Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

There's a legend around here. A killer buried, but NOT dead.

Jason Voorhees is unintentionally revived from his watery grave by a girl with telekinetic powers.

And so the Friday the 13th bandwagon rolled on for another sequel, a part 7, that once again pitches the unlikable Voorhees against a number of annoying teen types. Those involved here deserve some respect for at least trying to add some impetus to the flagging series, here by way of a gimmick, that of a telekinetic foe played by Lar Park-Lincoln, but ultimately it just ends up same old same old. In fact it's a considerable step down from the more fun and funky part 6.

The telekinetic issue becomes something of a side-bar, which is annoying as there's a potentially great thread involving a devious doctor (Terry Kiser) that...

I know a lot of die-hard horror fans who hold _The New Blood_ as either their favourite _Friday the 13th_ movie since the original, or even just straight up their favourite _Friday the 13th_ movie. Personally though, _The New Blood_ is the franchise low. It's arguably the most ridiculous, but that isn't the problem for me. The problem is that they take something that ridiculous, and then treat it so seriously, and riding that line doesn't work with _Friday the 13th_ for me. The older and more grounded first few movies I dig, and then the absurd but having fun with it movies that came later I dig, but _Part VII_ simultaneously doesn't try to be either of those things, and falls apart from the word go.

_Final rating:★½: - Boring/disappointing. Avoid where possible._...

***"Carrie" vs. Jason with a subpar script***

Released in 1988, "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood" takes place about ten years after the previous film, which explains its title "The New Blood": Tommy Jarvis is no longer in the picture and there's a new set of youthful blood for Jason to spill. This installment is the second to feature Jason as an inhuman rotting corpse and the F/X of Jason at the end are great. The highlight of Part VII is the inclusion of a Carrie-like heroine with mental powers who squares off against Jason at the end. We also get Terry Kiser as Tina's therapist, Dr. Crews. If you're not familiar with Mr. Kiser, he played the charismatic preacher in 1968's "Rachel, Rachel" in the mind-blowing Pentecostal service sequence.

Although my title blurb describes th...

_Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood_ continues where its predecessor left off. It has an iconic tone that balances campiness while tacking itself and the antagonist seriously. The added element of telekinesis, thanks to the badass Tina, which really sets this one apart. I really enjoyed seeing a final girl that also has supernatural powers that are able to truly take on Jason one on one. But other that Tina, there were not a lot of characters that were really memorable, most of them were the run of the mill teenagers that were simply there to add to Jason's kill count. The kills in this movie were pretty mild as well, although the sleeping bag kill is iconic and is probably the coolest kill in series history. I was really going to give this movie 3.5 stars, but the ending was so weird...