Here at The Horror Syndicate, we went all out for Friday the 13th, posted countless reviews of movies from the franchise, and did a THS Live episode dedicated solely to them ON FRIDAY THE 13TH, which I FINALLY watched every movie in the franchise for the first time, in 72 hours, to prepare for, and even though it’s been a full week since horror lovers’ second favorite holiday, we’re not quite done celebrating yet! One of the movies we have yet to cover is the seventh entry in the franchise, Friday the 13th: The New Blood.
In the previous installment, Rayzor’s favorite, Jason Lives, it seems as if the world has finally gotten rid of Jason for good when Tommy Jarvis traps him in Crystal Lake. Tommy Jarvis’ plan was foolproof and 100% worked, I mean, the only way Jason would be able to get out of there and back to killing is if some supernatural forces got him out…and luckily for him, that’s exactly what happened. The New Blood focuses on a young woman named Tina, played by Lar Park Lincoln, who at the beginning of the film flees her house after hearing her dad abuse her mom. She runs out to the lake and gets in a little boat, with her father chasing after her apologizing, but she is not having it. She is so fed up with the situation that she ultimately screams that she wishes he was dead, and then what do ya know, the deck collapses beneath him causing her “wish” to come true. Her whole life she’s blamed herself for his death, and been deeply saddened and troubled by it. This weekend her doctor from the mental hospital, her mother and her finally return to the house where it happened in an attempt to help her get over it once and for all. While Tina is having a session with the doctor at the house we learn that she has telekinetic abilities, that presumably caused her father’s death, and see the doctor trying to make her use them. My first thought (and probably most people’s) was about Carrie, and since I loooooove Carrie (not to mention just telekinesis in general, would definitely be my power of choice, and was my pretend one when playing X-men when I was little) my next thought was AWESOME. As much as I love telekinesis, and found the addition to the film interesting, I did also find it a bit off putting, and out of place. Even though Jason was somewhat of a supernatural creature, this type of supernatural element didn’t seem to fit into the franchise to me, and I personally probably wouldn’t have even thought about writing it in, but ultimately I’m glad they did because it did make for a great movie, and probably the most fun one in the franchise.
After Tina, and the doctor’s little session she runs out to the dock upset, and wishing for, and trying to make her father come back, but little did she know that he wasn’t the only body in that lake. This time instead of getting her wish, she revives the decaying, local killer, Jason Voorhees, now played by the beloved Kane Hodder. Next to Tina’s house is a house full of other young adults her age who are throwing their friend a surprise birthday party, and the birthday boy’s cousin, Nick, takes a liking a Tina. Unfortunately, the birthday boy never makes it to his 
party because he and his girlfriend become Jason’s first victims on his new rampage. And if you thought Tina being able to move things with her mind wasn’t crazy enough, she’s also been having visions of Jason’s killings, so of course that has her freaked out and everybody but Nick thinking that she is insane. The doctor knows she’s telling the truth, but tried to cover it up to make Tina’s emotions run high and further his experiment with her powers. Tina tries to flee, but then she has a vision of her mom getting killed so, she has to go back and try to save her. Unfortunately she never sees her mom again as Jason gets her when she and the doctor were looking for Tina in the woods. Eventually everyone is dead besides Nick and Tina, and Nick’s biggest fan Melissa who has been after him, and subsequently after Tina in a different way, all weekend. She has been trying to amp up the “Tina is crazy” thing ever since she heard her say that she was in a hospital, and somehow Melissa has made it through the night so far without encountering Jason or any of the dead bodies, so when Nick and Tina try to warn her she’s still rolling with the crazy ball…but then seconds later Jason walks into the house and kills her. Ironic isn’t it? Karma’s a bitch, just like Melissa was. That was my favorite kill from the movie, but most people would say their favorite from part 7, and for some the whole franchise, is the famous sleeping bag kill that happened earlier in the film.
So what happens now that there’s only two possible victims left for Jason? A standoff between him and Tina of course! In the past you’ve had to have been really smart to beat out or survive Jason, but Tina knows nothing about him in order to do that. Luckily, she has her powers, and it’s a good thing too, because it seems that Jason has only gotten stronger upon each return, so really the only way someone would have a chance against him is if they had powers. Writing a scene like this was probably really tricky. It could have easily been a big, cheesy mess, but I didn’t find it to be that way at all. They handled it really well. It was fun to see someone have a fighting chance with Jason, instead of them just out witting him. It was also fun to see Jason’s reactions to the supernatural events happening to and around him. Tina was really able to hold her ground against him. She was my favorite final girl in the franchise. To me she is the most likeable, and also one of the best actresses. If you look at all the films in the franchise up to this one it is definitely the most unique. After this entry they seemed to try to make each new Friday 13th different by changing up something, and although they do accomplish the goal of making them just as unique as Part 7, none of them are as good.
If Tina was your favorite Friday final girl, too, let us know on twitter and facebook!
