A New Beginning is NOT Bad!!!!

New Beginning is NOT bad!!

This installment in the Friday series gets so much hate, but there is so much to like! I actually think it's one of the better entries in the franchise to be honest. Let me describe some of its merits:

I think New Beginning has the strongest sense of continuity out of any of the Friday movies - it consciously attempted to bridge the gap after Final Chapter and expanded Tommy Jarvis's character in a way that is logical. We have the Corey Feldman cameo, we see he still has an affinity for mask making, he looks fondly at the photo of Trish, his mother and Gordon from Part 4, he is quite reasonably disturbed and psychologically damage after his encounter with Jason, and we even hear the echoes of him shouting "Die! Die!" from Part 4 (yes I know it was in Jason Lives too). Could this be the deepest the Friday series has gotten, exploring the psychological inferiority of one of its characters? (Aside from Mrs. Voorhees hearing Jason's voice in her head, because she was just insane.)

People don't like this film because they say it doesn't have Jason. Well guess what - it DOES! We see a menacing apparition of Jason many times as he appeared in Part 4, as imagined by Tommy. Jason doesn't need only to hack and slash his victims - he can torment them psychologically as well, like he does with Tommy. Despite the fact that Jason is dead, his presence is still very much felt throughout the movies whether it's through Tommy's memories, other people talking about him, or Roy impersonating him. I guess a more accurate complaint about the movie is "Jason isn't the killer." Well guess what! He wasn't the killer in the original Friday the 13th either! And look how successful that was and all the sequels it spawned.

Speaking of the original, Part 5 is very much a return to the style and feel of the 1980 original. For instance, we get the classic POV shots from the killer's perspective as someone stalks and murders the teens. This also reintroduces the mystery "whodunit" aspect of the original (say what you want about Roy looking conspicuous) that keeps you wondering who the killer could be! There's also the parallel between Roy and Mrs. Voorhees - both were parents driven to murder by the deaths of their children. It's obvious the filmmakers of Part 5 had great reverence for the original and wanted to recapture that feeling.

Part 5 has some of the best kills in the whole series. Eddie getting his head twisted from behind the tree? The idiot on the motorcycle getting decapitated? Those two random greasers on the side of the road? Ooh baby, ooh baby?! Some of these were very creative and memorable kills, and I feel that the director did not hold back as much and that Part 5 was not as heavily censored as some of the other Friday films. And not only did Part 5 have the best nudity in the series, it probably had some of the most! All of this can probably be attributed to the fact that the director had a background in pornography, but whatever.

And finally, the characters! They are so much more interesting than any of the usual, bland, expendable fodder from all of the other movies (except maybe Jimbo aka Crispin Glover). This is due largely to the setting - the halfway house provides an opportunity for a variety of interesting and memorable characters! Joey with his candy bar, the lunatic wood chopper, emo chick Violet, the poor stuttering guy, Reggie the Reckless, and of course Demon (ooh baby)! Every one of these characters stood out, unlike the various teens and counsellors from the other films, who were utterly forgettable. Some of them were even downright cooky like the redneck mom with her stew and her idiot son on the motorbike (seriously, wtf?) The characters in Part 5 are ludicrously over the top, but at least they're interesting and entertaining! They had the WTF factor going for them. Ooh baby ooh baby!

So for these reasons I think A New Beginning is a solid entry in the franchise, and definitely one of my favorites. Thoughts?