The Arrow Reviews

Rowan: I don't think he's out there...
Janessa: Why don't you just stick your head out and have a peek?

Having read the Jason X script beforehand and considering that I’d been waiting forever to see this baby, my expectations were quite high for this film. Well, I’m happy to say that they were mostly met and that Jason X lives up to the positive hype that it's been getting.

This 10th chapter in the "Friday the 13th" franchise retains the same energy as the previous entries but delivers it in a spaceship setting. You want to see Jason put “Rambo” to shame as he hunts down some ex-grunts? Right here, a-holes! Or how about Jason going mano-a-mano against a leather-clad, gun-toting female Android? You got it! Jason X has its fair share of slash and crash, but at the same time, it emanates an “Aliens” (an obvious inspiration) type of vibe. Some purists might say that’s a negative thing, but I believe that after nine films, Jason needed a change of scenery like I needed a new “bootie call”. They slapped old hockey-puss in space and managed to pull it off. Props to all!

Production value-wise the film is okay (it is still a low budget film). The CGI goes from solid to average but is always used appropriately; the spacecraft sets are simple yet effective and the costumes are colorful. I particularly enjoyed the S&M-like outfit that Kay-Em (Ryder) sported after getting her robotic cherry popped. Nice! Our boy Jason hasn’t changed much. He felt more human this time around though (he has hair!) and doesn’t look like the zombie he was in part 6-7-8-9. I found Jason less menacing than he was in “Friday The 13th Part 7”, but he still got the grisly job done. The “Uber Jason” get-up is mucho impressive. Think “The Terminator” on steroids. I adored the piercing red eyes as well! Spooky shite!

On the negative tip, the film doesn’t always milk the kool ideas that it sets up to their fullest. The Uber-Jason thang, for example, looks slick but not much is done with it. I wanted to see Jason get down and dirty in robo-mode yo! Seeing him breaking through doors wasn’t enough to quench my slaughter craving. I also begged to witness a battle of the badasses between Mr. Voorhees and Brodski (Mensah) but alas it never really went down. But my main beef with the film are its characters and their lack of development. Now I know what you’re going to say: “This is a slasher flick Arrow, who cares”. Well, I care! Friday 6 and 7, for example, had strong characters and the relationships between them had meat. Here, the relationships are barely hinted at (Kay-Em and Tsunaron are the best example), the characters spit out bad lines constantly and even our heroine Rowan (Doig) doesn’t wind up doing much except looking great in a cleavage-heavy tank top. I wanted to see her whoop some bootie! All I got from most of the players here is that they were way horny and somewhat idiotic! I guess in space, your libido goes sky high and your IQ level hits the bricks. The sexual energy in the film is fortunately not as overbearing as it was in the script. They toned it down and it isn’t too distracting.

On a positive note, I had the sultry Kay-Em (Ryder) and the macho Sergeant Brodski (Mensah) to keep me anchored to the “good guys”. Both characters steal the show every time they pop up and Kay-Em’s edge of your seat main battle with Jason is definitely the highlight of the film. As for the tough-as-nails Brodski, he’s very likeable and is responsible for the film’s best line. Jason stabs him and he says: “It will take more than a small poke in the ribs to put down this old dog” JASON STABS HIM AGAIN and he says: ”That’ll do it”. Freaking hilarious! Man, I wanted to see more of that tough guy!

Overall, "Jason X" is just a good slasher time at the movies and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else but that. Yes, the good guys are weak and the film doesn’t always capitalize on its groovy situations but we still get lots of explosions, kills, fights sequences, some occasional funny dialogue, some humorous situations (loved the Virtual Reality sequence) and Jason even gets to re-visit “Crystal Lake” to entertain two female campers in his own charming way. FUN STUFF! What else do you want from a Friday The 13th sequel? JASON LIVES! AGAIN!