Well... if "Jason Lives" was an example of the later entries in the "Friday the 13th" franchise using a contrived gimmick as a strength with its expert use of self-aware meta-humor... "Jason Takes Manhattan" is an example of the franchise using a contrived gimmick poorly and to its detriment.
Yes, Jason doesn't exactly take to the streets of the Big Apple with gusto or flair... but more of a whimper and a misstep. It's a gimmick that mostly falls flat when it becomes quickly apparent just how shallow and under-utilized the concept is in the context of the story. It's just a re-skin of prior entries that happens to have a few establishing shots of New York thrown in here and there during the third act, while the action is relegated to generic locations like back-alleys and sewer-systems.
There's no reason it had to take place in New York City with the script they used. It could just as easily been any town...
After an electric shock brings Jason back from the dead, he stows aboard on a ship loaded with recent school graduates departing for New York City to celebrate. (Chief among them is protagonist Rennie, an aquaphobe played by Jensen Daggett.) Now stuck in the water with a maniacal killer on board, the teens must band together to survive... but their journey will eventually lead them to their destination, where a final battle against Jason will play out on the streets of the City that Never Sleeps...
Honestly, there is some definite fun to be had with this entry. Future Hollywood star Kelly Hu ("The Scorpion King", "X-Men 2") has a minor supporting role and it's fun to see her getting her start. Kane Hodder returns as serial killer Jason Voorhees, and he continues to ratchet up the threat with a great performance. And even though the New York location is woefully under-used, it does allow for a few cute and creative moments of Jason causing general madness and mayhem. (An uproariously funny moment where Jason confronts a group of delinquent youths takes the cake as probably the single best straight-up joke in the entire franchise.)
But the film just doesn't pay-off on its promise. It's a well-known fact that the limited budget and production time meant that the film couldn't really take full advantage of its fish-out-of-water concept. Only the final act takes place in New York, and it becomes painfully obvious that much of the time, they're either on-sets or filming in stand-in locations to save money. You only really "see" the true New York in a handful of shots and a few short scenes. Legend goes that the film was originally meant to make use of key locations like Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building, but writer/director Rob Hedden was given a flat-out "No!" by studio executives who wanted to conserve the budget.
The result... one of the more forgettable entries in the long- running franchise.
Jason might have taken Manhattan, but hopefully he didn't take your money with this entry.
A sub-par 3 out of 10.
Yes, Jason doesn't exactly take to the streets of the Big Apple with gusto or flair... but more of a whimper and a misstep. It's a gimmick that mostly falls flat when it becomes quickly apparent just how shallow and under-utilized the concept is in the context of the story. It's just a re-skin of prior entries that happens to have a few establishing shots of New York thrown in here and there during the third act, while the action is relegated to generic locations like back-alleys and sewer-systems.
There's no reason it had to take place in New York City with the script they used. It could just as easily been any town...
After an electric shock brings Jason back from the dead, he stows aboard on a ship loaded with recent school graduates departing for New York City to celebrate. (Chief among them is protagonist Rennie, an aquaphobe played by Jensen Daggett.) Now stuck in the water with a maniacal killer on board, the teens must band together to survive... but their journey will eventually lead them to their destination, where a final battle against Jason will play out on the streets of the City that Never Sleeps...
Honestly, there is some definite fun to be had with this entry. Future Hollywood star Kelly Hu ("The Scorpion King", "X-Men 2") has a minor supporting role and it's fun to see her getting her start. Kane Hodder returns as serial killer Jason Voorhees, and he continues to ratchet up the threat with a great performance. And even though the New York location is woefully under-used, it does allow for a few cute and creative moments of Jason causing general madness and mayhem. (An uproariously funny moment where Jason confronts a group of delinquent youths takes the cake as probably the single best straight-up joke in the entire franchise.)
But the film just doesn't pay-off on its promise. It's a well-known fact that the limited budget and production time meant that the film couldn't really take full advantage of its fish-out-of-water concept. Only the final act takes place in New York, and it becomes painfully obvious that much of the time, they're either on-sets or filming in stand-in locations to save money. You only really "see" the true New York in a handful of shots and a few short scenes. Legend goes that the film was originally meant to make use of key locations like Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building, but writer/director Rob Hedden was given a flat-out "No!" by studio executives who wanted to conserve the budget.
The result... one of the more forgettable entries in the long- running franchise.
Jason might have taken Manhattan, but hopefully he didn't take your money with this entry.
A sub-par 3 out of 10.