Jason Goes to Hell

Jason Goes to Hell (1993), aka The Final Friday, is the 9th in the Friday the 13th series, and radically departs from the standard plot line. As the film opens, we see Julie Michaels enter a dark cabin, change a light bulb, undress for a bath, then get attacked by Jason. She escapes to the woods, and just as Jason is ready to do her in, Klieg lights come on, and the entire US army riddles him with bullets, then blows him into several large pieces with a mortar round. Cut to the coroners office for the autopsy, where the doctor discovers that the heart is still beating. He finds it so irresistible that he eats it, and Jason enters his body. All this before the opening credits.

All of this is, of course, just an excuse for great nudity, and lots of kills, some of them very gory. My favorite is seeing Michelle Clunie climax, then have a tent spike shoved through her torso, then splitting her in two. They made an MPAA version, and an Uncut version, which was the plan even before they started shooting. Both are on the newly released DVD. Clunie, of Queer as Folk fame, is completely nude having sex with her boyfriend in a tent. We get numerous views of her breasts, and a hint of bush. Stunt woman Julie Michaels, who was cast because nearly her entire sequence involved stunts, shows breasts and buns. Kathryn Atwood shows breasts and buns changing for bed. The "naked campers get murdered" scene was added after test audiences complained about not having a scene like that in the film.

DVD info from Amazon

Commentary by director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey
Theatrical trailer(s)
Includes Rated and Unrated versions
TV version alternate scenes

I think the low IMDB score is an indictment of the genre, rather than a reaction to this particular film. I don't like most of these, and I was entertained. The film has done rather well in video release here and internationally, and they did a good job with this new DVD. It has both the MPAA and the unrated version, a feature length commentary, and several highlight scenes of all of the murders.

The film is a watchable entry in a tired franchise, and is therefore a C.

The Critics Vote

General consensus: one and a half stars. James Berardinelli 1.5/4, BBC 2/5.

Rotten Tomatoes summary. 36% positive.

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary. IMDb voters score it 3.7/10

with their dollars: it grossed $16 million in the USA

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, C. Watchable entry in a tired franchise.