October 13

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI , 1986

Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! The boys are entering week 2 of their annual SNMS October Halloween Movie Extravaganza, and serendipitously this Friday just happens to be the 13th... so J. Blake and Dion Baia put their heads together and decided to take on one of the most iconic series’ in the Horror genre. And after close examination, they’ve decided on a film they feel most embodies the spirit of that franchise. So the fellas are chatting about a guy named Jason Voorhees, and more specifically Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, from 1986!

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

The boys start off by Dion explaining why this series is particularly near and dear to his heart, and his story about his first experience as a child with the Friday the 13th film series in general. They set up this film, Jason Lives, by recapping Part V: The Beginning, and Dion also goes on record to defend that installment, as he and Blake explain why that movie is so important to the fate of Part VI. The guys also lay out all the elements that are introduced in Jason Lives , and how these tropes help set-up the next 6 (or so) films in the series. They get into the history of the character Jason Voorhees, going back to Sean Cummingham‘s original film and sum up the other installments that preceded this one. The lads explain Jason Lives‘ director‘s vision of making this an almost gothic horror film, a kind of homage to the classic Universal and Hammer Horror films of yesteryear. They discuss the trims and extended scenes that were left on the cutting room floor, as well as the reason why there were actually 2 actors appearing as Jason in this Part VI. They also chat about the various book tie-ins that expand on Jason’s backstory, as well as the original ending for Jason Lives that introduced Jason’s father, Elias Voorhees, and why it was ultimately cut. And we also get some insight into the score by way of Blake‘s friend and the film’s composer, Harry Manfredini. So, what is the speculation of how the creators came up with the first name for the character Tommy Jarvis? Who is clearly the real hero in this story? What are the 2 connections this film has to the classic television series Welcome Back, Kotter? And what Jason installment(s) are the boys thinking of turning into a traveling one-man play? Well, make sure you don’t accompany a friend late at night to a spooky cemetery with he/she having the idea to dig up a serial killer (for the obvious fear of accidently reanimating him and inadvertently causing the deaths of scores of other helpless victims), because the boys are laying out a sad, disturbing cautionary tale in this brand new Halloween, Friday the 13th episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!