Title: Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Director: Danny Steinmann
Writer: Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen
Release Date: March 22nd, 1985
Cast: Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, Dick Wieand, Tiffany Helm
Cliff’s Notes:
After a murder at a halfway house, the residents begin to believe that Jason is back from the dead. Ch-ch-ch ah-ah-ah ensues, kinda. Oh, and Tommy Jarvis is still around, so that’s something.
Lecture:
Where The Final Chapter really started to get things right, A New Beginning seems to take a big swerve away from goodness. I’m not going to lie, this is one of my least favorite in the series – not the worst though, we’re still getting to that one. Just like in Halloween, as the series progresses, there was an attempt to move the franchise in a different direction. Just like this didn’t work for Halloween 3, it fails A New Beginning. But more on that later.
There’s some good to be had here. The flick posts an incredible two score bodies, all of which allow the effects crew to show off a heck of a lot of talent. Some of the actors come through well, which helps even out the less than stellar script. Heck, even the music is working in this one’s favor.
But the problem is that it doesn’t work. The film never comes together: plot holes abound, suspense is non-existent, and the script is god awful. Even ignoring the twist at the end – which, by the way, is terrible – the script is more of a collection of moments than any kind of through story. While the actors and effects crew came to play, the director and writers left them up a creek without a paddle.
Acting:
I’m beyond relieved that Kinnaman and Shepard are in this flick. Her performance is natural, nuanced, and does plenty to cover the week script. Shepard plays broody/crazy very well and fills several of this movie’s errors with nice moments. Wieand does what he can with his role, and he’s certainly not awful, but he’s being asked to do way too much with no screen time. The entire flick works against him. The rest of the disposable teens are efficiently disposable. The characters are paper thin, so the actors are doing most of the work here.
Directing:
Steinmann produces easily the grimiest of the F13ths. There’s little here to recommend his work. It is, at best, shoot by numbers. The rain machine gets a workout, and Steinmann seems competent in milking his soggy surroundings, but there’s little to no tension and the first 90% of this movie falls flat.
Script:
Laughable. This puppy could almost pass as a Scooby-Doo episode. Just without the jokes or likeable characters. While I applaud the attempt to do something different, it falls on its face almost immediately and only really works after you’ve seen the flick. The characters here are really just a set of traits that are loosely tied together and, even though they try their hardest, even the actors can’t save it. Easily the worst in the series.
Effects:
Once again, this is a highlight of the flick. Problem is, those jerks at the MPAA sliced a bunch out of this puppy for the theatrical release. What we’re left with isn’t bad, but it’s a sad shadow of what could have been. It’s also worth noting that this is where the kills start to get more creative at the cost of effects. It’s a trend that’s going to last for the next few flicks and really starts to water down some of the creative work in the series.
Highlights:
Despite the fact that it makes little to no sense, the last moment of this puppy is fun and unexpected. Too bad you have to sit through the rest of this puppy to get to it. Best scare in here.
Lowlights:
Worst use of zooms ever.
Friday the 13th-iness:
Not the strongest. Sure, we get a guy in a hockey mask – though we see a lot of his hands and not him… -, but this puppy lacks the Friday the 13th vibe that often dominates the series. It’s sleazier – since when do porn-‘stachio-ed creeps snort cocaine – and nowhere near as satisfying. We’re also sliding further and further away from the buildup before kills. The killer is all kinds of nasty, but we’re not doing much besides watching folks die. Eh.
Final Thoughts:
Sure, it’s not the worst, but A New Beginning is a massive misstep in the F13 franchise. While there’s possibility – imagine a movie about Tommy actually going crazy – the longer this flick goes, the less fun it is.