason in Times Square, he either spent his murdering ways on a cruise ship or in the back alleys of Canada.
Director Rob Hedden’s original vision of the film was epic in scale as he envisioned trips to many of New York City’s historical landmarks. His prize scene would have had boxer Julius square off against Jason in Madison Square Garden. Indeed, that would have been an epic battle with the scenery as the backdrop all by itself.
It is known that many fans were already sickened by the fact that Paramount was taking their beloved slasher away from Crystal Lake. But, if the original concept of Jason Takes Manhattan was allowed to go forward, would the fans have embraced the film with a more positive attitude?
Not me. I like it actually, and like it the way it is. I think it would have been too gaudy to have Jason and victims moving from one famous location to another for basically vogue style Kodak moment photo opps.
\Yes Jason, work it baby, show me rage. Oh yeah, this is defiantly going on a postcard. Okay victim, show me fear… Ooo baby, that’s hot. Work it girl.\
It would have felt cliche and cheesy to me. (Cheesy in a bad way.)
I really do see the whole budget tempering his idea as a blessing for the movie rather than a curse. At least keeping him on the ship kept him on water. (Symbolic of Crystal Lake to some degree.)
Did other people really want Jason going from one historic location to another just to say \he was there.\
I think if Jason were to track people down and kill them in New York, and idea that made a fun movie in my eyes, I would prefer he mostly stay away from anything that felt too forced as a photo opp. I think the one they have even bordered on almost being too much. Did we really want more?
Hard to say. For me the big crime of the movie was that it was quite boring. The Jason design was horrid. The above picture is iconic having Jason in Times Square but it also has the worst looking Jason in the history of the franchise in Times Square. The teens were pretty bad even by slasher standards. To put it plainly the movie had so many things that weren’t in it’s favor that I doubt that by simply having the original scenery would have improved it by leaps and bounds.
I’m with f13ticket. The New York thing was real gimmicky. I never liked Kane Hodder going on Letterman; I thought that whole thing was feeble and having that type of stuff in the movie woulda bit. On the other hand, the cruise setting was awesome. I don’t think it needed any more city stuff than it already had; the subway, times square, the alley, the sewer. I liked Jason’s look, except his actual face which was one of the most dissapointing movie moments in my life.
On a different note: has any one watched Pt 1 and the Reboot back-to-back? I wonder how that would play. Think I will try it some weekend
I like the ship setting much better. It’s claustrophobic, cramped, and isolated….it’s perfect for a F13 film. The New York scenes were fun, but I wouldn’t want the whole movie to be like that. Jason in the subway, alleyway, diner, Times Square, and sewers were enough to satisfy me.
“Jason Takes Manhattan”… well, it’s not a Friday the 13th movie to me… I don’t know really what it is yet…
Rob Hedden said that the audience didn’t want Jason in Crystal Lake any more, so sending him some place new was the only way to continue the franchise. I am not agree with this, I think they could do a ‘back-to-the-camp’ flick after the New Blood. After all, it’s sad Kane’s Jason never really was at a summer camp setting.
I love all about Jason’s Manhattan look. I just think we need more NYC action (bodycount) and less of the ship. For me this part wasn’t worst.
Another example of a director not knowing the Friday 13th universe/fans well enough. I did not need to see Jason in a different setting, especially a large city. I just needed a good ol fashion scary F13 again.
This installment was not scrary in the least (IMO). The direction was not tense and the score sucked badly and most of the deaths were simply boring (and too long…the dancefloor, the boxing…long and boring).
So for me whether Jason was in NY the whole time or not doesn’t matter since I never wanted him out of a ‘camp / camp like’ setting in the first place.
And that ending…don’t get me started.
I totally think the fans would have taken it for what it was and enjoyed it. At that point in time, Friday the 13th became very retro so you could have done alot of humorous things with jason. I think if the city of New York wouldnt be such dicks about filming a big franchise like Jason there, it would have turned out to be a much better movie. All we got of NYC was the opening credits, the skyline and time square..Big whoopie. Yes It would have been a better film if there was more NYC!!!!
If the movie would have spent more time in New York I still don’t know if I would have liked it either way.
I thought the concept of taking Jason out of Crystal Lake was a great idea. They already did 7 films there, it was time for something different. I mean after battleing Tina, what more could they come up with? I didnt know that most of the film was to take place on a cruise ship, that was disappointing. In the theatre I was like “when the hell are they going to get to New York”? And the Vancouver thing I didnt learn until 1993 when I read it in the Jason Goes To Hell magazine. New York is a big crowded place, and many films are shot there. But it seems like a big pain in the ass to get people out of the way. That scene in times square, when Rennie and Sean see Jasons still alive, right before that shot You can tell people are purposely walking to the left and right so they could get the shot of Jason. I love horror films but most of the time they are shot on a low budget, so Rob Heddens original vision wasnt going to fly. It wouldve been cool if it did though. But to be honest, my biggest gripes with part 8 isnt really the cruise ship/Canada thing. 1. Jasons look was weak compared to part 7 (even though Kane Hodder came back) 2. It wasnt a good follow up to part 7 3. I dont like how they made Jason look as a kid (except when he looks deformed) and finally 4. No Harry Manfredini.
When I go to a McDonalds and ask for a Big Mac, what I hope them to give me is just a Big Mac (with its own recipe). It’s the same thing with Friday the 13th movies… when I go to see a F13th film I just want to be given the original recipe: Crystal Lake forest area, Jason, Manfredini’s music and a lot of suspense… I do not want a Friday movie set in New York!!! as I would not want a Big Mac with some fish in its recipe…
i think the movie was good and i prefer manhattan than space
Good point MLC lol
I think they should do a sequel and call it “Jay in the City.” Jason, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda head out for a fun night of drinking and dancing in the Big Apple.
The lack of gore and the stupid subplot with Rennie and Jason and her dreams kept me from ranking this one higher in the Friday the 13th list. I know people like the calssic feel of Jason at camp in the woods, but if you’re going to go the route this film took, have some fun with it!
I just don’t like how once he gets there he lets everyone around him go. Jason was zoned in on those characters and for our ruthless killing machine to ignore massive crowds or even smaller groups (small diner scene)kinda made me angry. It made me more angry than the fact that they called it “Jason Takes Manhattan” but he never actually takes the city and whats worse is that they don’t even get Jason right. Jason looks like an Asian kid lol One kill in times square would have been enough for me but we don’t even get that.so yea this movie is lucky JGTH and Jason X happened to follow it or else it would be my least favorite in the series.
im with f13ticket as well, fun movie although it was a little slow.
Back then Paramount wasn’t exactly proud of their hockey-masked cash cow and just wanted to squeeze one more dime out of the fans before selling off the property. They didn’t really care enough about the film to give it the budget needed to really take Jason to Manhatten, but f13ticket raises a good point. At this point in the series Jason was guesting on Arsenio Hall for crying out loud. It was becoming flashy. Jason on MTV movie awards. Jason on the red carpet. But alas, the film has its own charm, though I cannot for the life of me begin to comprehend the logic behind the Rennie/Jason psychic link. What was the flashback when her uncle Chuck pushes young Rennie into the lake and a young deformed Jason grabs her ankle? There is a serious timeline conflict here. Mindless entertainment. Still better than Troll 2 and Jaws the Revenge.
Either way I would have still loved it. Jason takes Manhattan is one of my favorite Friday films of all time.
Jason vs. Julius in Madison Square Garden….ugggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
I may sound like I’m crapping all over this movie but I don’t hate it. It may not be the most positive movie experience ever but I don’t have huge hate for it. Rob Zombie’s Halloween on the other hand I hate with a passion that would ignite a thousand suns. Man I hate that film.
don’t you f*cking just f*cking love the f*cking dialogue f*cking in Rob f*cking Zombie’s f*cking Halloween? man alive, ain’t he the Hemmingway of horror?
still wouldn’t have made too much difference if they kept the same ending…
instead of new york,,,
they John Carl Buechler should have been asked to do a proper sequel to New Blood instead of the idea of jason taking manhattan
still wouldn’t have made too much difference if they kept the same ending…
instead of new york,,,
John Carl Buechler, should have been asked to do a proper sequel to New Blood instead of the idea of jason taking manhattan
Yesterday I watched again Miner’s “Friday the 13th II”… wow!, what a good movie it is!!… and we only see Jason a few times really. Until the final-girl chase we always know of Jason because of his shadow, his legs, Manfredini’s music score and his subjetive point of view camera… that’s what Friday the 13th is all about my friends!!… are you listen to me filmmakers of the next installment??
I think if the whole film was in Manhaten only, i dnt think it would be so bad, cause no matter where Jason is, it doesnt stop him from being the top killer he is, and it would be interesting to know how he would kill people and find a place to hide not knowing the area.
But saying all that, it is CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE that it is all about, cause thats where its all started.
I have too say the Ken is one off my fav Jasons. He gets in the role very very well!!!!
Jason Takes Manhattan suffers from “the Freddy effect”, a curious phenomenon in the late ’80’s where horror film producers insisted on including larger-than-life surreal imagery (often, as here, hallucination or nightmare scenes) and humorous touches to the murder sequences (here a wayward attempt to make each kill ironic in some way). In its ongoing box office battle with the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Friday the 13th Part 8 made the mistake of crossing over into its competitor’s territory. The results are predictably tragic. Its not so much the location change (whether the fans complain about spending too long on the boat or in a city that only feels like Manhattan in a handful of shots, because, well, it wasn’t) that damages the film as a screenplay filled with inconsistencies, illogical and underdeveloped ideas, and serious infringements on the series’ continuity.
If he truely got to be in NYC like it was originally planned it would’ve made more sense for the title. I was seeing the film wanting to see him in NYC and I got Jason on the “Love Boat” and only in NYC for a short time and I was very disappointed. When I heard it was mostly done in Canada cause of budget problems I wasn’t too surprised cause Paramount was and still is famous for giving their films and tv shows a hard time about budget matters besides anything else that bothered them. Seeing Jason at MSG would’ve been a hoot cause a great one liner could’ve came out of that scene had it been full with people for an event or if it was empty and waiting for a boxing match the next night with an empty ring in it and they happened to go in it and fought.
I would have liked Friday 8 more if it wasn’t on the ship so much and more in New York. I don’t think that the Madison Square Garden thing is good but maybe the statut of liberty or something…
If theyt went all the way I would have loved it, especially considering there were already 7 Friday The 13th movies so at some point you’re going to have to have fun with a familiar concept. This is why I like Part 8 and Jason X.
Imagine if Part 8 had been more succesful, like letting Jason “take” more of Manhattan. Then maybe Paramount had just kept on making Friday the 13th! Think about it: No Jason goes to Hell, no crappy fuckface Jason X and no dull Freddy vs Jason (well Freddy vs Jason would probably have been made anyways…). You should do a blog post about this Jasonsfury!
It would have been better if the movie actually did take place more in New York. I’m not sure if it would have been a good idea to do a “sight seeing” tour of New York as it would have seemed too gimmicky and forced. I can see Madison Square Garden working if done properly but not the Statue of Liberty. Most of the problem with JTM, to me anyway, was how badly the MPAA cut this movie up. If the kills weren’t so editted-for-televisionish the movie may not have done as badly.
Jason didn’t take Manhattan because the Muppets already took it, and he wasn’t going to mess with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
This is not a Friday the 13th movie to me but rather a Jason film. That’s fine. My problem with it is that there are gorier episodes of Seventh Heaven. Someone should take it and CGI some blood in the god-damned thing. That would improve it heaps.
totally, make it gory and the rest is (maybe) forgiven…i mean after all these years…despite its flaws its on my shelf…and i still watch it…
This was one of the cheesiest Jason movies ever made. I still prefer it over all the movies after it…..except for the remake. It’s funny how Predator and Jason moved from the forest to the city around the same time. What is it about Hollywood putting movie monsters in the city.
Oh well, let’s just hope they never make Jason vs King Kong.
Jason Takes Manhattan has some interesting parts to it. The ending was horrible and when Jason was without a mask, it looked horrendous. I do like certain parts of the film – when he climbs the dock and we see the Rangers billboard – that was interesting and old New York City in the 80s with graffiti – now most of New York City is cleaned up and in Times Square it’s not that bad with the graffiti. The song and voice-over in the beginning were awesome as well.
how about jason verses bigfoot? think of it. what if sasquatch lived in crystal lake woods? now that would be interesting. j/k or am i ?
Fangoria at the time said it should have been called JASON TAKES THE LOVE BOAT. I’m inclined to agree. But it’s a double edged sword – the city scenes work great because they were saved for the climax.
It would have been better if they set the boat time inside a NY apartment building or something, that way they could still spend so little but have some NY style characters getting killed.