Scarecrow's Blog From the Darkside

So I received in the mail from Amazon the Synapse Blu Ray of Prom Night (1980) and to say I was excited to see it, actually see it as intended, is an understatement. The bad copies I’ve dealt with for some time, seeing this transfer, pristine compared to the junk quality of previous prints, was such an improvement. While most of the television additions that were excised included on the special features—the Horrors of Hamilton High doc, with members of the cast (Joy Thompson, Wincott, Mary Beth Rubens, and Tough, all offer some fun anecdotes), prosthetic head creator, the art director, musician Zaza, and director Lynch gives fans insight into the film’s genesis, onset difficulties and budgetary constraints, and what it was like to work with Jamie Lee Curtis—are really rather insignificant (I did enjoy “Passing Notes” where Curtis, Oliver, and Thompson are in science class eventually irritating the teacher enough that he gives them detention, and some extras involving Nielsen...

I guess out of all the Friday films, A New Beginning (1985) is the one I’m okay with never writing about again the most for the blog. This is the one I was looking forward to getting out of the way. And yet over the years I’ve watched it a lot more than I ever thought I would when I first saw it in the early 90s. I remember how my brother and I reacted to it: that isn’t Jason, what is this?! I guess franchise fans know what they want and if you stray too far from the usual formula that is the kind of reaction to be expected. Whatever the case, over the last ten or so years I do admit to liking certain aspects; although, A New Beginning is still one of my least favorites in the series. Like other Friday films in the series, a cult built and developed specifically for A New Beginning. Its trashier, raunchier, sick and twisted side, complete with foul language, greater and more extended nudity, and some of the most corrupt/sleazy/sexual characters in the series, A New Beginning gai...

There are times when the film reveled in its desire to polarize. Unnecessary nudity—Juliette Cummins, of “Psycho III” (1986), is a sexy redhead who removes her top, in nothing but teeny striped panties, seemingly just because nudity was part of the slasher formula desired—and kills upon kills, so many racked up by Roy, Jason was given a run for his money, at least three of them were off screen, along with drug use—pervert male nurse, Billy (Bob DeSimone), wagging his tongue at Pam when overtly letting her know his dirty thoughts, snorts some coke while waiting for date, Lana, who unzips her waitress dress to pop out her breasts with the excited utterance, “It’s Showtime!”—give reasons why A New Beginning has remained so notorious, alienating many fans, while others love it for all the gratuitous content. A hand sticks a lot of long blades into torsos in this film…it is an easy death to film, with extra use of “zoom into the startled and jolted expressive faces” camera shots set ...

I took a nice break Wednesday knowing I would get right back to it on Thursday but as I was mulling over The Final Chapter (1984) in preparation for A New Beginning (1985) I was thinking about how franchises often flirted with the idea of “transference of evil”. Such as the end of A New Beginning where Tommy Jarvis lifts up the butcher knife, now wearing the hockey mask, “assuming” Jason’s “spot”, perhaps paving the way for the next sequel in the franchise.  And just Monday, I had watched “Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), and, sure enough, at the very end, little niece Jamie had stabbed her foster mom while dressed in clown costume, with a similar mask as Michael’s in the 1978 masterpiece, indicating the possibility she was assuming her uncle’s spot as the next sequel’s killer.  And even in the “last” Nightmare on Elm Street film, “The Final Friday” (1991), Freddy was hoping his daughter would “join him”. Of course, all these fran...