By Chris Johnson

“Ma’am, we didn’t find any boy. Then, he’s still there.” That one line from the original Friday the 13th says it all, doesn’t it ? Who would have thought Jason Voorhees would still be going strong after twenty-two years? I mean, he’s been shot, stabbed, hung, done in by psychic powers, electrocuted, drowned, blown to bits, sent to hell, and now frozen….and he’s back for more! After a nine year absence, the hockey-masked murderer is back and ready to add more to his ever-growing list of victims. Jason X stars Kane Hodder returns for the fourth time as Jason, as our beloved masked psycho has been captured by the military. Knowing that he can’t die, they decide to cryogenically freeze him. All hell breaks loose as Jason and a woman are frozen. Fast-forward to the year 2455; Jason is rediscovered and if he isn’t stopped, he will bring his legacy of terror to the stars.

This movie comes out on April 26th and is a first for the unkillable franchise. First of all, this is the first movie to be shot completely digitally. For those who think that they are going to get the same type of setting, they are wrong. The futuristic setting allows for some awesome CGI shots, as well as seeing Jason kill his victims in new and improved ways. If you have seen the commercials or the theatrical trailers, you know that the main attraction is the new and improved Jason, as the tagline does say “Evil Gets An Upgrade.” This tagline lives up to its hype as Jason is transformed into a type of killer cyborg. I think that everyone will be pleasantly surprised at the finished product.

Now, I can hear a lot of people who are saying, “Oh, God ! They brought him back again. Why can’t they just leave him and the rest of those movie killers buried ?” Well, this movie has been finished for almost two years and the hype surrounding it has been one of the biggest in years. In fact, advanced screenings of Jason X and the reactions have all been positive. Could this movie not only reinvent the franchise, but also keep Jason’s longevity going ? I believe the answer is yes, because New Line Cinema, the company releasing Jason X, is confident in its success and is already planning future sequels. However, the biggest thrill of all lies in the fact that after years of developmental hell, New Line has greenlighted a script for the long awaited Freddy vs. Jason. Kane Hodder has said that they will start filming later this year.

They may be low-budget. They may star talentless actors. They may have stupid stories. However, during the eighties when Friday the 13th films were being cranked out one after another, people were lining up to see movies with those very same qualities. For the most part, they enjoyed them for what they were: a good thrill and to see what new way Jason would kill somebody. There are those who feel that “Jason in space” sounds completely ridiculous. Well, what people need to understand is the only thing changed is the environment. The plot still involves what Jason does best, and I say it was time for him to leave Camp Crystal Lake anyway.

I think that there is plenty of life left in the Friday the 13th franchise, and after ten installments, there are a lot of things left for Jason to do. With impending success, Jason X brings the world one more chapter in the afterlife of Jason Voorhees. So, on April 26, go to the theaters, and never forget one thing: “In space, only Jason can hear you scream.”