The tenth Friday the 13th movie is considered by some fans to be the black sheep of the franchise, but Jason X still has a cult following after nearly two decades. Using the horror sequel trope of sending the villain into outer space, Jason Voorhees takes his killing spree onto a spaceship in the year 2455 in Jason X. It’s far removed from anything else previously seen in the series, but perhaps that’s exactly what makes the film so enjoyable to watch.
In the years following 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell, efforts were being made by the studio to make the long-awaited crossover movie Freddy vs. Jason. Creative difficulties kept the film languishing in development hell, leading to the decision from New Line to produce a new Friday the 13th sequel in the interim. Enter Jason X, which was certainly an insane concept, but not the first crazy pitch to be considered by producers.
If you can separate the sequel from the franchise’s previous installments, Jason X is rather enjoyable with plenty of aspects to appreciate. For one, the death scenes are amazing. Certainly, the kill that stands out above the rest comes fairly early in the film. After his resurrection on the Grendel spaceship, the first of Jason’s victims has her face frozen with liquid nitrogen before it’s completely shattered into smithereens. It’s an incredibly creative kill that also looks gruesomely great on-screen.
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Beyond the face smash, all of the deaths in Jason X are entertaining in some way. Another memorable scene is the moment when Jason is placed into a holographic simulation of Camp Crystal Lake to keep him distracted. Upon meeting two young (holographic) campers boasting about their love for premarital sex, Jason kills them with their own sleeping bags, beating one to death with the body of the other. The girls might not be “real,” but it’s one hell of a scene nonetheless.
The dialogue is hilariously written at times in the movie as well, leading to some memorable lines which are still quoted to this day. After all, who can forget Professor Lowe (Jonathan Potts) saying, “He just wanted his machete back!” before losing his head? However, the best line of all comes from Janessa (Melyssa Ade) right before she’s sucked through a metal grate, ironically lamenting, “This sucks on so many levels!”
There are some interesting characters to meet in Jason X. Legendary director David Cronenberg appears in the opening scenes as an amusing scientist character. Survivor Rowan (Lexa Doig) is a very likable protagonist, and one of the more underrated characters from the franchise. Taking place in the future also allows for the appearance of KM-14 (Lisa Ryder) – an android robot who proves to be a formidable foe for Jason. And let’s not forget Sgt. Brodski (Peter Mensah), who just might be the biggest badass of the series.
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Of course, the film is notable for featuring the final theatrical performance of Kane Hodder as Jason as well. His involvement plays a big part into what makes Jason X work, as he portrays the character just as seriously as he always had. Despite the wacky setting and colorful supporting characters, Jason acts exactly as he would if he were actually put into that bizarre situation. In fact, you could say that Jason is the one thing about the movie that is treated seriously, so it never feels like they’re doing a disservice to the character. The Uber Jason design may also be reminiscent of Super Shredder, but it certainly is pretty damn rad.
Just for fun, here are a few behind-the-scenes facts about the film…
- Adrienne, who gets her face frozen and smashed, is named after Adrienne King
- The liquid nitrogen death scene was tested on MythBusters
- The story was continued in a series of novels
- Old-school Jason fought Uber Jason in a comic book spin-off
- Betsy Palmer turned down a cameo as a holographic Mrs. Voorhees
The key to enjoying Jason X is simply to just not take it too seriously. While the body count is very high, the tenth Friday the 13th film is certainly much more fun than it is scary. It serves as an entertaining “What if?” scenario of our favorite movie murderer doing what he does best in an entirely new environment. Grab some popcorn and go in expecting to laugh, and you’re bound to have a good time watching Jason X.
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