"Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" is the title of the ninth — yes, No. 9 — in the "Friday the 13th" series, with hockey-masked Jason Voorhees still slaughtering people at random.
Roger Ebert calls these pictures "dead teenager movies." But these days, Jason is an equal opportunity monster. He does kill sexually promiscuous teens here (I think it's in his contract) but he also does in a few older folk.
There is more plot than usual in this sequel, which brings back the creator of the first film, Sean Cunningham (yes, the same Sean Cunningham who produced "My Boyfrend's Back"). But most of it comes from other movies, from "The Hidden" to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to the "Terminator" films.
Jason is blown up in the opening scene, and we discover that his heart is all that remains alive. And what a nasty heart it is. The coroner is so mesmerized by it that he bites into the heart, which somehow brings Jason's spirit inside him.
For most of the film, Jason hops in and out of several people, as he tracks down waitress Erin Gray, who harbors a terrible secret. But we know the secret — her career has spiraled so far downhill since "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" that she has been reduced to taking a "Friday the 13th" sequel. (Not that big a reduction, actually.)
There are also some broad attempts at humor here, some of which work to some degree. But at its core, this is just the same old stuff. And whether that's a criticism or a compliment depends on your tolerance for this kind of thing.
By the way, the "Final Friday" subtitle couldn't be less believable if the film ended with Jason buying a suit, taking an insurance job and settling down in suburbia. In fact, the actual ending sets up the possibility of a specific sequel, one which would prove a Hollywood rumor to be true — that Jason may meet Freddy Krueger next year.
That cutlery sales job is looking better all the time.
"Jason Goes to Hell" is rated R for plentiful violence, gore, sex, nudity, profanity and vulgarity.