Written by Luke Barnes
Friday The 13th part 5 is a slasher horror film directed by Danny Steinmann. The plot continues the saga of Tommy Jarvis (John Shepard, now playing an older Tommy), who has been left scarred after the brutal end of Jason (Tom Morga), in the previous film and now lives in fear of the killer’s return from beyond the grave.
I will applaud this film for what it was trying to do, it was trying to exist without Jason; an errand that was always fated to fail as the series lives because of Jason, but that is also bold and interesting. I also thought the decision to focus on the after effects of a final showdown with Jason on Tommy was inspired.
However, ultimately I think this film is disappointing. Mainly because it squanders the chance for where this series could have gone without being reliant on Jason, by introducing a newer and blander version of basically the same character who has nothing noteworthy about him at all.
Moreover, other than Tommy, who benefited from having a previous, good, film to set him up, the rest of the cast of slasher fodder were all very forgettable as were the kills.
Overall, what began as a project of promise ended up being very generic.
Pros.
The mental health focus
The gutsy decision to try and move the series beyond Jason
Tommy Jarvis as a character
Cons.
It is dull
It is more than a little repetitive
It squanders its promise
2.5/5
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Another Millennial Reviewer 