For a change of pace, the studio waited two years before releasing its next installment in the Jason Voorhees franchise. Friday the 13th: Part 7: The New Blood follows Tina Shepard, a telekinetic girl with some serious issues. Years before, Tina accidentally contributed to her father drowning at Crystal Lake. Now, she returns with her mother and psychiatrist to face her demons. Unfortunately for her, she inadvertently releases the biggest demon of all, Jason, from the depths of Crystal Lake. Lucky for Jason, though, a house full of youngsters sits waiting for him.
This definitely wasn’t my favorite Friday the 13th. As much as I loved part 6, I disliked part 7. Campy horror films, much like The Real World, rely on an interesting cast to make the film float. The cast in this movie wasn’t that interesting and I found watching them to be dull. Even the protagonist, Tina, was a bit weird and annoying. One moment she was fine and sort of flirting with the neighbor, Nick, and the next moment she was dropping a glass and having a meltdown. I struggled to sympathize with Tina and her telekinesis was sort of an awkward storyline. Her romance with Nick also seemed forced and strange. Most new romances in horror films feel strange... how do you have time to fall in love when you’re running for your life?
While I didn’t adore the telekinesis storyline, I didn’t hate it. The thing about these films is that the hunted are never on the same level as the hunter. Jason is stronger, faster, better with a weapon. He will get you in the end. No one Jason stalks stands a chance. This storyline allowed for the hunted to match the hunter, which was different and sort of exciting. Tina’s ability to toss a sofa at Jason using only her mind made things interesting. It was fun to watch Jason struggle against a semi-normal person. Iwish Tina had been more fun to watch, more like Carrie, but she was fine. It was just nice to watch an actual fight between Jason and someone, not just a slaughter. Seven films in, it’s tough coming up with new ideas and I didn’t hate this one’s attempt.
There are definitely better Friday the 13th films and I’m sure there’ll be worse, but this movie did alright. It’s not the most exciting or riveting of the batch, but it gets the point across. Introducing a telekinetic protagonist added something to the film and created a balance between Jason and everyone else. The ending was a bit silly (even for these films) and I wish it’d gone a different way, but who cares? They can always fix it in part eight...
If you liked Friday the 13th Part 7, you might also like Friday the 13th Part 8, Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X.