Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning

1985
Dir. Danny Steinmann

Five years after his run in with hulking serial killer Jason Voorhees, the now 17 year old Tommy Jarvis remains traumatised by memories and nightmares of that fateful night. Released from an institution and sent to live in a halfway house for troubled teens undergoing rehabilitation, Tommy’s nightmare is far from over. A slew of brutal murders in the area would suggest Jason has returned from the grave – or that Tommy has descended into madness. But who’s that minor cast member over there with the wild ‘n’ crazy look in his eye? Is it someone who is pretending to be Jason to avenge the death of his son – also a resident at the halfway house? No. Surely not.

A New Beginning is often maligned by fans as it is the only film (aside from Part 1) not to feature Jason Voorhees as the killer. While the killer dresses as Jason and has a motive that also involves avenging the death of a family member, it isn’t the real Jason. You might be forgiven for thinking, ‘Well, Halloween III didn’t feature Michael Myers and that was still an interesting attempt to breathe fresh life into a stale franchise and take it in a new direction.’ And you’d be right. But this, sadly, doesn't apply to A New Beginning, which exhibits nothing fresh. Particularly coming after a film entitled The Final Chapter.

A group of troubled teens living in a halfway house replace the usual camp counsellors, but even this potentially interesting and diverse cast of characters can’t save proceedings from sliding into boredom. Seriously, this is one of the least interesting, poorly drawn bunch of teens from the series. They have so much potential, but none are explored or fleshed out in any kind of depth. Aside from the teens, Jason fodder includes a couple of hunky, leather jacket-clad greasers with car trouble, a waitress and her ambulance driver boyfriend (who are both murdered outside the sleaziest red-lit diner you’ve ever seen), and an oddball woman and her son whose goofy exploits and crass humour really don’t sit at ease with the rest of the film. A New Beginning is uneven, lurid, and weirdly sleazy. 

Director Danny Steinmann fails to inject any tension into proceedings. The former adult movie director seems more at home helming the various sex scenes, which resemble soft-core pornography. Even the final chase scene – often the saving grace of many of the other lesser sequels – lacks any sort of tension or impact here. The kills have become mechanical and by-the-numbers (though again, some would argue that this has been the case throughout the series) and the stalking scenes leading up to them exhibit no tension whatsoever: characters are completely unaware of the danger they are in. They turn around and Jason is inevitably there. Maybe my lack of empathy is the result of being desensitised after watching five Friday the 13th movies in quick succession? One thing is for sure, they’re starting to bleed into each other now. I began to mix up characters from this film and Jason Lives… Or was it The Final Chapter? Please send help.

Bringing the character of Tommy back provides a certain sense of continuity and familiarity – and kudos for at least attempting to explore the psychological trauma he suffered after his encounter with Jason. Corey Feldman even cameos in an opening dream sequence where he witnesses the resurrection of Jason. As the grown up Tommy, John Shepherd doesn’t have much to say, but he still invests himself in the role. He seems lost and vulnerable, but still has that slight edginess that leaves you thinking ‘Well, maybe it is him.’ Except the mystery of who is actually the murderer isn’t the focus here. Like Part 1, the emphasis is on the kills. 

An uneven, sleazy and messy addition that had so much potential given the plight of Tommy, the wasted ‘is-he-isn’t-he-the-killer?’ angle and a group of troubled teens who should have been more than a match for Jason. Don't even mention the silly ending where Tommy is set up to be the next Jason though. It didn't make sense then, it doesn't make sense now. Or does it? As I said before, please send help.