The New Blood vs The Final Chapter: Remake or Rehash?
I want to first start off saying that The Final Chapter is my favorite film in the franchise. The New Blood is the one movie in the late 80’s and into the early 90’s I watched most out of any movie in the franchise to that point. I love the guilty pleasure feeling I get watching that movie! So now that my history of these two films have been established, I thought it would be interesting, fun, and relevant to pose one question. Could The New Blood be looked upon as a remake of the Final Chapter or is it simply rehashed material dressed up with a psycho-kinetic, misunderstood teen dualing with a kick ass rotting Jason? I’ll offer up some interesting comparisons and you all can be the judge of what you think this movie could be labeled as.
The Same Production Company
As we had just covered last week in the Production Crew Challenge, we learned that both The Final Chapter and The New Blood were made my the same production company, Friday Four, Inc. This will explain a lot in terms of what we look at below in regards to similar plot points, characters, shooting locations and even, gulp, the use of stock footage from the older Friday the 13th movie.
Lets take a step by step look at what ties thes two movies together and begs the question, rehash or remake. First, the beginning of the movie…..
The Prologue
Each movie starts with a prologue using a montage of older clips and a voice-over narrative recounting events of past movies. These are the only two movies in the franchise to do such a thing. The Final Chapter uses Paul Holt’s camp fire speech from Part 2 to tell the tale of Mrs. and Jason Voorhees and the legend/curse of Crystal Lake. A series of montaged clips from Part 1 through 3 are integrated into the prologue guided by his dialogue.
The New Blood’s prologue is narrated by Walt Gorney, who played Crazy Ralph in Friday the 13th Part 1 and 2. This is started off by zooming in on Jason’s grave, which was created for the Jason Lives trailer. Then we are shown past clips of Part 2, The Final Chapter and a majority of scenes from Jason Lives. All of this is done to bring the viewer up to speed on past events that will leave us on the edge of our seats and bring us into the title sequence.
Both title sequences start with the hockey mask breaking apart and the title pushing through. The Final Chapter has a pretty cheesy exploding mask and The New Blood does a pretty cool effect of the mask cracking and splitting into two pieces. As you can see, we have very striking similarities to how the movie itself has been started, but with The New Blood, there is more story to prologue about and a more flashy introductory title sequence. Now onto the movie ……
The Story Setup
We all know that there is a very simple formula to these movies. People show up at the lake, they frolic about and Jason kills all of them, except for the Final Girl or Final Guy. However, the situations they are placed into at the lake vary and have always been different. For instance, the original takes place at a rundown camp, Part 2 at a counselor training center, Part 3 at a summer home/ranch and so on. In the case of The Final Chapter and The New Blood, they share the exact same location situation. Both movies have the situation of two houses next door to each other in a secluded part of the woods.
Not only is there that logistical similarity, but the type of characters and their relation to that house are almost completely the same. One house, “the party house”, is populated by a bunch of teens that are there to do just that, party! The house next door is home to a family. The Final Chapter introduces us to the Jarvis family, without a dad. The New Blood introduces us to the Shepard family without a dad, well at least after the beginning of the movie.
Towards the end of the movies we have characters running between houses to investigate and then escape our boy, Jason Voorhees. These scenarios have never presented themselves in any other movies but these. Here, though, is where the similarities in story ends and the possibility of remake, not rehash, begin.
The entire premise of Tina and telekenesis is a plot device that could completely be used as a tool to amp up an old story to be remade. Throw in a rotting, undead, unstoppable Jason Voorhees and you now have yourself a reinvented story to restart a franchise. Isn’t that what fans clamor for? More of the old with a sprinkle of something new and different? Platinum Dunes tried this and well. Judging from the responses on this website, they didn’t do too good of a job.
The Reused POV Shot
I have seen a certain number of films reuse footage from older films to tie movies together in a franchise so to give fans the feeling of continuity. These scenes are usually applied in a prologue or a flashback scene. However, have you ever witnessed a shot from a previous movie used to progress the actual story of a movie? Perhaps it is more common than I know.
In The New Blood there is a scene where the camper is waiting for her man to come back and a POV shot is inserted in to give the audience the impression of the girl being watched. Problem with this shot is that one, it’s a dome tent, and two it is raining. The tent shown in The New Blood is square and there was no rain in the forecast. This POV shot was obviously lifted from The Final Chapter when Trish is waiting in Rob’s tent.
So, I pose the question to you all, could this be looked upon as a cheap way to get a POV shot during post production or could it be a clever nod to an older movie as a way to tie an audience into a remake? And if you still cannot decide rehash or remake, how about using a location from a previous movie …..
Back To The Jarvis House
Another clever way to make an audience feel at home with a remake is to give them scenery that seems familiar to them and gives them the sense that they can buy into a retelling of a favorite story. In the case of The New Blood, the above scene was actually shot in the Jarvis house from The Final Chapter. That’s right! For those of you that do no know, you are looking at the interior of the actual Jarvis house in Santa Rosa, California.
Some could see this as using a location that is already known and easy to access. However, this could be another wink to the audience that says yes, we are remaking your beloved movies, but we haven’t forgotten where we came from.
The Conclusion
So, in light of all of the information and facts that have been presented here, could you look at The New Blood and view it as a total rehashed story line with just some crazy telekenetic teen running around battling Jason? Or, is The New Blood possibly a clever way to remake a classic movie and pay homage to it’s many classic scenes and locale? I will let you all be the judge of that!
I gotta say the comparisons between these two movies is uncanny. I didn’t even realize these two movies were so close in story, scenery and plot. I’d say that The New Blood is a remake of The Final Chapter. They both match each other almost perfectly. The one little detail that doesn’t seem to go with the Final Chapter is the telekinetic plot device. So in that instance it’s not a remake. To answer your question they are mostly identical and the only difference lies with the added plot device of Tina.
Very cool post Jasonsfury..
I have never looked at it that way before.
But to me it’s not a remake of TFC, even though I fully understand people who consider it to be.
These 2 movies seriously reminds of each other, but in a good way cause they are both in my top 5 in the franchise.
Aah, to hell with it. TOP 3
Aren’t all of the films, in some way or another, just remakes? this just seems like laziness on the filmmakers part.
Likewise, I can never decide if The Final Chapter is my favorite or second favorite, and A New Blood is the installment I’ve watched the most. I’m quite embarrassed to admit I never noticed these similarities (except for the reused tent). I suppose the answer would depend on who had more control of the story. Directors generally ‘nod’ to older movies, producers tend to ‘rehash what we made a few bucks off before.’ Having been a producer, let me tell you they only care about getting people through the door.
I really don’t care for A New Blood. But with all these similarities pointed out ill have to re watch it. I noticed the tent scene in ANB as a nod but i didn’t realize the shot was taken directly, pretty cool. But this has happened a lot in our franchise, they reuse props, etc.
the worst thing about the new blood,the horrible looking set pieces and over lighting and even worse piss poor characters.toilet paperman.kane hodder might think he’s the best but all his movies were shit box and zombie jason was slow and boring.indestructable doesn’t mean scary or suspenseful.the final chapter is an easy pick.
Excelent research, Jason.
Mario
crews also kept newspaper clippings of Jason’s history just like Rob in tfc. i think
i sort of scoffed when i started reading this, but now i am convinced! Remake! It also makes me think more that the Jason in TFC was possibly at that point the zombie Jason. Although he did run. He hadn’t rotted that much yet though and had spent some time in the icebox ala Axel.
As far as the two movies go, however, I would give TFC five stars out of five and TNB maybe 2 1/2. The characters were pretty weak in TNB except Tina and her mom and dr crews, the kills were neither here nor there except for the sleeping bag one. Granted they were so edited. But, you gotta take that into account making the movie, as Zito and Savini did, and find a way to keep the kills brutal. A great example where they pulled it off is that b*tch girl with the pearls–her death was bloodless, but SOOO BRUTAL.
I will go out on a limb and say Kane did a better job than Ted White. The stunts were great. Ted is great, but his Jason didn’t do all that much. Just stood there looking huge and menacing. In both instances, the makeup was the key thing–both awesome, but Kane really put his spirit into it and it shows through.
LOVE the exploding mask from final chapter intro!! way better than cartoon cracking mask from pt 7
“Aren’t all of the films, in some way or another, just remakes? this just seems like laziness on the filmmakers part.”
That might be a valid point in some situations within each movie
“Very cool post Jasonsfury..”
Thanks Fredrik. Took a little time to throw together.
“Excelent research, Jason.”
Thanks, Mario. You know, it’s sad to think I actually retain all of this in my head, sometimes. The hardest part was getting all of the images together. That was a killer.
Would not say its a remake but a poor mans version of Part 4. That said its still not as bad as most make it out to be. Just because its not in the trophy room with the first 4 movies does not mean its terrible.
Fact I’d say its top 3
1. Jason Lives – a movie that gets too much shit for being something different yet it concluded the best part of the series for me. The Tommy Jarvis saga.
2. The Final Chapter – the best of the first 4 because it had the best characters to compliment Jason. All part 3 had was Shelly and as good as Part 2 is, the replay isn’t there for me.
3. The New Blood – Dr. Crews, Tina and Tina’s mom kept the movie together. Especially Dr. Crews who I view as one of the better characters in the series if for no other reason than his sleazeball mentality. He knew the shit hit the fan and he stuck around anyway. On top of that Jason met his best match outside of Jarvis at the time.
The kills in New Blood were EVERYTHING that Jason should be about (creativity) and one of the reasons why the 09 remake suffered and FvJ as well. At some point along the road, producers and the like decided Jason should be like Michael Myers only substitute the kitchen knife for the machete and that bothers me because Jason has always been a technician at using different methods to kill his victims and the last couple movies have failed to capitalize in that department. The best kill in the remake was the arrow.
So in the end, not as good as the Final Chapter I would definitely put the New Blood in my top 5 in this case top 3 for sure.
1. Jason Lives
2. Final Chapter
3. The New Blood
4. F13 1980
5. The New Beginning
I give all the respect in the world to Parts 2 and 3 but one has very little replay value and the other one is a one person show until the finale.
First of all This is just great how you noticed all this!
This really got me thinking why they went all this way to shoot the scene from the same house and not shooting the tent scene also? did they forgot to shoot the tent scene and decided to save themselves by using an old clip? i think so, it wouldnt occur to me that they would pay homage to final chapter by using a tent scene which wasnt memorable at any way.
I think that they were doing a remake and tried to keep some of the final chapter atmosphere with the locale, but the tent scene is a total mistake and was used as a band-aid.
I though loved the prolouge for the movies it was just an excellent way to triple up the excitement and make a great introduction.
The final chapter is the best horror film i´ve ever watched but i really didnt like the telekinesis in the new blood and i think that it ruined most of the movie and i felt like it lost its realness and wasnt as scary for that matter.
I also liked TFC more than TNB cause i thought jason was more real and scarier for the fact that he could hunt you down but TNB couldnt really hunt a turtle. But TNB jason was definitelly fantastic looking so there is no disrespect there.
By the way here is my top 5 list:
1. The Final Chapter
2. Friday the 13th (1980) / Friday the 13th part 3
3. Friday the 13th part 2 / A New Beginning
cool find but to me I think they just made it feel like a friday the 13th movie should be..they just have some parts that looked like the other movie., and a zombie jason, but cool find you should ask the guys who made it ..
jasonsfury,
You have a masterful eye for this franchise and I am glad that you can share all of this info on the site with fans like us. I never made the connections that you made between A New Blood and The Final Chapter but now that you mentioned it, they are quite obvious. I don’t think that A New Blood can be viewed as a remake because (as somebody pointed out already), there is an element of “remaking” that runs through the entire franchise. I do, however, think that the connections that you made may unkowingly be the reason(s) why so many fans consider A New Blood as one of their favorities.
Wow great bit of research, I never noticed most of those similarities, with the two houses and everything. I love the prologues to both films too, all the best deaths and most dramatic clips plucked out of the whole series and edited together– used to enthrall me when i was a kid
Hey I just had a thought: the tent scene they re-used in part VII could be thought of as a way to seperate the living Jason from the zombie Jason. What if both characters were stalking that tent at the same time? It could get confusing but interesting if someone could flesh this out a bit.
I’ve noticed the re-use of costumes and what not in the franchise, Like example Trish in the final chapter wears that Blue Dress and in The New Blood that one Nerdy girl that trys to look hot is rocking thee exact same get up.
Wow I thought I was the only that thought there was a connection between part 4 and 7. The intros are similar. The POV tent scene, I think they used the exact same shot. The way the houses are set up, I kinda noticed all this when I saw part 7 in the theatre. My theory, Its the same production company. Or John Buechler’s favorite installment of the series is part 4.
I also wanted to note (and I know this is off subject) Theres a connection between part 1 and 3. The character Rick wears both the flannel, and the sweater that Mrs. Voorhees wore in part 1. Took me years to figure that one out.
“The POV tent scene, I think they used the exact same shot”
You’re absolutely right. That tent shot is the exact same shot from The Final Chapter!
Well, I accualy read smewere that the new line cinema thought that part 1-4 were the best friday the 13th movies. I agree, the final chapter and the new blood are awsome friday the 13th movies. I think the final chapter is more best for being a remake, but I love both movies.
I knew there was some similarities between the two, but not that many. Maybe that’s why TNB is one of the couple that I really liked post TFC. Keep these kinds of posts coming, Jasonsfury. Make you think a little.
Another thing that is the same, two victims getting thrown out of windows to be killed. Jason also has his mask torn off in both movies.
Great post Jason’s Fury. Brought a smile to my face. I almost included comments regarding the similarities with my reply to last week’s production crew challenge. Keep ‘em coming!
In a way, pointing out that A New Blood shares the exact same shots as The Final Chapter discredits the originality of A New Blood. But thankfully, if any Friday the 13th film needs to be ripped off more, it’s The Final Chapter.
Another thing that I always appreciated about these two films was that the character development was a notch above the other films in the series. You cared enough about the characters in The Final Chaper and A New Blood to either like them or hate them. That didn’t always happen in other films. Excellent post, jasonsfury!
Very cool Jason! The one thing I really like about part 7 was walt gorney talking about “Thera a legend round here…” that always was one of my favorite things in the series
Grreat piece, Jasonsfury. I always suspected this, and it was very validating to read in Crystal Lake Memories that they basically told JCB to “remake part 4″
The director and writer of VII have adressed these issues over the years. They were told 4 was considered the “high point” of the series (by Frank Mancuso, I believe), and to do another one like that. So the writer decided to make it the same set up with the two houses… the tent shot was reused simply because they needed that POV shot and didn’t film it. It hasn’t been stated if the Jarvis house was intentional or a coincidence, but IMO likely down to the production company just being familiar with the location and they needed a house in LA to film a re-shoot.
Just giving props to The New Blood.
I quite liked it (although it was the last one I liked).
Re-boot was okay and Jason X’s first hour was pretty good.
I need the Blu-rays of parts 4 – 7!! Dammit :0
I got to thinking about another “similarity”. When Crispin Glover is done having sex he goes to the kitchen and gets killed while the twin he just had sex with is killed by throwing out the window. The same thing happens in part 7. Guy goes to the kitchen after sex and gets killed and the girl is killed by being thrown out the window!
The similarities are almost endless, arent they!
Great that you brought this to light, jasonsfury. I have always thought of the similarities between these two friday’s. I remember going to see The New Blood when it first opened and I bought a copy of the latest Fangoria Magazine before entering the theatre. I then sat down in my seat and skimmed through it while waiting for the film to start. It had an article about the New Blood and I remember reading something in the article about the makers wanting the New Blood to be in the vein of The Final Chapter or something. I dont remember exactly what was written in the article but I do remember that something was written about how they wanted to capture ‘the feel’ of The Final Chapter in the New Blood. I totally remember the article saying something about how the producers wanted to recapture something that was missing from the ‘lackluster’ Part 6(Their words not mine). I always remember them using the ‘lackluster’ word in the article about Part 6. I don’t have this Fangoria issue anymore but if someone has it, maybe they can share what exactly was said about the films. If what I just wrote was already dicussed above, I apologize, being that I didn’t reqad every comment. I just thought this info would be interesting to share.
Yes they are! It’s cool though. I liked both films and can watch them over and over again! It’s great when you can shoot out 8 movies in less than 10 yrs and have a fan base like Jason.
Holy sh*t! Well done sir! I guess I know what I’m doing tonight – double feature!!
What about the smililarities between Trish, and Maddie’s outfit? hmmmmmmmm