Sunday 22 October 2017

FRIDAY THE 13TH VS. HALLOWEEN VS. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: A TRIPLE FRANCHISE COMPARISION (ROUND 2)

Round 2  
3 points
1 point
2 points

In a swift reversal of fortune, helmer Steve Miner's glossier sequel wins the 3 points for the Friday the 13th franchise with the arrival of fully grown and hairy woodsman Jason (not drowned after all - but saved by the buoyancy of box-office takings!) looking resplendently creepy peering out of his burlap sack mask with his one good eye. Despite the somewhat MPAA muted carnage, the copious  'jump scares' land their punches more often than not, and Amy Steel's 'final girl' shines (cosplaying Mrs Voorhees!) in that scene in Jason's shack: "Jason, mother is talking to you..." 

Jack (I didn't realise I was directing the gayest horror film ever) Sholder's Elm Street sequel is a beautifully flawed guilty pleasure with Mark Patton (previously interviewed in this blog) and Kim Myers delivering two of the most endearing performances in the genre as Jessie and Lisa.

Slipping down to only 1 point this round, we have the rest of the night He came home and spent most of it in a under lit understaffed hospital trying to kill his sister (the one wearing the dodgy wig), well at least in this timeline. Halloween II suffers from having to follow in its predecessor's vastly superior footsteps, and disappoints all round (even with Dean Cundey's superb cinematography and Carpenter's inserted gore shots). Definitely a case of less is more.


Running scores after 2 rounds: each franchise is neck and neck (and neck) on 4 points.

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