Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

Despite its title, there's nothing particularly new about Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood.  The film gets off to a bad start with a cheesy voice-over narration accompanying flashbacks to the previous movies.  (The flashback montages were mercifully absent from parts V and VI.)  Jason remains in his underwater prison, and all is well at Camp Crystal Lake.  That is, until telekinetic psychic Tina (Lar Park Lincoln) accidentally revives him while attempting to use her powers to dredge up her dead father from the bottom of the lake.  Tina blames herself for her father's death, and she's at Crystal Lake with her mother and doctor to get better.  But her doctor doesn't seem like he has Tina's best interests in mind.  Oh yes, and there's a group of teenagers next door waiting to throw a surprise birthday party.

At least The New Blood gets rid of the Tommy Jarvis character (after three films, there wasn't much else to do with his story).  Unfortunately, the teenagers are the very definition of interchangeable.  I was thoroughly bored watching their antics, and, for the most part, I didn't know who was who or why I should care.  Lincoln has to be one of the worst Friday girls; she's either whining incessantly or looking completely confused (sometimes both).  The climactic final battle between Tina and Jason, during which Tina keeps throwing stuff at Jason using only her mind, is a joke.  Equally uninteresting is her romance with Nick (Kevin Blair), who's known her for, what, a few hours, and knows nothing about her except that she thinks she killed her father, she has telekinetic powers, and she's spent a good part of her life in a mental institute.  Yeah, I can see how he'd be won over.

Direction by John Carl Buechler is similarly uninteresting, with bland visuals, uneven pacing, and a climax no one really wanted to see.  The death scenes were heavily edited to obtain an R rating (not Buechler's fault), and as a result they're among the most neutered, bloodless kills in the franchise.  The excised footage can be found on the deluxe edition DVD, and it's an improvement, but certainly not enough to make the film worthwhile.  Jason gets a couple new weapons this time around, including a sleeping bag and a party horn.  Joy.

The New Blood is notable because it marks the first appearance of Kane Hodder as Jason.  Hodder would go on to reprise the role until Jason X, making him the only actor to don the hockey mask for more than one installment.  Hodder is masterful in the role, proving he can... stand and walk with the best of them.  I must say I don't understand why his Jason receives so much praise from fans.  Not that he doesn't do a good job, but it's not exactly the most demanding of roles.  The Jason makeup is impressive at least, showing evidence of his numerous "deaths" over the years.  Aside from that, there's nothing else to recommend here.  Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is among the most dull and uninteresting entries in an unimpressive franchise.