Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason takes Manhattan (1989)

Director: Rob Hedden

Starring: Kane Hodder, Jensen Daggett, Todd Caldecott

A boatful of graduating high school students headed to Manhattan accidentally pull Jason Voorhees along for the ride.

With the exception of 1983 and 1987, the 80’s saw the release of a Friday the 13th movie every year. The mind boggles, wondering how there could possibly have been such a demand for these films…

‘Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason takes Manhattan’ gives new meaning to slasher – with non-stop slashing and dicing from beginning to end. It is mind-numbing how senseless this movie is. With these movies you always know who the next victim will be, and with Jason being immortal and undefeatable we know there’s no escape for any potential victim. There is absolutely no logic, and the film is so painfully overdone with cliches that it is hardly ‘original’ in any way. It is no wonder audiences are losing interest in the series. (Jason takes Manhattan is officially the lowest earning film in the franchise).

As with all the films in the franchise, the characters are real idiots and none of them stand out as unique (except for Tina in Part 7). Rennie (Jensen Daggett) has a back story, but we never know what her story is until we really don’t care anymore. Rennie also has a dog, which runs away in the beginning of the movie. The dog is never seen again, yet when they leave in a lifeboat – in a hurry I might add – the dog is suddenly sitting on Rennie’s lap!!!

Thankfully, once again, there is no humor and the killings are brutal and not comedic. Oh, wait, come to think of it, the killings are NOT all that brutal compared to previous films. In fact, Jason is rather lenient this time around. Some of the victims are merely strangled, stabbed, throat slit, or simply thrown overboard. Yeah, even Jason is getting tired…

The film is mostly set on a boat on the way to Manhattan. Once they get there, Jason pursues the survivors. Since when does Jason actually follow certain people? I thought he only kills randomly – oh, and that would be everyone in sight… except when he gets to Manhattan; then he only wants to kill certain people. Why?? He’s never killed this way before.

The make-up and visuals were not nearly as good as ‘Part 7’. ‘Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason takes Manhattan’ is (yet another) stupid movie that is best forgotten. When will Hollywood know when enough is enough? (apparently not, as this was followed by another two films… yawn already, yawn!)

The film earned $14.3 million on a $5 million budget. It was the most expensive movie to make with the lowest return.

Would I watch it again? No.