Steve Miner, who served as line producer for Sean S. Cunningham's original film, took the reins as Producer/Director for Friday the 13th, Part II, which hit screens in May 1981. With its ad tagline "The Body Count Continues" and its preview trailer (which made use of onscreen numerals counting off projected victims in rapid succession), it was clear that the marketing strategy was aimed primarily at the gore fans. And perhaps that was fitting, as make-up artist Carl Fullerton (who replaced Tom Savini here and who later won a Saturn Award for Excellence in Special Effects Make Up for his work in Silence Of The Lambs) created some realistic and very impressive murder effects. But this movie isn't just about the killing. The impetus of the project was the conclusion to the first Friday the 13th, wherein the drowned Jason Voorhees rises from the depths of Camp Crystal Lake to drag survivor Alice (Adrienne King) to her demise. But that was just a dream....or was it? Part II is all about the speculation that perhaps Jason lives on in the woods surrounding Crystal Lake, perhaps resurrected or perhaps having never really drowned. While the review of the original film was relatively spoiler-free (chiefly in the interests of readers who may not have seen any of the series), it's necessary to be a bit more revealing from this point forward. Hence, Part II's initial mystique stems from the film's ongoing notion that the drowned boy may somehow live. And although the film neglects (as do any of the rest of the series) to really explain Jason's survival satisfactorily, Friday the 13th, Part II makes the best use of its vague premises. In the way of a brief plot overview, the film's prologue features an expositional dream sequence by Alice, survivor of the first film. The vindictive Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) had murdered the counselors at Camp Crystal Lake as symbolic revenge for her son Jason's drowning there many years earlier, but Alice was able to defend herself and ultimately behead the marauding mom with a machete. But now, after waking up from her nightmare, Alice is suddenly dispatched by an unseen assailant, and then the opening credits begin. The story jumps five years ahead, where Paul Holt (John Furey) is holding a camp counselor training seminar at Camp Packanack, which is located at Crystal Lake and not far from the original camp. After the trainees arrive, the new murders begin. As with the original, a surviving young woman is left to play cat-and-mouse with the hooded killer, who may or may not be this legendary Jason Voorhees, who has been the subject of campfire stories and local lore. But the resourceful Ginny Field (Amy Steel) makes for a very appealing heroine, and in the film's pivotal sequence, wherein she finds Jason's lair in the woods and his shrine to his dead mother, greatly showcases her potential as an actress. At this point, it's no secret that the culprit is Jason, whether it's a resurrection issue or a "false drowning report" issue. And after Ginny is whisked away in an ambulance the next morning, the movie winds down to an ambiguous ending, whereby the camera tracks in on Mrs. Voorhees rotted head on a makeshift altar in Jason's shrine. One notable anecdote is that in this scene, Mrs. Voorhees' head was to open its eyes and smile diabolically at the camera. An actress (Connie Hogan) was applied with make-up and positioned to replace the false head on the altar that had been used in all previous scenes, and the scene was shot. But in the final edit, Miner was dissatisfied with the effect and chose to freeze-frame the shot right before Ms. Hogan opened her eyes. Thus, the notion of Mrs. Voorhees' possible resurrection was cut short, although the same notion would appear again a year later in Friday the 13th, Part III. Too bad they blew that one, too. Principle Credits: Starring Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Stu Charno, Warrington Gillette, Betsy Palmer, Steve Daskawicz, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Bill Randolph, Marta Kober, Tom McBride, Kristen Baker, Russell Todd and Jack Marks. Produced and Directed by Steve Miner Written by Ron Kurz (based upon characters and situations created by Victor Miller and Sean S. Cunningham) Associate Producer: Frank Mancuso, Jr. Music by Harry Manfredini Special Make-Up Effects by Carl Fullerton << Back