''Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' is a 1989 American
slasher film
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
written and directed by
Rob Hedden
Robert Ray Hedden (born March 2, 1954) is an American writer and film director.
Early life
Hedden was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Laguna Beach. While a student at Laguna Beach High School, he began making short films. Hedde ...
, and starring
Jensen Daggett
Jensen Daggett (born June 24, 1969) is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in the films '' Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' and '' Major League: Back to the Minors''. She had a recurring role as Nancy Tayl ...
,
Scott Reeves
Gregory Scott Reeves (born May 16, 1966) is an American actor and country music singer. His best known roles include Noel Laughlin on ABC's ''Nashville'', Ryan McNeil on ''The Young and the Restless'', and Steven Webber on ''General Hospital ...
,
Peter Mark Richman
Peter Mark Richman (born Marvin Jack Richman; April 16, 1927 – January 14, 2021) was an American actor in films and on television, who was for many years credited as Mark Richman. He appeared in about 30 films and 130 television series from th ...
, and
Kane Hodder
Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...
as
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
, reprising his role from ''
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood''. It is the eighth installment in the
''Friday the 13th'' franchise. Set several years after ''The New Blood'', the film follows Jason as he stalks a group of high school graduates on a ship en route to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It was the final film in the series to be distributed by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
in the United States until 2009, with the subsequent installments being distributed by
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
.
Filming took place primarily in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, with additional photography in New York's
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
and in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. At the time of its production, ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' was the most expensive film in the series, with a budget of over $5 million. It received substantial attention for its initial marketing campaign, featuring Jason Voorhees slashing through the "
I Love New York
I Love New York (stylized ) is a slogan, a logo, and a song that are the basis of an advertising campaign developed by the marketing firm of Wells, Rich, Greene under the directorship of Mary Wells Lawrence used since 1977 to promote tourism i ...
" logo with a knife, which was later retracted after the
New York City Tourism committee filed a complaint against Paramount.
Released on July 28, 1989, ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' grossed $14.3 million at the domestic box office, making it the poorest-performing film in the ''Friday the 13th'' series to date. The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews for what critics saw as weak
humor
Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...
, unintelligent plotting, and a failure to effectively deliver on the promise of its subtitle. The next installment in the series, ''
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'', was released in 1993.
Plot
While aboard a
houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...
on Crystal Lake, teenager Jim Miller tells his girlfriend Suzi the legend of
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
, before playing a prank on her with a
hockey mask
A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask, is a mask worn by goaltenders in a variety of sports to protect the head and face from injury from the ball or puck, as they constantly face incoming shots on goal. Some sports requiring th ...
and a prop knife. The boat's anchor damages some underwater cables that shock Jason's corpse, which is still
chained at the bottom of the lake, and revives him. He sneaks on board, takes the mask, and kills Jim with a
harpoon gun
A harpoon cannon is a whaling implement developed in the late 19th century and most used in the 20th century. It would be mounted on the bow of a whale catcher, where it could be easily aimed with a wide field of view at the target. Powered by b ...
before impaling Suzi.
The next morning, the SS ''Lazarus'' is ready to set sail for
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with a graduating senior class from Lakeview High School, chaperoned by biology teacher Dr. Charles McCulloch and English teacher Colleen Van Deusen. Van Deusen brings McCulloch's niece Rennie along for the trip despite her
aquaphobia
Aquaphobia () is an irrational fear of water.
Aquaphobia is considered a specific phobia of natural environment type in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A specific phobia is an intense fear of something that poses lit ...
, much to his chagrin. Jason sneaks on board and kills rock star-wannabe J.J. Jarrett with her guitar. That night, a young boxer who lost his match to champion Julius Gaw is killed by Jason in the ship's
sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
. Rennie, searching for her pet
Border Collie
The Border Collie is a Scottish breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Angl ...
Toby, discovers prom queen Tamara Mason and her friend Eva Watanabe doing drugs. McCulloch nearly catches them moments later and Tamara pushes Rennie overboard, believing that she told on them. She then uses video student Wayne Webber to record McCulloch in a compromising situation with her but rejects Wayne's advances afterward. Jason kills Tamara with a shard of the broken mirror after she showers.
Rennie sees visions of a young Jason throughout the ship. Jason kills Captain Robertson and his first mate. Rennie's boyfriend and Captain Robertson's son, Sean, discover them and tell the others before calling for an emergency. Eva finds Tamara's body and flees. Jason chases Eva into the disco room, where he strangles her to death on the dance floor. The students agree to search for Jason while McCulloch decides that the deckhand is responsible. However, the deckhand is found with a
fire axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
in his back. Jason tosses student Miles Wolfe into the
radio transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
tower to his death, and Julius is knocked overboard. In the hold of the ship, Wayne comes upon J.J.'s body and is thrown into an electrical box by Jason. Wayne's corpse catches fire and causes the ship to take on water. With the other students that were left in the disco room seemingly dead, McCulloch, Van Deusen, Rennie, and Sean escape aboard a
life raft
A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (raft, liferafts) are also used. In t ...
and discover that Toby and Julius are still alive.
They row to New York where Jason stalks them through the streets. Rennie is kidnapped by a pair of junkies, and the group splits up to find help. Julius fights Jason but becomes exhausted after Jason does not go down and gets decapitated by a single punch from Jason. Rennie escapes from Jason when he kills the punks that kidnapped her. She runs into Sean, and they reunite with the teachers and the
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
before Jason kills the officer who is helping them. Rennie crashes a police car after a vision of Jason distracts her. Van Deusen is incinerated in the car when it explodes, and it is revealed that McCulloch is responsible for Rennie's fear of water, having pushed her into the lake as a child. They leave him behind, and Jason drowns him in a barrel of
toxic waste
Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...
.
Jason chases Rennie and Sean into the subway, where Sean incapacitates Jason by pushing him onto the
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
. When Jason revives, he chases them through
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
to a
diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...
, and then to the sewers where they encounter a worker. He warns them that the sewers will be flooded with toxic waste at midnight. Jason appears and kills the worker before knocking Sean unconscious. Rennie throws a vat of toxic waste into Jason's face. She and Sean climb a ladder as Jason staggers after them. The sewers flood, and Jason, reminded of his childhood drowning, vomits water. The wastewater overcomes Jason, causing his face to melt away. When the water recedes, Sean and Rennie witness what appears to be Jason as an unconscious child. Sean and Rennie make their way back to the street where they are reunited with Rennie's dog Toby in Times Square.
Cast
In addition, Amber Pawlick and Timothy Burr Mirkovich appear as young Rennie and young Jason, respectively.
Ken Kirzinger
Kenneth Kirzinger (born November 4, 1959) is a Canadian actor and stuntman best known for his portrayals of Jason Voorhees in ''Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), Pa in '' Wrong Turn 2: Dead End'' (2007) and Rusty Nail in '' Joy Ride 3: Roadkill'' (2014) ...
, who would go on to portray Jason in ''
Freddy vs. Jason
''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a Crossover (fiction), crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), ''A ...
'', appears in this film as the cook who confronts Jason. Kirzinger served as a stunt coordinator for the film, and doubles as Jason in two short stunt scenes.
Production
Development
After the disappointing box-office gross of ''
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'' (1988),
[ director ]John Carl Buechler
__NOTOC__
John Carl Buechler (pronounced ''Beekler''; June 18, 1952 – March 18, 2019) was an American special make-up effects artist, film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He was best known for his work on horror and science-fictio ...
began developing a follow-up which reprised the character of Tina Shepard again facing off against Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
after her release from an insane asylum.[ Meanwhile, ]Lar Park Lincoln
Laurie Jill "Lar" Park Lincoln (née Park; born May 12, 1961) is an American actress. She appeared in the 1987 film '' House II: The Second Story'' as Kate, the 1988 horror film '' Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood'' as Tina Shepard, and ...
, who had portrayed Tina Shepard, co-wrote (with her husband) an alternative screenplay which had Tina working as a psychologist for troubled girls. Lincoln's co-star in ''The New Blood'', Kevin Spirtas
Kevin Blair Spirtas is an American actor.
Career
Spirtas is perhaps best known for his roles as Dr. Craig Wesley on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', Jonas Chamberlain on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', ...
, also wrote a screenplay which recast the events of ''The New Blood'' into a long dream, with his character as the killer.[ Paramount, however, opted to assign the project of a follow-up to writer-director ]Rob Hedden
Robert Ray Hedden (born March 2, 1954) is an American writer and film director.
Early life
Hedden was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Laguna Beach. While a student at Laguna Beach High School, he began making short films. Hedde ...
,[ marking his debut feature.]
A former employee of Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, Hedden strove to devise a screenplay in which the antagonist, Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
, would travel outside of the setting of Camp Crystal Lake
''Friday the 13th'' is an American horror franchise that comprises twelve slasher films, a television series, novels, comic books, video games, and tie‑in merchandise. The franchise mainly focuses on the fictional character Jason Voorhees, w ...
, the primary location of the previous seven films.[ "The biggest thing we could do with Jason is to get him out of that stupid lake where he's been hanging out," Hedden said.][ One of Hedden's original ideas was to set the film solely aboard a cruise ship with Jason hiding in the lower levels, described by Hedden as "a little bit of '']Das Boot
''Das Boot'' (, English: "The Boat") is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann. It has been exhibited both as ...
'' and a little bit of ''Aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
'', with a claustrophobic feeling storm at sea and that sort of stuff."[ The alternate concept was to place Voorhees in a large city, such as New York. Hedden commented: "Everything about New York was going to be completely exploited and milked. There was going to be a tremendous scene on the ]Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
. A boxing match in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. Jason would go through department stores. He'd go through Times Square. He'd go into a Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
play. He'd even crawl onto the top of the Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
and dive off."[
Ultimately, after receiving approval from ]Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
of both concepts, Hedden decided to combine them, with the first act of the film occurring aboard a ship, and the second on the streets of Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.[ This decision was mainly due to budgetary restrictions from Paramount, as filming exclusively in New York City cost more than the studio was willing to spend.][ In addition to the shift in setting, Hedden stated he wanted to examine the character of Jason Voorhees as a child, which appears in the film in the form of ]hallucination
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
s experienced by Rennie Wickham, the heroine.[ To conceal the fact that it was a ''Friday the 13th'' film, the initial working script circulated under the title "Ashes to Ashes."][
]
Casting
Actress Jensen Daggett
Jensen Daggett (born June 24, 1969) is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in the films '' Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' and '' Major League: Back to the Minors''. She had a recurring role as Nancy Tayl ...
was cast as the lead of Rennie Wickham, beating out Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley (born July 28, 1974) is an American actress. She played Jessie Spano in the television series ''Saved by the Bell'' and Nomi Malone/Polly Ann Costello in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven film ''Showgirls''. She voiced the title role o ...
and Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
for the role.[ ]Lisa Wilcox
Lisa Elizabeth Wilcox (born April 27, 1964) is an American actress, and former model and designer. She is best known for her role as Alice Johnson in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' sequels '' 4'' (1988) and '' 5'' (1989)—both box office s ...
was offered a role in the film but turned it down. Scott Reeves was cast in the role of Sean Robertson at the last minute after the producers felt the previously-cast actor had no sexual chemistry with Daggett.[ The film marked the feature debut of actress Kelly Hu. ]Peter Mark Richman
Peter Mark Richman (born Marvin Jack Richman; April 16, 1927 – January 14, 2021) was an American actor in films and on television, who was for many years credited as Mark Richman. He appeared in about 30 films and 130 television series from th ...
was cast in the film as Charles McCulloch, the students' teacher and Rennie's uncle.
Filming
The film was shot in April 1989 at seven locations in the United States, though the primary filming locations were in British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada, particularly Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.[ The alleyway scenes were shot in ]Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. After filming wrapped in Los Angeles, the rest of the film was shot on location in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, including Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
.[ The Times Square sequences were shot while pedestrian onlookers observed the scenes, and attracted numerous ''Friday the 13th'' fans.][ ]Kane Hodder
Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...
, who portrayed Jason, recalled pointing at one fan in-between takes, after which she fainted.[ According to Hedden, the cost of production in New York City was not feasible given the film's budget, which is why large portions of it were shot elsewhere.][ The budget for the film was estimated at around $5 million. At the time, it was the most expensive film produced in the series.][
]
Music
The film's musical score was composed by Fred Mollin, who worked with longtime ''Friday the 13th'' series composer Harry Manfredini
Harry Manfredini (born August 25, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American composer and jazz soloist, who has scored more than one hundred films, including most of the '' Friday the 13th'' series. He has had years of classical training, as well ...
on the previous installment. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' was the first film in the series not to feature Manfredini credited on the score. On September 27, 2005, BSX records released a limited edition CD of Fred Mollin's ''Friday the 13th Part VII'' and ''VIII'' scores.
The song "The Darkest Side of the Night" performed by Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
plays over the opening and ending credits to the film. Rob Hedden specifically wanted them to write a song reminiscent of Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...
. The song would not see an official release until the year 2000 on the album '' The Power of the Night''.
The song "Broken Dream" which J.J. jams along to on her electric guitar was written by Mollin and Stan Meissner
Stan Meissner (born August 28, 1956) is a Canadian composer, singer, and songwriter.
Meissner's career includes both hits in Canada and internationally abroad. Having been a composer and songwriter for over 35 years, he has written and composed ...
and features Terri Crawford
Terri Crawford, formerly billed as Terry Crawford, is a Canadian musician, most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Most Promising Female Vocalist at the Juno Awards of 1982 and the Juno Awards of 1983.
Background
Originally from Montreal ...
on vocals. The instrumental "J.J's Blues" was written by Meissner. The two songs remain popular among fans and when a fan inquired to Meissner about whether they can be released he responded that no complete versions of the songs were ever recorded as they were never intended for release outside the film. Despite this, fans noted that a longer instrumental version of the track plays during the club scene in ''Forever Knight
''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...
'' Season 1 Episode 1 (1992). Meissner's claim was ultimately proven false as in 2021, La-La Land Records included the full track on their release of the ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' soundtrack which included a previously unheard chorus and lead guitar parts.
Release
Marketing
In promotion for the film, Paramount Pictures began an advertising campaign featuring Jason slashing through the "I Love New York
I Love New York (stylized ) is a slogan, a logo, and a song that are the basis of an advertising campaign developed by the marketing firm of Wells, Rich, Greene under the directorship of Mary Wells Lawrence used since 1977 to promote tourism i ...
" logo, which was featured on the original movie poster. Though the poster was distributed, it was later replaced after Vincent Tese of the New York state
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
economic development committee filed a complaint against Paramount Pictures for unauthorized use of the "I Love New York" logo. Paramount issued a replacement poster, which featured an image of Jason looming over the New York City skyline.[
]
Home media
Paramount Home Video
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
initially released the film on VHS on February 15, 1990. The company re-released the film on VHS on September 28, 1994. A standard DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
without bonus materials was released by Paramount on September 3, 2002. In October 2004, a box set, ''Crystal Lake to Manhattan'', was released, featuring ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' alongside the previous seven ''Friday the 13th'' films. This release featured an audio commentary with writer-director Hedden.[ A standalone "deluxe edition" DVD was subsequently released in September 2009, featuring Hedden's commentary, a making-of documentary, a gag reel, and deleted sequences.
Paramount issued a double-feature ]Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on September 8, 2015, featuring the film paired with its predecessor, '' Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood''. ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' was subsequently included in two separate Blu-ray sets: First in 2013's ''Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection'', which included every film in the series, along with the 2009 remake; and again in 2018 in ''The Ultimate Collection'', which included the first eight Paramount-owned films only.
Reception
Box office
''Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' was released on July 28, 1989 in the United States. The film entered the box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
at number 5 for the weekend with earnings of $6.2 million.[ The film faced strong competition at the time of its release from high-profile genre fare such as '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'', '' Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'', and '' Fright Night Part II'',] and was considered one of the biggest disappointments at the summer box office. Ultimately, it would go on to gross a total of $14.3 million at the U.S. box office, making it the poorest-performing film in the franchise and ranking at number 70 on the list of the year's Top 100 earners.
Critical response
On the review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' holds an approval rating of 11% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "''Jason'' terrorizes a ship and nearly sinks the franchise in a clunky sequel that feels like self-parody without the charm." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 14 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Chris Willman of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' commended the film's "funny ad campaign," but deemed it "a real dunghill of a major motion picture... Satirical potential is rife, to be sure, with Jason coming to the biggest of big cities, only to have his mere homicidal monstrousness dwarfed by the real-life horrors of drugs, rape, homelessness, disease, despair, and all-around urban decay, all of it unrealized in a script as witless and willfully imbecilic as any of the preceding seven." The ''New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' criticized the film for "grossly underutilizing its promising premise," but noted that it "should please ''Friday'' fanatics and shapes up as a marginally watchable fright item for the genre's more demanding fans." Desmond Ryan of the ''Asbury Park Press
The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997.
Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hon ...
'' wrote: "Common sense should tell you to skip this film," adding that the characters are "so dumb in the face of mortal peril that one questions how they ever got past second grade." The ''Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.
The ''Dail ...
''s Gary Thompson, however, gave the film a favorable review, writing: "The movie is gory and conventional, but the change of scenery and occasional dashes of humor make this one, well, a cut above the others in this uninspired series ... The joke is that in New York, the largest gathering place for weirdos on the East Coast, Jason is just one of the crowd."
Malcolm Johnson of the ''Hartford Courant
The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...
'' deemed the film a "snoozer" and criticized its implementation of humor, noting: "Possibly, the pubescent lads who somehow manage to slip through the R-rating guardians will discover its humor. To non-cultists, however, ''Part VIII'' is a clumsy reworking of the formula, the mystique of deep, murky, evil Crystal Lake." Mike Dembs of the ''Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' awarded the film a zero-star rating, writing: "Make no bones about it, this is the worst of the bunch. Even fans of the ''Friday the 13th'' movies will be disappointed." ''The Atlanta Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
''s Eleanor Ringel noted that the film "isn't in the least bit scary and is only intermittently gory. It is, however, often quite funny, intentionally or not." She also criticized the film because a significant portion of it took place aboard a boat as opposed to in Manhattan,[ a sentiment echoed by Betsy Sherman of '']The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', who wrote that the film "should have been called ''Jason Takes a Cruise''." Film critic Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
, however, gave the film a more positive review, awarding the film 2 out of 4 stars and calling it the best in the series. Maltin complimented the film's imaginative direction but criticized the film's running time as being too long.
On his commentary track
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
for the film in the box set, director Rob Hedden acknowledges the faults and agrees that more of the film should have been set in Manhattan, citing budgetary and schedule problems.
Legacy
In 2007, ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' labeled ''Jason Takes Manhattan'' the eighth-worst sequel ever made.
In 2018, Scott Meslow of '' GQ'' wrote that the film was among the "most stylish" in the ''Friday the 13th'' series, adding:
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
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Film page at the ''Camp Crystal Lake'' web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friday The 13th Part Viii: Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday Part 8
1989 films
1989 horror films
American sequel films
American slasher films
1980s English-language films
Films scored by Fred Mollin
Films set in 2001
Films set in Manhattan
Films set in New York City
Films set on ships
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Vancouver
Films shot in New York City
8
Paramount Pictures films
Supernatural slasher films
Films directed by Rob Hedden
Films with screenplays by Rob Hedden
1989 directorial debut films
1980s American films