The operative word here is "bad rap." From the word go, Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan got the treatment of a red-headed stepchild. Fangoria magazine and its now-defunct partner publication Gorezone made no pretenses at capitalizing upon this movie (along with the Fred Krueger and Michael Myers features that year), while gloatfully tearing down all of the above films a few short months later, when the box-offices grosses of each were less than projected. It seemed that a "new breed" of horror film was in the works, and these bastard sons, while commercially successful, needed to be taken behind the woodshed and shot. New monsters would be embraced, by God.... Yeah, show me those (yawn). It's more than ten years later now (yawn). Mr. Stephen Bissette, you may eat your heart out. The graduating senior class of Crystal Lake High School has been extended a grand offer by the dad of one of the seniors, who is a Navy Captain: "I'll sail you all to New York City for your senior trip." What a fantastic offer! Except, this is a Friday the 13th movie. So mayhem will occur. Writer/Director Rob Hedden's Friday the 13th, Part VIII does disappoint in places. One of the main areas is the musical score. Granted, in-house Paramount talent Fred Mollin does a good job in creating an atmosphere with his industrial approach; but the problem is, it's not the Crystal Lake approach like Harry Manfredini could have done. On the other hand, Hedden does take the time to explore Jason's origins (the drowned boy at Crystal Lake) to meritable heights. We are introduced to a character named Rennie (Jensen Daggett) who has had a preternatural experience with Jason in Crystal Lake many years before, but she can't remember it. By the time the survivors of the sinking ship actually reach New York, Rennie has recalled most of her buried memory and identifies one of her most trusted custodians (Peter Mark Richman) as the true impetus for her troubles; face it, you don't try to teach a young girl to swim by pushing her out of a boat and into Crystal Lake, where a Jason phantom will pull her under the water--it's just not acceptable. This revelation, of course, occurs moments before Jason Voorhees pops onto the scene, kills that custodian and sends her and her boyfriend Sean (Scott Reeves) into further flight. The final showdown between Rennie and Jason occurs in a New York City sewer. A city worker hurridly informs her that a gush of toxic waste will be passing through, and that she and Sean should quickly find an exit. She and Sean choose to face Jason, while the worker....well, gets killed by Jason. Then the final conflict ensues. It's useless to try to analyze the ending to Jason Takes Manhattan. The toxic-waste reduction of Jason Voorhees to the form of his original self--a small boy--would have worked tremendously had the follow-up occurred soon after. But it didn't. And this movie remains pretty much an abandoned project. The saga was not finished, though. Go here to read about a damned decent, though different, follow-up which Part I producer Sean S. Cunningham unveiled a mere four years later. Principle Credits: Starring Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves, Kane Hodder, Barbra Bingham and Peter Mark Richman Written and Directed by Rob Hedden Produced by Randolph Cheveldave Associate Producer: Barbara Sachs Music composed and performed by Fred Mollin Special Make-Up Effects by Jamie Brown << Back