Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is the sequel that takes Jason out of Crystal lake and onto a cruise ship (and, eventually, Manhattan). Let’s revisit the 1989 sequel with these ten killer facts you may not know…
1It almost featured the return of Tina
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood establishes Lar Park Lincoln’s Tina Shepard as Jason’s new nemesis. Using the powers of her mind (with a little help from her dead father), Tina banishes Jason back to the bottom of Crystal Lake following his massacre of her friends.
Pleased with how The New Blood turned out, director John Carl Buechler began to develop a sequel which would bring back Lincoln as Tina following the character’s release from an insane asylum. Additionally, Lincoln herself had co-written an alternative screenplay which brought her character back, with Tina now working as a psychologist. Another potential script was written by Kevin Spirtas, who played surviving character Nick in The New Blood. His idea was for Nick to be the killer in the next Friday the 13th movie, revealing the events of The New Blood to be a dream.
For better or for worse, Paramount decided not to bring back any characters from the prior movies beyond Jason Voorhees, taking the franchise in a completely new direction instead.
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2The low budget limited Jason’s time in Manhattan
On paper, the concept of Jason Takes Manhattan seems pretty exciting. His mayhem had always been limited to the rural areas around Camp Crystal Lake in the previous movies. Having him venturing through a big city would certainly be new for the franchise, if nothing else. However, it seems Jason’s time in the Big Apple isn’t very long, as the bulk of the sequel’s screen time is spent on a cruise ship. So, what gives?
Well, writer/director Rob Hedden had every intention on using the Manhattan setting to the fullest when drafting the original screenplay. “Everything about New York was going to be completely exploited and milked,” Hedden describes. “There was going to be a tremendous scene on the Brooklyn Bridge. A boxing match in Madison Square Garden. Jason would go through department stores. He’d go through Times Square. He’d go into a Broadway play. He’d even crawl onto the top of the Statue of Liberty and dive off.”
Ultimately, these ideas are way too expensive in practice, and Paramount wasn’t willing to foot the bill for all of these extravagant scenes. This led to Hedden combining the Manhattan idea with another concept he had for the film, which would have set it strictly on board a cruise ship.
3Pamela Anderson and Elizabeth Berkley auditioned for Rennie
With Tina Shepard out of the picture, a new final girl would be needed for Jason Takes Manhattan. The straight-laced Rennie Wickham was played by actress Jensen Daggett in her first movie role. Daggett would go on to appear in many TV roles in the following years, but is best known for being in the illustrious club of the Friday the 13th series’ final girls.
Producers must have seen something in Daggett, as the actress was facing some stiff competition during the auditions. A young Pamela Anderson had auditioned for the role trying to get her acting career started, only to lose out to Daggett. Of course, Anderson would become a mega star just a few years later by starring on Baywatch with David Hasselhoff.
Interestingly enough, Anderson isn’t the only big name actress to miss out on the role of Rennie. Elizabeth Berkley had auditioned for the role as well, coming up short in the same way Anderson did. Berkley would later become a household name herself when she was cast as Jessie on Saved by the Bell.
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4It’s Leonard Maltin’s favorite Friday the 13th film
Critically, Jason Takes Manhattan has fared worse than every other Friday the 13th movie. Its paltry 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes is lower than all of the other installments in the series. While it has its own cult following, there are many fans who consider the sequel to be among the worst of the entire franchise.
However, famed movie critic Leonard Maltin was kinder on the film that most critics. In his review, Maltin would give Jason Takes Manhattan two out of four stars, calling it “the best in the Friday series.” While praising the movie’s fresh new direction, Maltin noted that its runtime felt a little too long. Maltin’s rating of the film might be mediocre, but it’s interesting for one of the most well-known critics to say that this controversial sequel is the best one of them all.
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5It features Kelly Hu’s first movie role
Elizabeth Berkley and Pamela Anderson may have missed out on being a part of Jason Takes Manhattan, but another future star would make her film debut in the sequel. In the movie, Kelly Hu plays teenage party girl Eva Watanabe, one of the students on board the cruise ship.
Hu’s death scene in the movie is particularly memorable. While running from Jason, Eva finds herself cornered on the ship’s dance floor. Disoriented by the lights and music, it’s hard for her to tell where Jason is, as it seems like he’s literally teleporting in front of her eyes. Finally, Jason lifts her by the neck and strangles her to death before violently tossing her body on the floor.
Since her character’s murder in the eighth Friday the 13th film, Hu has gone on to have a very successful career in film and television. Some of her most notable roles include parts in X2, Sunset Beach, Nash Bridges, The Vampire Diaries, and Arrow.
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6Kane Hodder spared a dog from Jason’s wrath
The screenplay for the movie is different from the final version of the film in many ways, with some bigger than others. One small change came on set as one of the actors refused to do what was written, though this was still a call that was probably for the best.
Initially, Jason Voorhees would have encountered a dog barking at him upon exiting the water into New York City. In response, Jason would have viciously kicked the dog, presumably killing the animal. When learning about this intended scene, Jason actor Kane Hodder refused to shoot it, feeling it would have been unbefitting of the character. Director Rob Hedden agreed, and the moment was axed without being filmed.
If you’re like me and can’t stand it when dogs are killed in horror movies, you’ll agree that nixing the dog-kicking scene was the right decision.
7The director wanted a lot more nudity
After Jensen Daggett was cast as final girl Rennie Wickham, she was approached about doing a nude scene for the film. Perhaps the idea was to defy expectations, as none of the female leads in the previous movies had shown nudity. Reportedly, director Rob Hedden did his best to convince Daggett to do the scene, pointing to high-profile actresses who’ve done nude scenes to show how it wouldn’t have a harmful effect on her career. After making it clear she wouldn’t go nude, Hedden then asked Daggett to go topless. Failing that, the proposal was made for her to simply remove her blouse. Daggett wasn’t having it, and her character would remain fully clothed throughout the entire film.
Hedden may not have gotten Daggett to relent, but by God, he was going to get some nudity into the movie somehow. That moment would come during a shower scene for Sharlene Martin’s character, but on the day of shooting, the actress became apprehensive. Hedden then stripped completely naked himself right there on the set in an apparent effort to show Martin that it wasn’t a big deal. This reportedly shocked producers when they were watching the footage shot for the movie that day, not expecting to see their director nude on the set.
The ’80s were certainly a different time, and this kind of behavior would obviously not fly very well on a film shoot today.
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8Jason’s water vomiting is real
When the trademark unmasking scene for Jason occurs towards the ending of the film, his grotesque face is revealed. After toxic waste begins to melt his body, we can see Jason vomiting a large amount of water as he starts breaking down. It’s one of the last things we see him do before the killer transforms into how he appeared as a child when he drowned at Camp Crystal Lake.
The vomiting in this scene appears to be excellent special effects, but it is not. Kane Hodder apparently has a penchant for being able to vomit at will, and is legitimately doing so as Jason in the movie. Hodder explains in the audio commentary for Jason Takes Mahattan that he drank a gallon of water an hour before shooting, willfully vomiting what remained once the cameras were rolling.
It seems you can simply add this as one of the many skills of the talented Kane Hodder.
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9Freddy vs. Jason‘s Jason actor Ken Kirzinger is in multiple scenes
When the crossover horror film Freddy vs. Jason was made, New Line made the controversial decision to recast the part of Jason Voorhees. This came after Kane Hodder had portrayed the role in four straight movies, becoming synonymous with the character. Ultimately, Ken Kirzinger would be the one cast as Jason for the film, but oddly enough, it wasn’t his first time under the mask.
In Jason Takes Manhattan, Kirzinger worked as a stunt double for Hodder, even playing Jason in multiple scenes. The single shot where Rennie throws a bucket of green toxic waste on Jason has Kirzinger as the one under the mask. The Freddy vs. Jason actor was also Jason Voorhees when he was hit by a police car in New York City, as producers didn’t want to risk injuring Hodder and potentially losing him for the rest of the shoot.
Additionally, Kirzinger can be seen unmasked in the movie as well, and even gets attacked by Jason. In Manhattan, Jason follows Sean and Rennie into a restaurant, where Kirzinger portrays a cook. When confronting Jason, the chef is tossed into a mirror behind the counter, shattering it. It’s not entirely clear if the character survives.
10Jason appeared in a TV interview to promote the film
When Jason Takes Manhattan was released in 1989, producers were looking to promote the movie as much as they could. This led to a TV appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show, with Jason Voorhees as seen in the film appearing as a special guest. Of course, this is really Kane Hodder in costume as Jason, though he wouldn’t break character once throughout the entire appearance.
On the show, Arsenio is visibly nervous as he asks Jason various questions. A mute, Jason does not respond in any way beyond staring coldly at Arsenio in return. When Arsenio criticizes the low body count in Jason Takes Manhattan, however, Jason appears to get a little agitated. By the end of the clip, Arsenio goes for a handshake, only for Jason to pull him in close to put a little jump scare into the TV host.
Looking back, the segment remains one of the most bizarre talk show appearances of all time.
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