Despite earning negative reviews, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday grossed $15.9 million against a $3 million budget. Though not a blockbuster, the mild success prompted New Line Cinema to move forward with a Freddy vs. Jason movie. Unfortunately, the film lingered in development hell for years as New Line spent approximately $6 million on various scripts. Frustrated, Sean Cunningham decided to make another Jason movie to retain fan interest, recruiting James Isaac to direct. Up-and-coming writer Todd Farmer threw out numerous concepts for the installment, ultimately landing on taking Jason to space. New Line executive Michael De Luca approved the concept, granting the production an $11 million budget to shoot. Unfortunately, de Luca resigned after producing a series of box office bombs, which killed any support the filmmakers had. Despite being filmed in 2000, Jason X sat on the shelf for two years before opening in April 2002.
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Synopsis
At the Crystal Lake Research Facility, the US Government is holding Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) in captivity. Agent Rowan LaFontaine (Lexa Doig) orders to have him cryogenically frozen, but Dr. Wimmer (David Cronenberg) wants to study him. Unfortunately, Jason breaks free and kills Dr. Wimmer and his military escort, though Rowan manages to freeze him. During the struggle, Jason stabs her with his machete, breaking open his cryotube, triggering the security system, and trapping her. Fast-forward to 2455, when a group of students discovers the facility and takes her and Jason back to their ship. They successfully revive her and take Jason to the morgue, believing he’s dead despite her warnings. Soon, Jason gets back up and slaughters anyone he crosses in increasingly gruesome fashion. The group does their best to survive and eventually stop Jason, but soon, evil gets an upgrade.
Review
On paper, Jason X should be the worst, if not one of the worst, entries in the entire franchise. Similar franchises like Leprechaun, Hellraiser, and Critters have gone into space and lost all relevance. However, the makers of Jason X know how silly the concept is and decide to have fun with it. Granted, writer Todd Farmer intended for a darker tone, but when Scream became a hit, the studio insisted on humor. I’m not sure how much was added after the fact, but the comedy feels well integrated rather than distracting. It’s not like modern Marvel movies that insert jokes into serious scenes ala Thor: Love and Thunder. Plus, humor is nothing new to this franchise, as evidenced by Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. The jokes land more than not, and there’s some great, quotable lines thrown in.
Sadly, this was Kane Hodder’s last time playing Jason, but he at least delivers another solid performance. As in the other installments, he exudes an imposing presence and plays it dead serious against the silliness. Lexa Doig is capable as the lead, though Lisa Ryder steals the show as the charmingly aloof android, KM-14. One of the best scenes is when she’s decked out in leather and guns and completely obliterates Jason. Peter Mensah is also fun as Sergeant Brodski, playing the stereotypical hardened badass with a dry sense of humor. The rest of the cast does a fine job, but many of them are the standard slasher victims. Thankfully, none of them come off as obnoxious or annoying, so you don’t mind sitting through the movie. This was right before movies like Cabin Fever made unlikable dickheads the norm for slasher protagonists.
Of course, a good slasher film needs to have great kills, and this one has some deliciously gruesome deaths. The most noteworthy kill is when a young woman has her face frozen and smashed against a countertop. There’s a soldier impaled and spinning, two guys killed twice while gaming, and a girl sucked out of a porthole. For having a mid-range budget, the production design is impressive, and the CGI looks decent for its time. The late Jim Isaac manages to capture a dark mood in certain scenes through unique angles and deep shadows. Lastly, Harry Manfredini’s score is pretty decent, but it’s not quite as inspired as the scores from earlier installments. Most audiences will automatically write off this installment, but if you can suspend your disbelief, you might have fun. Overall, Jason X is a silly movie that knows it’s silly and has fun with it.
Buy Jason X from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cxHNG4.
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Where to watch Jason X (2001)
