Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: March 22, 1985

6.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 71 Ratings

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Rcavey92212Mar 8, 2020

*SPOILERS* So I think everyone pretty much hated this one when it first came out. It's sort of like the Halloween 3 of the series just alot better mostly because the film still delivers on the tropes that are expected. This time around young*SPOILERS* So I think everyone pretty much hated this one when it first came out. It's sort of like the Halloween 3 of the series just alot better mostly because the film still delivers on the tropes that are expected. This time around young Tommy is grown and he is crazy and fine. Still traumatized from the events of the last film he's been put in a house for troubled youth by Camp Crystal Lake (like that makes sense). He's also learned self defense and is still into FX. Well a killer emerges after one of the clients is brutally murdered by the ultra hot bad boy Mark Venturini of Return of the Living Dead. The paramedics come to pick up the pieces and spoiler alert one happens to be his father. His retaliation= He dresses up as Jason and tries to kill everyone. It's a lame twist but the kills are great and the boys are smoking. In the end it's all just overly mediocre and very trashy but it's aged well over the years and is far more entertaining than it was when it initially was released.

3/5… Expand

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BestbakesJul 31, 2020

It's an okay film with a handful of likable characters. Did try some new concepts for once.

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imthenoobOct 23, 2018

The adult version of Tommy Jarvis appears and that's a big plus for me. I like the unique take on Jason with this one and thought the kills were solid, As was the cast. It's definitely the kind of movie that grows on you but it's far from perfect.

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JPKJul 5, 2020

Is This Really Necessary?
Though it still has it's scares and kills, This entry into the franchise feels very bland and unnecessary considering It’s predecessor is named “The Final Chapter”.

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clem666Mar 19, 2022

I identified plenty reasons to enjoy this slasher movie. I like this new version of Jason. The story takes the time to set up and to introduce the different characters. John Shepherd's acting (playing as Tommy) is awesome. Its eyes allowed meI identified plenty reasons to enjoy this slasher movie. I like this new version of Jason. The story takes the time to set up and to introduce the different characters. John Shepherd's acting (playing as Tommy) is awesome. Its eyes allowed me to feel distinct emotions from fear to horror. Shavar Ross as Reggie is amazing too and he brings (eventually!) a bit of colour in the overall 'Friday the 13th' cast. Other protagonists are okay, some better and more iconic than the others but surprisingly I felt more empathy in overall for the cast of this movie than for the other ones that I already saw.

It's however sad to observe the storyline leaves a lot to be desired. Even if, as I wrote, I found the beginning solid I can't say the same for the ending and especially the last scenes which leave a bad taste of an unfinished product. No spoil but I found the plot twist amazing despite the unstructured side of the conclusion. I am truly concerned and worried about the fact that almost all the 'Friday the 13th' last scenes up until this point end up the same way: a chase in the dark woods under the rain. How many movie directors and producers do nourrish the same fantasies of desperate women trying to escape death ?

Obviously they couldn't help but to showcase a bit of nudity, as it seems to be one of the main 'Friday the 13th' characteristics. Here I found this was okay, not that invasive nor forced.

Soundtrack is great, even if too noisy from time to time, and often for nothing that thrilling. Lighting and environment are great. The pace is very good speaking for the first half. The rest is way too messy. Kills are uneven: some are great and 'convenient' as many others totally lack in realism. The level of makeup remains to be worked on. Still a great testimony of 80s slasher genre.… Expand

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JLauSep 27, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Tommy from the last one is growing up in an institution of some kind but Jason starts killing his fellow patients but it might've just been Tommy doing it, not quite sure.… Expand

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ForeverFinalGirDec 20, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I remember not digging Friday the 13th A New Beginning the first time watching it. There are two main reasons for this. One is the twist at the end. Wasn’t a fan. It seems like a lot of slasher franchise’s go through this at least once. Yes, I’m trying to tiptoe around the spoiler even though this movie has been out for 36 years! The other reason is the character of teenage Tommy was just bad.

PLOT

Our survivor Tommy, from Friday the 13th The Final Chapter, has a dream of Jason being resurrected by two idiots. Luckily it was a dream, or was it? We have a 17 year old Tommy sent to a home for troubled teens. After one of the teens kills another resident, more brutal killings happen in and around this home. All clues lead to Jason having returned.

MY THOUGHTS

Oh boy! Where to begin with this one. Up to this point in the series, A New Beginning has the most kills and the most nudity. We get 21 kills (including the two kills in Tommy’s dream). The issue with the kills is that most of the violence of the kills are off screen and we only see the after effects. The kills consisted of slitting throats, stabbings, and a couple of eye gouging. I didn’t find any to be something outstanding. I did like Junior’s head being severed just because he was so annoying!

Next up is the nudity. Three of the actresses show off their breasts in this movie as well as some butt shots. Supposedly the sex scene between Tina (Deborah Voorhees) and Eddie (John Robert Dixon) was 3 minutes long but the director was forced to cut it down to 10 seconds because of the MPAA (Boo!).

The acting and characters were average at best. I liked Reggie (Shavar Ross). Usually kids in horror movies are annoying and I didn’t find him annoying at all. And Violet (Tiffany Helm) has a dance that rivals Jimmy’s (Crispin Glover) from The Final Chapter.

My biggest issue with the acting is John Shepherd as Tommy. I know that Tommy would be suffering from PTSD after his experience. And I know that John Shepherd spent a lot of time researching how people would react, but I just didn’t like how he portrayed Tommy. A possible reason is that Tommy (excluding when Corey Feldman is on screen and anytime Tommy laughs or screams) only says 24 words in the entire movie! I felt like this portrayal is one of the main reasons I rank this movie as low as I do.

Now comes the other main issue I have with Friday the 13th A New Beginning. The killer. The movie heavily implies that Tommy Jarvis is so traumatized by his experience, that he starts killing people as Jason. But after watching the ending we know this not to be true. No real clues throughout the movie to hint at the killer. We just get a picture in the wallet with the Sheriff explaining it. Maybe if they had put more clues throughout the movie (and not so subtle you can’t pick up on it) it wouldn’t bother me as much. Don’t get me started with the second ending of the movie with Tommy becoming Jason. I’m so glad they dropped that plotline in the rest of the movies.

This is the first film in the series where Jason is actually referred to by his full name: Jason Voorhees.
The film takes place in 1989, 5 years after Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Coincidentally, Deborah Voorhees shares her real surname with Jason.
Mark Venturini and Miguel A. Núñez Jr. co-starred in The Return of the Living Dead (1985), another 1985 horror movie.
The hockey mask in this film has blue markings on it instead of red ones, foreshadowing that the real killer isn’t Jason at all.
If you want to see my other Friday the 13th reviews, click here: Friday the 13th Franchise.

Let’s get into the rankings:

Kills/Blood/Gore: 3/5
Sex/Nudity: 4/5
Scare factor: 2/5
Enjoyment factor: 2.5/5

My Rank: 2.8/5
IMDB: 4.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 1.8/10 audience: 2.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.4/5… Expand

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