Movie Review: Jason X (2001)

Synopsis: After killing more than 200 people, Jason Voorhees is finally captured by the government and is being held in a secret research facility. He manages to escape custody and kills everyone inside the facility except for a government scientist who lures him into a cryogenic chamber before freezing him and herself. Nearly 450 years later, their frozen bodies are discovered by a team of archaeologists exploring now-abandoned Earth and are brought on board the spaceship. Soon after, Jason once again rises from the dead and goes on a killing spree.

Who's in it? The movie stars Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, David Cronenberg, Markus Parilo and Lisa Ryder.

Review: Full honesty here - while I recognize the Friday the 13th movies for their cultural significance, I am not as big of a Jason Voorhees fan as you might think. Frankly, I have always considered him to be a bit overrated (and even a little wimpy) when compared to other horror movie bad guys. 

Jason X, however, is one of the rare exceptions to that overall opinion.

Let me start out by saying this is not the perfect horror movie by any stretch of the imagination. The film relies a little too much on sex and gratuitous nudity, especially early on. Plus, some of the characters are the kind of characters you hope get killed sooner rather than later because they are more annoying than entertaining. And this is before we even ask why a group of educated people from the future wouldn't know who Jason Voorhees is (or at least attempt to find out before bringing him on their ship).

That all said, this is one of the few films I think truly lets Jason achieve his full potential. In fact, I'd describe him as being pretty bad ass throughout, standing toe-to-toe with trained soldiers and eventually leveling up with an awesome upgrade.

I am also going to give his victims some credit for being reasonably intelligent. Sure, there was the whole bringing him on the ship thing and the decision not to listen to some commonsense advice. However, unlike so many horror movie victims, they at least seemed to make smart choices when trying to survive the deadly killer. This included doing something as simple as locking a door or taking advantage of the 25th-century technology Jason wouldn't be familiar with.

The film also remembers a very simple rule too many other slasher films don't and didn't take itself too seriously. There was plenty of action and even more violence, but the overall mood was kept light thanks to some clever and well-timed one-liners. Yes, movies like this are supposed to be scary but in a fun way. You want to come away entertained, not depressed.

Final Opinion: Most movies in this film series aren't worth taking the time to watch. This is one of the lone exceptions, only because it doesn't waste the main character.

My Grade: B

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Here are some reviews of other Friday the 13th movies:

Movie Review: Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

Movie Review: Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)

Movie Review: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Movie Review: Friday the 13th Part III (1982)