Here we are again.  Crystal Lake.  Jason Voorhees.  Wasn't he dead, chained
to a rock in the middle of the lake?  Yes, but I'll get to that in due time.

The 7th film in this series starts out with what else - a recap.  Some
highlights from the previous entries, focusing on the conclusion of part 6.
Then, we're introduced to Tina, a teenage girl who has telekinetic powers,
and is under psychiatric care.  You see, when her family was vacationing at
Crystal Lake when she was young, she witnessed her dad beat her mom, and
then in a fit of rage, caused the death of her dad.  Years later, she's
still dealing with these demons and her fantastic powers.  So her doctor
(played by Terry Kiser - yes, "Bernie" from "Weekend at Bernie's") takes her
and her mom back to Crystal Lake, assumingly to help her, but he's got a
hidden agenda.  Anyway, during an emotional breakdown, Tina runs out to the
lake, and attempts to resurrect her father.  However, she makes a slight
miscalculation and ends up resurrecting Jason.  And, boy, is he pissed.

So then the random people around the lake (campers, travelers whose car
breaks down, and oh, did I mention there was a house next door to Tina's
where a bunch of dorky and horny teens are partying?) become his playthings.
The bodies pile up as Tina, her mom, her doctor, and her new love interest
try to figure out what's going on.  This leads up to the "Carrie" vs. Jason
ending where Tina uses her powers against the undying killer.

All in all, this is a decent sequel.  But, can we get away from Crystal
Lake?  Why does everyone forget about the killer?  The script, of course, is
poor, but at least there was a new twist with Tina's abilities.  Some of the
story was interesting, and the suspense was up in most of the kill scenes.
However, the kill scenes themselves were disappointing as they seem to have
been heavily edited.  Jason's killings were mostly ho-hum (stabbing,
drowning, thrown out a window), but there are some good ones, including the
fist through the chest, and the now classic beating of an occupied sleeping
bag against a tree.  The ending is kinda bizarre, but it's fitting with
other entries in the series.  There is also a prolonged series of scenes of
an unmasked Jason, and he sure hasn't aged well!

So, I'd say this is a film to be seen of fans of the series.  Not a great
movie, but better than most with the name "Friday the 13th".
 
 
 
 

Quality: 3.5  Visuals: 4.0  Intensity: 5.0  Gore: 4.0
OVERALL RATING: 4.1