The first sequel in one of the longest running horror franchises of all time. This is also the first film in the series to feature Jason in the main role. Also some consider it one of the better films in the franchise. We'll see after we get through the grading scale.
So here's the plot, which is really similar to the first.
The film begins with Alice, the only survivor of the last film, having nightmares over the encounter. One night she hears a noise in the kitchen, and being in a horror movie, has to investigate. She is scared by the cat, which comes flying through the window. So she decides to feed it with milk, only to find a decapitated head in the fridge. She is killed as the main credits begin.
So we cut to about five years later with a camp near Camp Crystal Lake being opened for counselor training. They are the first to journey there since the murders of the first film. We are introduced to a few new characters, including Ginny, an assistant, Paul, the leader, and several others who don't really matter.
So after Paul forbides the group to go to the forbidden camp ground, two counselors naturally have to go there, and they get caught by a policeman, who I guess had nothing better to do. On his way back into the station, he sees someone running into the woods. He chases him, only to be killed.
Next Paul and a few other counselors decide to take off to a bar for the night. Only six counselors remain, and each of them get picked off one at a time, with the exception of a couple in a bed both being killed by a spear going through their body. Toward the end of the massacre, it begins to rain, and back at the bar, Ginny and Paul decide to go back to the camp.
When they get there everyone who isn't at the bar is dead. The lights go out and they try to find a light switch. Paul is attacked by Jason and Ginny runs for it. She finally makes it to a small trailer-like place in the middle of the woods where Jason supposedly lives. She sees a shrine in the middle of the trailer that is centerpieced by Mrs. Voorhees' decapitated head.
Jason catches up and goes to kill her, but Ginny disguises herself as Mrs. Voorhees by putting on her sweater and talking to him. Jason believes her, and before Ginny can behead him, he sees she is lying. Paul returns and wrestles Jason as Ginny stabs him in the shoulder.
The two return to a cabin. They hear a noise outside the cabin and open it to find a dog. Ginny calls to it as Jason leaps through the window. She awakes the next morning to find that Paul is missing and she is being taken to the hospital. It is never solved if Jason is alive or not...until the next movie.
I think it's an ok movie, but can it survive the grading scale?
Acting: 5 out of 10. Some of its bad, but the leads are ok.
Entertainment: 6 out of 10. Kind of boring at spots but watchable.
Screenplay: 4 out of 10. Points against it for unoriginality.
Directing: 5 out of 10. Very standard job.
Technical Credits: 7 out of 10. Pretty good makeup and effects. Music is also great.
Genre Fit: 9 out of 10. Jumpier and slightly scarier than the original. But there's some points when it seems comedic.
MPAA Rating: 5 out of 10. Some sequences of gore and nudity sometimes are a little extreme for R.
Stupid Scenes: 6 out of 10. Ok, but some scenes are nails on a chalkboard.
Deeper Message: 1 out of 10. Nothing really.
Beginning: 19 out of 30. A pretty slow start.
Middle: 22 out of 30. Gets better as the kills start.
Ending: 24 out of 30. Definately the better part of the film.
Final Score: 113/180 or a 63%. Just barely a B-. Compared to 68% on the original, its a slightly worse sequel.
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