Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Rob Hedden

MUSIC BY: Fred Mollin

RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes

DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount Pictures

STARING: Jensen Daggett; Scott Reeves; Peter Mark Richman; Barbara Bingham; V. C. DuPree; Alex Diakun; Gordon Currie; Kelly Hu; Saffron Henderson; Sharlene Martin; and Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees

PLOT:

The senior class of Lakeview High, Crystal Lake's high school is about to take a cruse to New York City. Two of the students take a small boat down river to crystal lake where their anchor breaks an underwater cable, the electric charge reanimates Jason. Jason kills the two students and stows away on the Lazarus, the boat that the kids are taking. Jason wreaks his usual havoc on the boat, eventually causing it to sink. Some of the kids and teachers escape to the New York shore where Jason leads them on a marry chase through Manhattan.

MYTHOS INFORMATION:

  • STORY:

    After 7 movies the powers that be at Paramount decided that they should take Jason to someplace other than Crystal Lake. It was decided that he would end up in New York for this one. Fortunate son Frank Mancuso Jr. was busy with other projects and had no involvement with this one. Television writer/director Rob Hedden, who had worked on Friday the 13th the TV series was brought in as writer/director. The film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia and New York City for a budget of $5 million under the fake titles Burial at Sea and Ashes to Ashes. This film also holds the distinction of being the first Friday the 13th film to be shot using a union crew. For the only time in series history Henry Manfredini does not receive composer's credit. Fred Mollin who collaborated on part 7 served as the one and only composer on this film.

    The movie was released July 28, 1989 and received slightly better reviews than the average Friday the 13th film. However it was despised by many of the hard core fans of the series and made the lowest amount of money for any film in the series. Paramount decided that Jason's time had come and gone and they decided not to make any more entries in the series.

    TRIVIA:

  • Grossed $14.345 million domestically; the lowest of any Friday the 13th Movie.

  • For the first time in series history an actor from a previous movie returns as Jason. Part 7s Kane Hodder returned to portray him again.

    DEATHS:

  • Jim (Todd Shafler): Harpoon gun to the stomach
  • Suzy (Tiffany Paulsen): Harpoon to the chest
  • J.J. (Saffron Henderson): Bashed in the head with a guitar
  • Boxer: Hot rock to the chest
  • Tamara (Sharlene Martin): Stabbed with a peace of a broken mirror
  • Jim Carlson (Fred Henderson): Harpoon to the back
  • Admiral Robertson (Warren Munson): Throat slit with a machete
  • Eva (Kelly Hu): Strangled
  • Crewman: Shot in the chest, by Wayne
  • Wayne (Martin Cummins): Thrown onto an electric panel
  • Miles (Gordon Currie): Impaled on radio antenna
  • Deck hand (Alex Diakun): Ax to the back (offscreen) walks onto screen with ax already imbeded
  • Gang Banger #1 (Sam Sarkar): Syringe through the back
  • Gang Banger #2 (Michael Benyaer): Head bashed into a lead pipe.
  • Julious (V. C. DuPree): Head knocked off by Jason's bare hands
  • Irish Cop (Roger Barnes): Dragged into an alley and killed (offscreen)
  • Colleen van Deusen (Barbara Bingham): Burned to death when the car explodes
  • Charles McCullough (Peter Mark Richman): Drowned in a barrel of sewage
  • Sanitation Engineer (David Longworth): Bashed in the head with a wrench

    • SEX/NUDITY

  • T&A as Suzy (Tiffany Paulsen) fools around with Jim
  • Tamara (Sharlene Martin) is seen in her bra and panties while trying to seduce Mr. McCullough
  • Jason attacks Tamara after she gets out of the shower. He rips off her bathrobe and we see some T&A as she gets killed

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