Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood (1988)

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood earns its keep by doing the smartest thing a long-running slasher series can do: it gives Jason a worthy opponent, turning the usual helpless-victims routine into a pulpy, supernatural showdown with a telekinetic heroine who can actually fight back. John Carl Buechler leans into a comic-book vibe—part lakeside creepshow, part “Jason versus Carrie”—and the movie’s biggest pleasures are tactile: Kane Hodder’s first, physically imposing Jason and the wonderfully gnarly makeup that makes him look like something the lake itself coughed up. It’s brisk, nasty, and gleefully inventive in the way it stages its mayhem, building toward set pieces that feel more like monster-movie brawls than simple stalk-and-slash. If you’re allergic to ’80s sleaze or you want subtle horror over loud, bloody fun, it may not convert you—but if you’ve ever wanted a Friday sequel with a real hook and a Jason who looks and moves like a nightmare, this is the one to queue up.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is clearly trying to freshen up the formula by pitting Jason against a telekinetic teen, basically “Jason vs. Carrie,” and on paper that’s a fun idea. In practice, it still plays like a pretty standard conveyor belt of disposable partygoers and predictable kills, with the psychic angle feeling more like a gimmick than a game-changer. The pacing can drag between set pieces, the character work is thin, and the finale aims for big supernatural payoff but lands in a way many people find clunky rather than satisfying. If you’re here for Kane Hodder’s physical, menacing Jason and some memorable (often nasty) death concepts, you’ll get your money’s worth; if you want sharp humor, surprises, or a clever reinvention, this one will likely feel like reheated leftovers.