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The official Friday the 13th series thread


Unlucky Bastard

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When I was a kid growing up in the mid-90s, there were four franchises that were important to me, The X-Files, Godzilla, Star Trek, and Friday the 13th.

 

I was particularly obsessed with the latter because of how "forbidden" it seemed. And it was so weird seeing a series of movies numbered up to "VIII" movies - that must have meant they were so damn awesome, they just kept making more and more.

 

I'd also like to draw Jason Voorhees on a murdering spree at school because I thought it'd make fun artwork, but the teachers were alerted to this and thought I was disturbed. But I really just liked cool shit I saw on TV at late hours. It was the 90s, and people were quicker to misunderstand creative artsy fartsy kids back then.

 

These movies were precious to me back then and I still hold much affection for them today. Especially the third one, which wasn't the first one I saw, but it was the first one I taped, and I wore that tape out.

 

And the music by Harry Manfredini was exceptional in a time when slasher flicks often received a flat synthy score. I cherish the LLL boxset!

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2 minutes ago, mstrox said:

As in many film series, the sixth one is the best.

 

What's your favorite Nightmare on Elm Street?  Mine's New Nightmare and I think that's the 7th in the series?

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Oh no, you're making me pick between the original, Dream Warriors, and New Nightmare!

 

It could be any of the above based on my mood, since they're three very different movies, but I think I'd probably land on the first one if you forced me.  New Nightmare has the smartest script, and the kid actor was pretty good, which helps.

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I know that kid's name is Miko Hughes, and I know this because for some reason my college roommate and I would always freak out when he popped on the TV.  He was in a bunch of movies and he was Michelle's friend on Full House, and then he grew up and got normal looking enough that we didn't recognize him anymore.  That kid was legit.

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I had some philosophical disagreements with the 2009 remake, although there were some things I really liked (the opening, mainly).

 

I really love The Final Chapter, Jason Lives, and Jason X.  The rest are all perfectly fine, fun slasher movies.  My spouse swore off watching them with me after I had her randomly sit through Jason Takes Manhattan one F13 night - probably my fault for picking that one!

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I consider only the two first movies. Unfortunately, Jason gets his hockey mask in the third, very bad 3-D movie.

 

If they want to reboot the series, they just have to make a proper sequel to the 2nd movie. So a movie where Jason finds his trademark mask.

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  • 8 months later...

I have no particular connection to the series, but I've seen them all. I remember as a kid, we had a kinda "sport" to watch film series of this kind; every weekend we biked down to the video store to rent the next installment of a franchise (could be FRIDAY 13th, HALLOWEEN, STAR TREK, you name it). It's been quite some time since I watched these, so they're all kinda melting together in my mind.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm tempted, but honestly the last time I watched any of these was in the old DVD box set, and I've already upgraded to HD without watching those.  Maybe some day...

 

Listened to LLL's F13 VII disc a few times over the weekend.  It's a neat change of pace for the series, and it's nice to hear Mollin's tracks married to Manfredini's for the first time, but man is this album an ASSAULT.  Sent my blood pressure skyrocketing.

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My guess is that they didn't have the same materials for the "unrated" bits of F13 IX, so they used the interpositive for the theatrical content and another source for the too-hot-for-TV

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19 minutes ago, mstrox said:

I'm tempted, but honestly the last time I watched any of these was in the old DVD box set, and I've already upgraded to HD without watching those.  Maybe some day...

 

I seem to have every release of these movies, including the earliest Paramount boxset, the blu-ray boxset, and the new Shout Factory set. I even have the mid-2000s Australian DVD of the first film from WB that included the uncut version.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Been a fan of the series ever since probably around 1990 when I saw my first F13 film. Jason gave me quite a few nightmares back then and I remember repeatedly checking before going to bed whether somebody was lurking under my bed after seeing Kevin Bacon's demise in the first one :biglaugh: I'm even a proud owner of the 3D poster of the first one! :lol: My favorite movies are no. 1 and no. 6 but I love the music even more than I do the films which is why I was EXTREMELY happy back in 2012 when I managed to be fast enough with my order to obtain a copy of LLL's box. Even after all these years, I listen to the 1 and 6 soundtracks at least once every two weeks or so.

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Jason Takes Manhattan might be a weaker entry in the series, but I've always been oddly fascinated by it. I mean it leaves so many unanswered questions and as a result it's frustrating and dissatisfying. Like, once Jason reached NYC, say he manages to kill off Rennie and Sean, what's he got in mind after that? A citywide killing spree? Or would he simply leave the Big Apple behind and hike back to Crystal Lake? The poor fella is really out of his element, it almost has a "Crocodile" Dundee vibe about it, as well as a King Kong relation – fish-out-of-water outsiders/deviant/freaks who aren't meant for urban environments. And Jason and Kong especially take the ultimate punishment for being out of bounds.

 

Anyhoo, to me, the Friday movies ended here. The NLC flicks were all just elseworlds add-ons with only passing relation to the Paramount series. Only FvJ can get away with being a direct sequel to JTM without being too tenuous or disconnected.

 

Hell even the continuity of the Paramount flicks ain't perfect. Where VI, VII and VIII are hilariously off, as the size of the lake fluctuates depending on the demands of plot convenience. In Jason Lives, the lake looks about how it did in the first movie, but in The New Blood, it... it looks like a tiny swampy pond in the middle of nowhere, and bafflingly in Jason Takes Manhattan, it's a huge, hugggggge lake that can fit a cruise ship en route to the Atlantic Ocean! Come on, mannn! No wonder I enjoyed these as a kid, they had all the consistency of the Godzilla movies.

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I'm repeating myself, but like the Freddy Saga, you can resume the "Friday the 13th" franchise in 3 movies.

 

I-II... and 3-D (not because it's a good movie, just because it's the movie where Jason found his hockey mask).

 

Then, The Jason vs Freddy was a fun crossover movie.

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I love how Jason X indirectly explains how Jason survived the axe to the head in Part III, stating it's amazing he was able to function with a brain so small. Of course, if you're familiar with his hydrocephalus condition (enlarged head, extra fluids, thicker skull), it's not so far fetched to believe the axe didn't reach far enough to cause significant brain damage. Eventually though he would have had to succumb to opportunistic infections, but the machete to the head finished him off before that could happen.

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  • 2 months later...
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  • 1 year later...

Some of you might be interested to know that the 2014 Waxwork Records vinyl pressing of the 2012 LLL assembly of the original Friday the 13th score was the 2nd most expensive item sold on the Discogs marketplace in October 2022.

 

This novelty pressing of only 75 copies, where liquid "blood" is encased in the clear vinyl, sold for a whopping USD $4,250.  And I see that a copy is currently listed asking $5,000.  I'd bet it's the October purchaser that has listed it :lol:

 

https://www.discogs.com/digs/collecting/most-expensive-items-sold-on-discogs-in-october-2022

https://www.discogs.com/release/6144814-Harry-Manfredini-Friday-The-13th


 

Spoiler

Primary

Secondary, 4 of 4

 

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