Friday the 13th Movies: Ranked Worst to Best

4. Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Paramount Pictures

I think a lot of people will disagree with me ranking Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood at #4. After all, that means only 3 other movies in the franchise were better than this one. Well I'm sorry, but this is a subjective list and I'm in charge of it so it is ranked #4.

F13 Part VII contains what was at the time a relatively fresh approach to a horror film - a psychic protagonist. Stephen King long ago burned me out on psychic characters in horror films (is that ALL he writes about?), but I saw this movie before I'd reached my breaking point with King, which thankfully allows me to enjoy it.

Part VII begins a few months after Part VI, which ended with Jason being immobilised at the bottom of Crystal Lake. Tina and her parents are visiting Crystal Lake (and a calendar shows the date as Friday the 13th). Tina is an up-and-coming telekinetic prodigy who has her powers awakened by her drunken father when she witnesses him abusing her mother. Tina's dad, as a result of Tina's new powers, inadvertently dies and heads to the bottom of Crystal Lake.

Ten years later, a guilt-ridden Tina and her mother return to Crystal Lake with Tina's psychiatrist, Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser of Weekend at Bernie's fame). Dr. Crews is a stereotypical greedy bastard who is only using Tina to make his fortune. During one of Tina's sessions with Dr. Crews, who is pushing her unusually hard in his quest for riches, Tina becomes overly distraught and runs off to the shore of Crystal Lake where she believes she senses her father's presence. She attempts to resurrect her father using her psychic powers, but instead brings back everybody's favorite serial killer, Jason. As luck would have it, the cabin next to Tina's is filled with young, good-looking teens.

Jason goes on yet another killing spree before he is stopped at the end of the movie. You didn't expect it to turn out that way, did you?

By this point in the series, thanks to Part VI which I cover next, we are fully-entrenched in the "immortal" Jason. Tina, using her now fully-released telekinetic abilities, subjects him to being hung, being crushed, being burned, being bludgeoned, and being blown up. None of this works, however, and she is finally forced to trap him in the lake once again. Tina's father, who is finally resurrected from his watery grave by Tina, grants her forgiveness for his death by assisting in Jason's demise.

And don't forget the ever-more-imaginative death scenes. My favorite is the girl in the sleeping bag that is swung HARD against a tree. Too much fun. And of course there is the requisite view of Jason's true face, which by Part VII has become very gruesome indeed. But the best part for me is Jason's mask; he's still wearing the same hockey mask from Part III, Part IV, and Part VI. If you look closely enough, you can see the hatchet mark in his forehead from the end of Part III and the chewed up area from the boat propeller at the end of Part VI. Continuity is a wonderful thing!

Contributor

Tim is a varied character. He's lived on three continents. He hates ice cream. He has been a highly-paid computer programmer. He invents collectible card games. He is a coffee shop owner. He has had fantasy stories published in magazines. Eventually he wishes to retire from life and become a professional 10-pin bowler who writes articles while living in his RV and traveling from bowling tournament to bowling tournament with his faithful wife in tow. And of course, Tim is a major horror and science fiction fan.