Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

A boatful of graduating high school students headed to Manhattan accidentally pull Jason Voorhees along for the ride.

Director:

Rob Hedden

Writers:

Rob Hedden, Victor Miller (characters)

Stars:

Jensen Daggett, Kane Hodder, Todd Caldecott

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Todd Caldecott	...	Jim (as Todd Shaffer)
Tiffany Paulsen	...	Suzi
Tim Mirkovich	...	Young Jason (as Timothy Burr Mirkovich)
Kane Hodder	...	Jason
Jensen Daggett	...	Rennie
Barbara Bingham	...	Colleen Van Deusen
Alex Diakun	...	Deck Hand
Peter Mark Richman	...	Charles McCulloch
Ace	...	Toby
Warren Munson	...	Admiral Robertson
Fred Henderson	...	Chief Engineer
Scott Reeves	...	Sean Robertson
Gordon Currie	...	Miles Wolfe
Saffron Henderson	...	J.J.
Martin Cummins	...	Wayne

Storyline

A whole high senior class is finally graduating. For that, they get into a luxury cruise called ''Lazarus''. At the beginning they are all having fun, including our main heroine ''Rennie'' who has a serious problem with the water because of past traumatic events '' Almost got drowned when she was little''. When we get to see all the young teenagers our friend Jason who got on board the ship starts with his killing rampage until we get to see only the main characters of the movie.. After that, they decide to look for the killer and kill him... Unfortunately, Jason got them first... After only a few of them escaped and got off the ship reached N.Y where they now have a bigger problem. Jason managed to get there too! He's cashing the survivors so he can kill them. Now the young teenager couple must escape or die in the dark waters of New York.

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Plot Keywords:

friday the thirteenth | boat | hockey mask | anchor | murder spree | 

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Taglines:

The Big Apple's in BIG trouble!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original script, when Jason makes it to the dock, a dog starts barking at him and he kicked it. Kane Hodder, who was playing Jason, felt that kicking the dog was going too far so the scene was dropped.

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Goofs

(at around 7 mins) Throughout the film, Jason's skin is grey, slimy and decayed, except for the pinky finger on his left hand, which is completely normal, protruding through his torn glove. This is especially noticeable in the extreme close up of Jason grabbing the railing of Jim's boat near the beginning.

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Quotes

[first lines]
DJ: [narration] It's like this... We live in claustrophobia; the land of steel and concrete, trapped by dark waters. There is no escape, nor do we want it. We've come to thrive on it and each other. You can't get the adrenaline pumpin' without the terror, good people... I love this town.

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Alternate Versions

Some network television airings feature altered shots of Jason when he decapitates Julius

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Connections

Referenced in Nevo (2011)

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Soundtracks

Broken Dream
Written by Fred Mollin and Stan Meissner
Performed by Terry Crawford

User Reviews

Bites the Big Apple

Jason Voorhees is raised from his watery grave and sets about mutilating whichever nearby teenagers he can get his hands on. Sound familiar? It is.

But Rob Hedden has directed what is perhaps the best of the Friday the 13th films with more style and imagination than earlier outings. The Jason character is cast as a sort of anti-hero in this update of the series, and the result is a campy good time.

Crystal Lake's graduating class are shipping off to New York for their class trip, and when Jason is accidentally revived from the bottom of Crystal Lake by an anchor which snags a power line, he climbs on board for the ride. What ensues is a cruise to mayhem as many of the teens are slain en-route to the Big Apple, and the boat eventually sunk. There's a lot of energy and kinetic camera work in this piece, nearly enough to revive the series to presentable level, and many of the killings almost come off as gags.

Kane Hodder, affirming that he is, in fact, the *real* Jason Voorhees, resumes the role he took over in the previous film, and hams it up a bit on the streets of New York while remaining a menacing figure. He frightens the dickens out of a street gang, proves that you should never touch the third rail of a subway, even marvels at his likeness on a New York Rangers billboard.

The ending in the sewers is questionable at best, with Jason dissolved in acid while the spray never harms his cowering quarry, but Hodder is fantastic lurching around the subterranean corridors while clutching his steaming, monsterous face and wailing in pain. Do zombies feel pain?

Jason Takes Manhattan gives a fresh perspective on the old formula, with good, solid performances and a core cast of believable characters. The fact that it *is* an old formula weighs greatly on this otherwise acceptable film, and the result is a middle of the road thriller that can finally stand almost eye-to-eye with other suspensers not cursed with a "VIII" in the title.

On a side note: hardcore F13 fans typically despise this film, perhaps for its change of venue or relatively low body count. Regardless, this is a film that delivers its share of frights and laughs, and of course, a measure of "oh, yeah, rights."

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ashes to Ashes

Filming Locations:

S.S. Princess Patricia

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,251,310, 30 July 1989

Gross USA:

$14,343,976

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,343,976

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Horror Inc., Sean S. Cunningham Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1