Review by Peter Syslo
FRIDAY 2 (1981) is the follow-up to the iconic FRIDAY THE 13th. Unlike some horror sequels of the past decade (THE RING 2, THE GRUDGE 2, etc.) this one did not totally kill the franchise. On the contrary, FRIDAY 2 “took it up a notch” with more sex, more violence, more blood, and the development of one of our most beloved madmen in the horror genre – Jason Voorhees. Some people really don’t like PART 2 and in some circles, they believe that the true franchise doesn’t begin until part 3, when he first puts on the famous hockey-mask. My view on the topic is that I regard the original and PART 2 as background on Jason and Camp Crystal Lake – I think that the first two are like the campfire story and from part 3 onward, the franchise picks up speed and perfects its formula. In essence, I do like PART 2; it’s not quite on the level of part 1 but it has enough suspense to keep it lively and the opening sequence is a textbook example of how to begin a slasher film.
FRIDAY THE 13th PART 2 is directed by Steve Miner and is written by Ron Kurz. The film stars Amy Steel (Ginny), Adrienne King ( Alice ), John Furey, Walt Gorney, and Warrington Gillette (unmasked Jason). Again, the incredible score by Harry Manfredini is the featured music.
The story continues from the first film and we pick right up with the survivor girl, Alice. Some time has passed since the events of the original (remember, we left her in a hospital bed asking, “What about the boy?”) and the action now centers on her, alone at her apartment. The next 5-10 minutes of the film culminate in a classic scene, which involves her death, and it reserves the right to be in the slasher hall of fame – one of the best slasher film beginnings, ever. From that point on, the action pretty much follows the formula of the first. A new group of adolescents travel to a camp that is near the recently-closed Camp Crystal Lake . The murders begin shortly and again, it is a mystery killer; but this time we se e the killer and he wears a sack over his head. After numerous hide-and-go-seek kill scenes, we again come to the end with a lone survivor girl, Ginny, and we learn the true identity of the killer, which isn’t too difficult to figure out.
FRIDAY 2 is a great sequel to the first. I know that some people don’t like it, but it is functional in the life of the franchise; it developed Jason and it made you aware of his motives for killing, without giving away all of the mystery through explanation. Also, it was sort of a departure from the first film (it was grittier and more gratuitous) – in a way, PART 2 was not as “classy” as the first, and that’s not a criticism. PART 2 established the “dirtiness” of the franchise, with heightened gore, pervasive nudity, and staggering amounts of violence (for that time period). Also, PART 2 paved the way for each sequel to try to “top” the previous one and even though the story went off in some crazy directions, there was a great deal of fun involved – that “levity” that I talked about in the review of the first one.
PART 2 re-established the creepy, wooded atmosphere and I think that it provided some decent tension, suspense, and scares. As with the first one, the action gets a little repetitive in the middle but you could see that this is where they started to make each of the kill scenes have their own individual “flavor”. Again, you have a motley crew of characters, whose acting is just perfect for the material – you can always have a few laughs with some of the ridiculous dialogue, the silly characters, and the “just-for-nudity’s-sake” nude scenes (although my personal favorite in those three categories are the bicycle twins in part 4 – that is just too funny, you can’t top that). As far as Jason goes, I thought that the sack was pretty effective and it makes sense when you think about and when you see part 3. To me, Jason always seemed lik e a feral animal, so he probably had limited access to masks and such – I’m not trying to be funny, I’m serious! Lastly, the end surprise is really good and is almost as much of a shock as the ending of the original – the scene with Mrs. Voorhees’ head in a makeshift “shrine” is another example of classic slasher material.
Cutting to the chase: FRIDAY 2 is a great sequel and it really was the beginning of the over-the-top, dirty, yet enjoyable nature of the franchise. It has what all slasher fans like – female nudity, bloody kills, a masked killer, a few laughs, and a few decent scares. It sticks pretty well to the storyline of the original and it adds a bit to it with Jason as an adult and his mother’s murder as one of his reasons for killing. The only detrimental thing that I have to say about it was that it does get a little boring in the middle and the substance is a little sparse at times, but the awesome opening and the kick-ass ending are well worth some tedium. All in all, they were still perfecting the formula in this one and later, they really “struck it rich” with part 3 and especially part 4 (arguably the best in the franchise). I give FRI DAY THE 13th PART 2 a 7 out of 10.