Harefooted Halloween: Friday the 13th Part 2

What I Liked: It still has that fantastic Harry Manfredini score.

Having the Friday the 13^th title EXPLODE to reveal “Part 2” in its wake is kinda funny.

What I Didn’t Like: Bringing Jason back as an adult is pretty stupid.  It essentially negates the entire first film which is bizarre.  Jason being not dead takes away his mother’s motivation for killing anyone who attempts to reopen Camp Crystal Lake.  I guess the filmmakers tried to get around this by saying Jason had been hiding out in the woods by himself for thirty years?  And then develops a bloodlust five years after his mother is decapitated (yeah, this movie inexplicably takes place in 1984 or 1985)?  Am I getting this right?

The design of Jason sporting overalls and a sack on his head with one eye hole looks sorta terrible.  It’s a worse take on the killer from The Town that Dreaded Sundown.

Probably due to a rating issue the deaths are very quickly glossed over.  If you blink you’ll miss any one of them.  And since the camera doesn’t linger they don’t hit that hard.

Overall Impressions: In general this film is pretty bland but inoffensive.  As long as you can block out the nonsensical core concept it’s not a terrible time.  Honestly though I’m struggling to find stuff to say about it because it’s a forgettable sequel.

The major takeaway is Part 2 is actually important because it establishes adult Jason Voorhees as a villain.  While the character isn’t a hundred percent fleshed out he’s mostly there.  Tall, silent, stalking, brutal dispatches and the machete makes an appearance.  He didn’t have the right attire yet though which he would pick up in the next installment.  Without this movie we might never have gotten the Jason we all know and love today.