I’ll be back
The sequel to one of the “four fathers” of slasher movies and one that created easily one of THE most influential horror characters ever.
Camp Crystal Lake is no more. The murders there, the mystery, and the legends that it created have not gone away, however. Now five years later a group of counselors gathers a short distance from the original camp for their own summer festivities. The director tries to allay any rumors or worries his counselors have by telling them that it was all made up in the news and nothing to worry about. He is able to deny all the things that they heard before coming on-site, but now that they are there, there is no denying what happens next as one by one people start turning up missing.
Friday the 13th part 2, when taken for what it truly is — the sequel to a slasher movie that no one knew they wanted until it happened — is a great film on its own. When you factor in the actual creation of Jason Voorhees, there is absolutely no way to deny its impact on films then and the lasting impact it would have on horror to this day.
The cast is the usual group of horny teens and it creates, or uses, all the tropes still present today. Kids sneak off to have sex, and get killed. Kids smoking weed, get killed. Clearly no possible way for the killer (Jason) to be able to survive what has been thrown at him (sometimes literally) but he does and they end up dead. Stinger at the end…? Done. Two things that it DOES do that are out of the ordinary are saving the dog, and having Jason attack a disabled person. It just takes the bar that was created by the first film and doesn’t just clear it, it moves it up a few notches for everyone to attempt to get to next time.
I make no apologies for absolutely loving this series. I have purchased it several times physically and also own all versions digitally. My kids have both been Jason for Halloween, and I have posters from the series on my walls. This is truly one of the stronger entries in the series not only b/c of its legacy but strictly on the basis of how well the film is done. If for some odd reason you have never seen this particular entry, I can’t recommend watching it enough.
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