Review: Assimilate (2019)

Stars: Joel Courtney, Andi Matichak

Budget: Unknown

Directed By: John Murlowski

Well this is the most recent entry into the bodysnatchers saga. It's full of relatively unknowns actor wise. I was unable to find a budget for this movie but I don't expect it would be massive. The film isn't massively effects heavy and I give it kudos for that, even relying on practical effects a lot.

So this version is our most recent as i said and it shows it's about as modern as you can get. brought right up inline with the youth of today and cataloging every on the internet and trying to be the next viral star.
This is another version like the 1993 one to stray far away from the source material. It does however have the pod person scream back in it, except greatly over acted (and CGI'd).
Also again, as from The Invasion, I wouldn't exactly call these pod people as they don't really grow from plant like pods. There is once again no Bennells, Bellicecs or Kaufmans in this version either. There is however a small town setting like the 1956 version. I'll tell you more details on the film as i review it.

So lets get on with the review, like the earlier films we see this organism make it's way through space to our planet. It's like tiny black spores to begin with, these cover quite a few thing around the village like apples etc and people dismiss it as green/black fly.
It's later when they seem to join together and create larger organisms that the real game changer begins. Once bitten by one of these tiny creatures the creature will then 'pod up' and grow a blank new you. The then newly birthed you will be a blank that ruthlessly hunts down the original you, once caught they just some physical contact for a small amount of time.
Once you have been touched for the allotted amount of time your brain is then downloaded into the new you, sans emotions.

Randy and Zach are two teenage boys who have a 'YouTube' channel, they stumble upon a great idea to attach small cameras to themselves and film their time around town. They initially want to show how boring it is in the quiet place but things seem to slowly ramp up for them.
One by one the towns people are slowly turned into these clone copies like most of the other films. The two lads try too persuade people before it's to late, due to this day and age of pranks and photo shopping people don't believe them. This is strengthened due to the fact they have a YouTube channel too, though throughout the movie they do garner help from a few people.
Unfortunately by near the end most of them are either dead or assimilated, the fact with this film is you don't even need to be asleep. Once the monster, creature or amalgamation thing has taken your DNA it WILL make a copy of you. All it takes is a simple prolonged touch to drain your memories then the original you drops dead. These clones do the screech/scream like the 78 and 93 versions and where I did give this film points for low CGI usage, this part uses unneeded CGI elongating their jaw and mouth so they can do this screech.

It does end rather bleakly but with a small message of hope that does seem a little redundant by the end of the movie as what do 3 people here or 4 people somewhere else hope to do vs millions?
It's not a brilliant film but does things better than The Invasion, but then also a few things worse too. The one thing I do take from all of these films is that they certainly show and use tropes and story ideas directly from their time, thus are a great watch if you want insight into that era's hopes and fears. So THN awards Assimilate with a standard 2 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Invasion (2007)

Stars: Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman


Budget: $65-80 Million

Directed By: Oliver Hirschbiegel

The fourth film based on the novel and now third
remake of the 1956 version. Now is the 2000s
it's time to be edgier and sharper than ever before
cut out body-snatchers completely!
lets just go The Invasion, that's enough, we are
on borrowed time here, a sense of urgency that
all 2000's films now need to have.
How much can we pack in in our allotted time?

Action, story, horror we need to get it all in there,
along with a budding bleaker than ever outlook
that seems to take another ten years to fully take
over movie land.
This film however had A LOT of problems which hiked up its production cost. Number one was Kidman's massive $17 million paycheck. Second was extensive re-shoots after initial screening running into $10 million more on the already inflated budget. These re-shoots were done by a completely different director too. Not only that the re-writes were also done by the Wachowskis, these were done to increase action scenes and ad a new ending. Not only that 13 month delays also harmed this films release too. It's not all doom and gloom though this film did use amazing camera angles, also enclosed spaces to make scenes feel surreal and claustrophobic. This was instead of CGI as  was Hirschbiegel's vision, despite the re-shoots still were kept in.
                                                                                                                                                                 
Also despite all this it does unlike the last film go back to using more of the earlier films ideas, but changing the main thing which we'll touch on soon, so lets get into how this version plays out.

The main change is at the beginning of the film. A space craft breaks up and crashes back to earth after a mission. Each of these pieces may or may not have a fungus on board the part that infects differently to how the pods infect. Now its always inside you if your infected but if you reach REM sleep the fungus is then able to take over your body.
This is of course a big step away from cloning a new emotionless you from a plant based pod, so you can't even call these pod people!
We do also get a lot a of familiar names such as Kaufman, Bennell and bellicec except none of roles are who they are in any of the previous movies. The closest is Kidman as Doctor Carol Bennell.

Shes a still a doctor and gets word of mouthed by a patient Wendy Lenk (played by Veronica Cartwright from the 782 version, a nice nod like having McCarthy guest appear was in the 78" version), that some people she knows aren't acting like they used too. She also notices one of her sons friends acting detached also.
She finds other evidence such as strange patches of skin on some people too, though she believes it's linked to a new strain of flu. As one of the first people infected and also Carols Ex-husband Tucker Kaufman uses the CDC to spread the virus even further saying it's a flu vaccine.
I feel like this is perhaps a stab at no vaccination people or maybe vice versa, whether it is or not it certain is a fear tool in the film. As loads of people take the vaccine in fear against the new flu.

Ben Driscoll (Craig) who was working on the patch of skin finds the spores, he and a colleague discover that the spores are taking over people who enter REM sleep. They also discover that some brain diseases such as ADEM or encephalitis prevent the virus from maturing in the brain.
Carol's son Oliver suffered from ADEM as a young child, which makes him immune, due to this Carol thinks that her son may hold a chance at a cure.
They see a few of Ben's friends turn in front of them, then Carol goes to get her son from Tuckers house. She's caught by him and a few other infected people where they (do the old trope of) try to persuade her that their way is better. When she refuses to accept it willingly he forcefully infects her anyway, she escapes heading back to Ben without Oliver.

They both escape after being chased, then make their way to a fort in Baltimore where other scientists are working to make a cure too. Carol gets a text off Oliver with his location, Ben and her separate to get him. They find him in Tuckers Mothers apartment, Carol manages to rescue him but has to kill Tucker in the process.
She asks Ben to meet her but almost falls asleep until Oliver keeps her awake, unfortunately when Ben arrives Carol realises he's succumbed to the virus too. He tries to persuade Carol to convert but he says they will have to eradicate all people like Oliver she shoots him in the leg and then escapes.

I'll leave it there but I will say this version too has a happy ending as it was still kind of popular at the time to have a hopeful ending in things. It's okay these days to have a bleak ending if you want just like back in the 70's and 80's it may go out of fashion again, who knows.

The Invasion is not a bad film, it's also not good but if you like the snatchers type films it might be worth your time. if not give it a miss, THN awards The Invasion 2007 2 strong stars out of 5.

Review: Body Snatchers (1993)

Stars: Gabrielle Anwar, Forest Whitaker

Budget: $13 million

Directed By: Abel Ferrara

The Third iteration of the novel and second remake of the 1956 classic Invasion of the body snatchers. born in a time called the 90's where film was ever evolving into the shit storm its become today.
It suffered from THE SHORTENING where it's title was cut down to make the film sound more edgy and appeal to the new age where everything word wise was becoming shorter or abbreviated thanks to the internet. With the likes of LOL's and ROFL's quickly becoming the new way to communicate with people in online chat-rooms.

The resurgence of happy ending films rife in the box office also may have some effect on this movie. Still with a serious tone but with a message thrown in that USA wasn't going to this conformity shit sitting down!
What do i mean?
You'll see as I get to end of this review how the 70's version bleak outlook and ending just wouldn't do in this day and age!
This iteration is serious, sexy and hopeful everything that 90's movies embodied. Staring some of the newest up and comers who were willing to do their best no matter the movie damn it!
Gabrielle Anwar is our titular heroine just like the first remake a reasonably strong female character but also as a nineties piece of eye candy too as was the formula of those films. This version is considerably shorter than most others too clocking in at only 86 mins.
The 90's version also takes a large step away from the source material with it's characters too, no Bennell's or Belicec's. The setting is also slightly altered to a military base too. The main storyline of alien pods copying their subjects into emotionless clones and how we deal with it is still forefront though. This film also features early appearances by Forest Whitaker and Jen Tilly's sister Meg too.

So this adaptation we join a scientist sent to a military base with his family the Malones, Steve the father, a daughter from a previous marriage (Anwar) Marti, his wife and young son Andy. Steve has been sent to research adverse effects on the base. While travelling there Marti is attacked in a gas station and we are introduced very early on to the fact there's something wrong. The soldier is paranoid but he see's that Marti is scared he calms down and warns her about going to sleep.

Marti makes friends with another girl called Jenn on the base, Andy seems to have a harder time as he's made to feel an outsider by the bases daycare. He runs away but is picked by Tim a helicopter pilot, of course Tim and Marti hit off it's a 90's film!
Steve is approached by another medical officer Major Collins asking if the base could be having any effects like Narcophobia (fear of sleep). He believes if there's toxic links in the soil the effects would be more physiological than psychological.

Later in the night Marti and Jenn go to a bar where she meets Tim, She also see's the soldier from the gas station but he is acting strange and says he's never met her. That night while we see soldiers picking up pods out of a nearby river Andy goes into his mothers room only to see her crumble to dust. Her naked clone steps from the shadows making Andy run but when he tries to tell people no one believes him. The next night Marti and Steve are almost taken over too, Carol attempts to reason with Steve and his scientist side.
Explaining that all is clarity with an end to confusion and all other emotions it's a better way of living. He seems to be accept this somewhat but is dragged away by Marti and Andy, we then get this versions 'shriek'. It's not as soul destroying as the 78 version to me but i'm glad they kept in at least.

The rest of the infected people on the base come screaming out to try and capture Andy, Marti and their father. Marti and Andy hide in a warehouse while Steve goes to try and contact for help. Unfortunately in Collins office he meets a distraught Collins who exclaims its already to late, backed up by the fact that the phone-lines are blocked. Pod people show up and Steve hides, he listens in as they try to convert Collins over to their side with the same lines. Collins shoots himself in the head.

Steve comes back to his kids claiming to lead them to a way to escape in a vehicle but Marti believes her father has been turned into one of the clones. She swerves the car off the road attempting to escape with her brother Andy. She bumps into Tim as their father chases them, she grabs his gun shooting her former father multiple times.
Heading back into the heart of the base Tim attempts to steal a helicopter, unfortunately Marti and Andy are taken while he does. They are taken to where the remaining humans are being processed where they are sedated. When Tim goes to rescue Marti her almost complete doppelganger tries to persuade him to join her. Quickly ripping off the tendrils that connect the two of them her copy dies waking up the real Marti, they escape to try and Andy.

They bump into Jenn on the way out while both of them are trying the old trick of acting emotionless. except Marti betrays herself when Jenn mentions Andy, Jenn does the typical scream to alert the other duplicates to where they are. They both run towards the helicopter and Andy magically run out of nowhere to join them in escaping. Unfortunately while they are lifting off Andy goes mad trying to make them crash the vehicle. upset and distraught Marti fights her brother off ending up kicking him out of the helicopter, sending him falling screaming in the clones scream as he does.

I won't spoil any further but this one does end on a lighter note and hope that the invasion is stopped (despite a few pick up lines Carol mentions earlier on in the film) which i find is very reminiscent of films of the time, like independence day, the day after tomorrow etc. despite the bleak there's always hope that humans can fight back.
Invasion 93 might not be the best remake out of them all but it's a good midway point and unfortunately possibly one the last 'okay' entries in the series. In saying that THN awards Body Snatchers (1993) a strong 3 out of 5.

Review: In the Tall Grass (2019)

Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rachel Wilson

Budget: 5m+

Directed By: Vincenzo Natali

Based on a book/novella written by Stephen King and Joe Hill. Was shown at Fantastic Fest earlier in the year then recently put on Netflix.
Probably one of the many films bought up by Netflix around a number of film festivals at that time.
Possibly also due to the rumor that it went a little over $5m budget then Netflix stepped in to help it into festivals. But that's just things I've heard on the grapevine, which may or may not be true.
James Marsden was also toted for the role of Patrick Wilsons, Ross Humbolt.

When 6 month pregnant Becky DeMuth (Laysla De Oliveira) and her brother Cal (Avery Whitted) pull over near a tall grass field when she feels a little ill, they hear a young boy shouting for help from within.
Cal and Becky go in to try help the boy (Tobin) find his way out. They quickly become aware that the field is not all what it seems to be. They realise this when their voice seem to be coming from different directions despite them standing still to call out to each other. Each one finds another member of a family who appears to have gone in before them, Becky finds Tobins father Ross, Cal finds Tobin himself.
Things quickly go wrong for both of them and it appears that Becky dies, then Cal vanishes. What seems like ages outside of the grass, we see Travis (Becky's Ex) played by Harrison Gilbertson who is now searching for Becky. He asks a gas station attendee but she seems to not know.
He drives near the area Cal and Becky stopped seeing their vehicle by a dilapidated church (where Cal Parked up so the could go into the field). He also hears people shouting for help from within the field too then goes in to look for them.
It seems things keep repeating in and out of linear time within the field, we also find out if you die in the field your body stays in the same place and doesn't move anymore. Later we see Ross has been possessed by some weird stone that resides in the middle of the field which he says has shown him the true meaning of the field. In horror movie speak turned him into a nutty killer. In and out of sequence the people meet then team up to try to survive the killer grass maze, they even come across a weird bowling arena at one point to take refuge.

Okay so Travis has come looking for Becky because outside the field they've been missing for about 2 months. He is the father and Cal hates him, no one is good enough for his little sister (almost to a sexual degree too). This movie has a great idea but it spoiled by numerous things throughout its run time, the run time being one its a little long and inflated to me.
The rock plot-line is a tad weird too it might have been a good idea to just keep it to the grass sending someone mad perhaps. The main thing for me though I really try to stop it clouding my judgement of films with it included. Peril to babies, this film goes one step beyond for me in that respect with the death of a NEW BORN baby.
It's ultimately a story-line of redemption and doing the right thing that ultimately gets them out of their pickle in the end. It's okay I suppose and if you have the 1hr 41mins to spare i'm sure most people won't get hung up on the baby stuff like i did.

THN awards In the Tall Grass 2 out of 5 that's me being trying to ignore the baby stuff as much as possible.

Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Stars: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter

Budget: $416k

Directed By: Don Siegel

Originally a novel and possibly one of the most done story lines of all time. Just this alone is probably one of the most remade films of all time. But then who can blame it?
The thought of everyone being a hive mind of sorts and no individuality is a terrifying aspect to most people.

Every version has aspects of the times paranoia, such as cold war, conformity and being taken over. Almost versions show people being taken over by a plant like organism, a pod, tendrils or tiny plant copying it's subject with all memories looks etc but devoid of emotion.  It's interesting to see how each take on the movie is dealt with, especially of its time period. Some bleak others hopeful.
I've done reviews for similar films in the past like puppet masters, also originally a novel too, you'll find it in my history to the right.

Directed by Don, or Donald Siegel who most people these days might only recall from such films as Dirty Harry and/or Escape from Alcatraz.

It stars Kevin McCarthy who most people should still know these days he's been in a lot of films and TV series's throughout his lifetime. What a lifetime too born 1914 and died 2010 he acted right up until his death (beyond even, as the grand inquisitor in the ghastly love of Johnny X in 2012). McCarthy also pops up in the 70's version of the film too as a cameo, as a 'running man'.
His female co-star Dana Wynter was not well known and didn't go on to do anything notable other than TV roles, some quite prominent in later years such as Magnum PI and Hawaii 5-0.

Lets get on with the movie itself now, this particular iteration starts somewhat near the end of the movie. With our hero Dr Miles Bennell (McCarthy) recounts his story to a doctor, Dr Hill willing to listen to his story.
He begins by telling him that there was a strangely high number of cases of Capgras delusion happening in his town. (this is a delusion where you think someone close to you has become 'different' or isn't the same person, there's more to it than that but that's the gist of it).
Miles later bumps into Becky Driscoll (Wynter) an old flame, typically she's been divorced, a cousin of hers believes her uncle Ira has also been replaced.
His friend & psychiatrist (Kauffman) butts in, to suggest it could have just been the start of mass hysteria. Such as one person hearing something then believing it's happening to them spreads like wildfire.

Placated Miles returns home, that night a friend of his Jack finds a body which is almost an exact replica of him, yet its not quite fully formed. They find another one later on an exact copy of Becky, Miles gets Kauffman to come and take a look but when they do the bodies have mysteriously vanished, he accuses Miles of believing in the same hysteria.
The next night Miles, Jack, Becky along with Jacks wife stay together at Bennells. They once more find copies of themselves emerging from giant seed pods in Miles greenhouse (an amusing note here, these pod are used in many films and TV series's as props or background decoration such as Gremlins 2 and Eerie Indiana). They finally come to the conclusion that these pods are copying people when they sleep, when Miles attempts to contact further higher authorities he is told all lines are busy.
They send Jack and Teddy to a neighboring town to seek help with their predicament. Moving around town Miles and Becky soon come to realise most if not all of the town has been replaced. They go and hide out at Miles office where they try to spend night staying awake.

They are alerted by loud vehicle noises which when they look outside they see large trucks delivering loads of the pods. They overhear that these are to be distributed to nearby towns in an effort to take them over too. Both Kauffman and Jack have been turned into pod people now, they attempt to deliver new pods to Bennells office to take them over.
They both try to convince Miles and Becky that the pods are for the best, they come from outer space and take over any planets by copying their inhabitants. Once all copied the now emotionless people exist in harmony free from war and conflict. Miles see's this as an affront to humanity getting into a fight with Kauffman and the others him and Becky escape his office. They pretend to be copied by appearing emotionless, however Becky exposes them as she accidentally calls out when a dog is almost run over, they are once again chased.

Tired and exhausted both of them manage to get to and hide inside a mine on the outskirts of town. Delirious from tiredness Miles hears some noise fearing he goes to check what it is. He see's another farm where people are loading trucks with the giant green seed pods. He runs back to Becky who's acting a little strange, when he receives an emotionless kiss from her he realizes that she has been taken over while he was gone.
She quickly reveals him to the others and he runs off from her, again he's chased by a giant mob again. He makes his way to a highway seeing a truck of pods on its way out of town. He does the line most famous in this film to all the people around.
"They're here already!, you're next, you're next!"

I don't usually spoil things here unless films are seriously bad and not worth watching but this film is so old and still worth watching even if you know the ending.
So the flashback ends with Miles back in the office with Dr Hill, despite all the describing Dr Hill still does not believe Miles. Dismissing his story as nightmarish ramblings.
That is until the truck driver is brought in after being in a crash with people saying the man had to be dug out of loads of plant like pods. Believing Miles now they call the authorities and have the town sectioned off with barricades.
This version tells a somewhat hopeful story that they managed to stop the invasion before it got to far, it keeps some of the paranoia that we could lose our individualism but ties it up in a bow that if we keep fighting we'll be okay.
50's films were rarely bleak this is still an era in filming where a lot of stories were still hopeful even in the face of adversity, no truer than in early american films too, I feel this ages the film and it does show (though the original cut did not have the truck crash just loads of pod bearing trucks driving past Miles). We will see in the future remakes if this stance holds up!
THN gives Invasion of the body snatchers 1956, a strong 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Stars: Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland

Budget: $3.5 million

Directed By: Philip Kaufman

The first remake of the first film over twenty years later, still based on the novel of the same name too. Making this is the second attempt at telling the story in what has very recently become the the fifth time.

This film was heavy in it's cast too, with the likes of Leonard Nimoy of star trek/Spock fame. Donald Sutherland with a massive acting career under his belt, a young up and coming Jeff Goldblum as well as Angela Cartwright.
Both Siegel and McCarthy have brief cameo's in this movie too, i like that as it shows respect for what came before.

The direction of this movie is directly bleak compared to the first right from the start also much much more serious in tone that the 1956 counterpart. It's not told in flashback this time, We are told right from the beginning that the gelatinous stuff that falls from the atmosphere is the alien organism and that it has fled a dying planet. It lands on plants and takes the form of a small pod with a pink flower. The roles of people in this film are much more of their time as well. with the women in good jobs or just not screaming to be saved every five minutes.
For a start Becky Driscoll is now Elizabeth and she's a lab technician at San Francisco health department, Bennell now Matthew instead of Miles is her co-worker. Instead of Kauffman, we have David Kibner (played by Nimoy) who has a bigger role of having the both the doctor side of Miles character and psychiatrist character now rolled into one.
The Belicec's are basically the same husband and wife friends with also slightly enhanced roles, played by Cartwright and Goldblum. One of the major changes in this film and something that still freaks me out even watching it to this day is the screams of the cloned pod people. It's so freaky and scary, it's also something i'm sure has moved to all of the other remakes from this point too.

As stated this film starts as it means to go on with a bleak story of the Alien gel coming to earth. If possible even with the last film being in black and white, the washed out monochrome of this film lends to the darker tone of this remake. The gel settles on plants and begins to imitate it by taking on a small pod like form with a pink flower.
Driscoll finds one of these plants and takes it home, where she and her boyfriend (Geoffrey) find it an odd little specimen. The two are obviously in love too. Later that night they both go to bed.
In the Morning its clearly obvious that something has happened to Geoffrey in the night too as he seems very cold and distant towards Liz. She does dismiss it it and goes about her daily business.
She talks to her Co-worker Bennell about it that day, a little concerned he gives her the address of where David Kibner is giving a talk on his new book. She explains to him the situation, he puts it down to her wanting to take her relationship slower.

Jack Belicec calls Bennell to come to his wife's (Nancy) mud parlour where they have found a half deformed/malformed version of himself. piecing the information together with what Elizabeth said earlier he rushes to her place.
Just in the nick of time too, as he finds a semi formed duplicate of her there too. Rushing to the police to warn them, they actually get them to come and check both Jack and Liz's duplicates. Unfortunately they have vanished.
Elizabeth find evidence that it may be the flower she found, checking the databases she finds no traces of the flowers genus at all. The movie very quickly escalates from here, as Matt tries unsuccessfully to warn other places. When they are nearly all copied again in the night they find out the local police are also duplicated.

They all go on the run but slowly and surely are all assimilated one by one until only Bennell and Elizabeth remain. They meet back up with Nancy who they originally think is taken, she's not she's just been acting without emotions to blend in. They all do as she does but Elizabeth gets freaked out when she see's a dog with a mans face alerting others to their status.
they get separated from Nancy but manage to escape on a truck, where turning bad to worse is stocked full of pods. Intending them to be shipped worldwide now, while Matt goes to look for a boat the can escape on Liz can no longer hold out and falls asleep. Matt arrives just in time or perhaps to late and see's Liz's copy arise, distraught he burns the warehouse down.
He's chased by some pod people but manages to hide under the docks, though they taunt him by saying he can't hold out forever and will fall asleep.

I won't spoil the end of this one but it's bleak and has an amazing little twist just to show it too, I love it and hate it at the same time. It's one of them rare occasions that a remake is better than the original.
THN awards the 1978 IotBS's a great 5 out of 5 political stuff aside it is still tense, paranoid and just as scary as it's ever been.

Review: The Faculty (1998)

Stars: Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood

Budget: $15 million

Directed By: Robert Rodriguez

Back to the 90s and a teen horror film
that exists thanks to power of scream.
The resurgence of teen slasher allowed
a number of high school based horror
films rode high into the box office.
Featuring a cast of actors fresh from other roles, or on their way to big time.
(Elijah Wood auditioned for LotR while
filming this!). Famke Jansen fresh from
James Bonds big comeback Goldeneye,
Jason Patrick as the T1000 in T2.
Old Robert Rodriguez was still pretty fresh faced here too. His subtle comedic tones still visible.

The film in my eyes also takes a LOT
of things from other films. Mismatched
kids like breakfast club, invasion of the
Body Snatchers and in particular
the amazing scene from The Thing. Where they are testing to see which one is an alien with the drugs is such a homage to the testing scene with the hot wire in the blood.

So what's the premise here?
It's a sci-fi horror not a slasher, some weird alien brain controlling prawns take over a small town.
Our band of disjointed youths come together over with common cause to defeat said menace.
It features all the usual tropes such as disbelieving parents/authority figures. People you think you can trust who you can't and a big twist at the end.
Don't take faculty seriously like some of the other teen films out at the time. This movie firmly has its tongue planted in cheek the whole way. Yes there's some scares and twists and turns but this film has comedy at its heart too.

I think some missed this point back in the day though. I say give it a second chance now and watch it from a new perspective.
THN awards the faculty 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Scream (1996)

Stars: Skeet Ulrich, Neve Campbell

Budget: $14 million

Directed By: Wes Craven

Many years before his untimely end horror master Craven did something awesome in the
world of horror films. He brought back the slasher genre, albeit with slightly new updated rules.
The Teens wouldn't be as clueless as before, this would be a generation that had grown up watching those horror films they are now (unknowingly)staring in.
The killers wouldn't be invincible unstoppable killing machines, they would be sneaky, careful, human which would above all make them prone to mistakes.
With no skull crushing super strength or ability to absorb bullets and keep going, you'd think that'd make for a poor killer?
Wrong it served up a more tense, visceral feeling and above all allowed these teens the ability to fight back against their killer. Making it all the more relieving or hard hitting if they lived or died. As mentioned these kids had seen all types of horror movies. Some even referencing scenes or effects used in some of the great and popular scenes from those movies, such as evil dead (corn syrup anyone?).
We even have one teen who's a total horror buff, more on that later though. As mentioned effects play a big role in this film with scream possibly being one of the last times where most of them would be practical special effects for nearly everything which for me adds to the visceral nature of the movies kills.

The film was also a stage for one Drew Barrymore to regain her footing in acting after a turbulent teens saw her go a little off the rails. Though her part is small she's got so much presence and experience from years of acting that it's well delivered. It also starred some other moderately famous faces such as Courtney Cox (she met future husband David Arquette on set too), coupled with a few newer up and comers, Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan who were mostly just TV stars at the time.
This film certainly opened a lot of door for a lot of people, so it should have to it really did refresh and bring back the tired slasher genre.
It spawned 3 sequels too, though many people didn't like these for various reasons, they each weren't as good as the last except for maybe part 2 though each do have their own merits too. Like them talking about sequel tropes in the follow up movies, but that will be for another time when we do the later entries. It also pretty much started off the whole scary movie franchise too.

The film starts with one of the best openings, a simple phone call, a trope that would be used in countless horror movies from then on. Casey (Barrymore) receives a phone call from what seems like a student who has the hots for her. While she's waiting for the popcorn to pop on the stove.
It quickly takes a turn for the worse as the speaker starts spouting lewd, rude and disgusting things to her while shes on the phone. Especially the now iconic Do you like scarey movies? Casey states that her boyfriend is coming over soon and he'll kick whoever's ass this is on the phone.
The voice states is that the same boyfriend who is now held captive, she turns on the light as told seeing he is indeed tied to a chair in the back garden. They force her to try and answer questions about scary movies to save his life. She fucks up and refuses to answer any more questions, bad move. They kill the boyfriend, invade her house and chase her with the now iconic ghost mask and suit on, the killer kills her just before she can get to her returning parents. Which they then find her mutilated corpse swinging, hung from a tree on their return home.
Across town one Billy Loomis (yes in homage to Halloween) sneaks into his girlfriend's bedroom Dawson's Creek style. A bit upset that Sidney won't put out he goes to leave, they are almost caught by Sidney's father who comes to tell her he's going to be out of town for a while.

The next day like vultures the media rain down on the small town eager for a story, One reporter Gail Weathers knows more about the towns shady past.
Sidney Prescott who's mother was a murder victim only a year before. She believes that the man Sidney identified as the killer (Cotton Weary) is not to blame also.
With the police investigating and class cancelled we see the whole gang together, Sidney&Billy, Tatum (Rose), Randy (the horror movie buff played by Jaime Kennedy) and Stu the ex of Casey (Matthew Lillard).
They talk about the killing Sidney gets a little upset in the mean time. She works out to stay at Tatum's while her father is out of town.

Sidney initially goes home to pack a few items when her cell/mobile phone rings. Bad mouthing her mother about why she was killed the killer springs out on Sidney.
She gets to her bedroom where she does the lock trick then rings the police. Literally minutes later Billy climbs through her window asking what's wrong.
His phone however has fallen out of his pocket and Sidney accuses him of being the caller. He tries to explain (see these were early cell/mobile phone days not everyone had one) but Sidney goes running from the house right into the police who where coming to investigate.
They take both her and Billy down to the station for questioning. Here we meet Dewey (Arquette) Tatum's older brother and also the deputy. He's not considered the brightest spark in the box and everyone talks down to him, including Tatum.

Tatum foes to take Sidney home but they are stopped by the nosey Gail. She wrote an exposé on her mother's murder and about Cotton. She believe Sidney is wrong again and the murders may be linked.
While at Tatum's Sidney receives another phone call stating she has the wrong guy again. This acquits Billy of being responsible for attacking her. The next day in school he berates her for accusing him of being capable of murder. She doesn't take to kindly to it and ignores him and walks off. School ends and despite a curfew a big party is called for. Gail once again tries to talk to Sidney but she is stopped by Dewey, strangely the two seem to hit it off.

In the party Sidney spots Billy they talk and she decides to forgive him and that maybe she's been a bit selfish. He's always been there for her and she decides to take him upstairs for sex.
Meanwhile Tatum is murdered by the killer in the garage as she tries to escape his clutches. A lot of kills happen in quick succession now. After Billy and Sidney have sex the killer rushes in and stabs Billy repeatedly in the back. Sidney escapes again to warn Dewey who subsequently gets knifed up too. Gail almost runs Sidney over but avoiding her crashes her van into a tree seemingly dead too.
Sidney gets back into the house where Stu and Randy still are. Stu is accusing Randy of being a killer but Randy just wants to get away, Sidney once again has to make a choice.

Now there's still a good chunk of the film left but I can't spoil anymore because literally at that moment is one of the massive twists of the movie. If your not good at working things out or love twists this would be a massive spoiler for you and also THN doesn't spoil films unless they are very very bad. So we'll leave it there and THN will award Scream the highest of standards 5 out of 5 with an intense watch it if you haven't before. Some times in the future we'll delve into Scream 2 is it any good?

Review: Silver Stars on Red Velvet (2019)

Cast: Max Caudell, Laura Shalotte            

Budget: $6000

Directed By: RJ Cusyk

So I got given an early copy of Decades Apart Productions newest film, Silver Stars on Red Velvet. sent over from my good friend RJ Cusyk, this of course won't change any views I have of the film you always get honest reviews from THN.

As usual it is what is commonly known as a micro budget movie generally anything under 100k is regarded as that these days.
RJ has previously warned me that 23 actors refused to star in the film. It's crazy that it's been 3 years since through the devil's eyes that's madness!. So the budget for that was $1500 so with 4x that 3 years later let's see what we get now.

Things I liked.
RJ has an amazing way of telling a very coherent story. Despite the restrictions that a micro budget movie can sometimes inflict.
It's clear (as was in Through the Devil's) that some actors aren't in the same place at the same time, or it seems like that at least. Yet (even though this is obvious in some scenes) the story moves on reasonably well (more on that later).
The soundtrack is great which helps pull certain emotions at the right time, such as feeling tense/suspense.
As with the last film Silver stars this is also not set in modern day it's in the mid 90s, this is why you'll not see mobile/cell phones being used. I think this helps add to tension in some points too.
I was initially worried about the acting as in the first scene seemed a little wooden, with delayed delivery. This was quickly remedied in the rest of the film.
Going back to the time period used in the film I loved little nods to era with things like a Pepsi bottle from that time, or the pulp fiction poster. All things like this add to the overall feel and believability, I'm personally interested to see if anyone even picks up on these things.
Mainly because in Devil's eyes some people didn't seem to realise it wasn't set in modern day either. Comedy was goofy and on point here as well, something I'm also interested to see if people pick up on. You see I'm sure knowing RJ that his characters asking actresses for a blowjob is a tongue in cheek way of viewing how things 'USED' to be in show business. I'm sure some people will easily misconstrue this as misogynistic or some other snowflake crap.

Now the things I didn't like, at the start of the film there's a grainy grey filter over the whole film for a little while this made things, in my opinion a little to dark.
Was it meant?, Was it something I missed that alluding to something? I'm not sure.
The typical night to day changes from scene to scene, I know it's a low budget thing, others I do know complain about it unfortunately.
Now the story-line, as I've said RJ is good at stringing a cohesive story together. What unfortunately doesn't help with this film is it's sense of urgency. These people are being stalked, killed, almost killed and seem pretty nonchalant about it until near the end of the film. Like oh you were nearly killed, ah don't worry about it lets get on with our day.
I'm sure this is to help pad out run time a little, I'm also 100% sure there's more of a comedy element to it too. It just might not be everyone's cup of tea and I can see it annoying some people. Oh and I'm no fuddy duddy or Mr do right but everyone who does smoke seems to be on at least a 40 a day habit, if you see someone without a cigarette it's a rare occurrence, but that's my own personal gripe. That's about it for dislikes.

Actor wise great choices, Max is a very relatable everyman, no rippling muscles, just a guy living in that era's world.
Laura is beautiful, naturally she is no stick thin model she is a real woman. Great line delivery.
Micheal as dick was a little odd and off at points, but I think this is due his character and the fact that I'm sure a lot of his lines/scenes were filmed without the other person there.
I loved Joseph as the detective wish we'd seen a bit more of him, great strong character and comedy relief.
Abigail was good a bit underused would have liked a bit more backstory on her, that was one flaw I did find, it's like no one knows who she is then everyone suddenly realises they did know her some way.

Main plot is basically Alexander (Max) is dating porn actress Madelyne (Laura). On the way home from a date one night a paparazzi is snapping pictures of them. He wanders out into the road and gets run over as a result of not paying attention.
The driver basically stalks them all film with twists and turns throughout, as well as killings. It's a very enjoyable way to waste 70minutes.
I always recommend that anyone working on low budget films look to others, too watch them and find ways to improve their own processes. Anyone looking to start out could certainly run to learn a thing or two from Decades Apart Productions.

the film is available Digital and DVD on October 29 through http://DecadesApartfilms.com

THN gladly awards this film a very solid 3 out of 5 stars, compared to Devil's eyes it's urgency is it's biggest flaw.

THN: Sequel It: Friday The 13th

Not everyone likes sequels, some people think some series's should have ended a while ago, others want more and/or aren't happy with where things were left off. This new series I intend to try publish 2 monthly i'll deal with trying to get the sequel people want, no reboots, re-imaginings etc just good old continuation. So in this is a new section where I gather knowledge from around internet including people I talk to, fan-fictions, as well as popular theories. Using these sources of knowledge I try to put together the sequel everyone's looking for. these wont be massive in-depth explanations (well I'll try not to), mostly bullet points (most of the time) also ultimately it is my views so it might not please everyone:

Return to Friday the 13th: Jason's Home

Cast: Thom Matthews as Tommy Jarvis
           Lar Park Lincoln as Tina Shepard
           Kimberly Beck as Trish Jarvis
           Dana Kimmell as Chris Higgins
           Kane Hodder as Jason
           Micheal Vorhees/anyone semi known
           Jane Vorhees/anyone semi famous
           Kelly Vorhees/any semi famous kid actor
           Tony Todd as Julius Duke
           Campsite people/random nobodies

I think this pretty much fulfills the casting options most of the characters people want to see, with returning faces everyone has asked for.

Synopsis
Ignoring Freddy vs. Jason, as some kind of separate entity or timeline, but set some time after part 9 but before X we join Micheal Voorhees. Micheal is a descendant of the Voorhees lineage, he has inherited the old Voorhees house.
He's heard of the stories and the deaths, he wants his family to have nothing to do with it, the house to be demolished then land sold on. Searching around the back yard he notices amongst the rusty remains of a jungle gym a dark discolored patch of grass. A mysterious something glints in the light of the sun.
Mysteriously drawn to it, we as the audience hear the infamous kill, kill, kill, Ma Ma Ma as he draws nearer. He sees the tiniest slither of metal protruding from the ground.  Digging through the dirt he pulls out an unassuming knife, that once properly in his grip transforms into a large blade.
It causes a cut on Micheal's hand, drops of blood splash to the ground. We see it, unknowingly to him being quickly absorbed into the dirt. He runs into the house where his wife, Jane and daughter Kelly fluster around him as he washes his hand. None of them notice the knife return to normal as Micheal places it on the side. Jane angrily remarks that the place is still taking blood, they escort him to the room to get him patched up.

Cut to the outside of a small town supermarket the sign reads Crystal Lake superstores, we head in to see the checkouts. Packing bags is an aged Tommy Jarvis, he smiles as he helps out customers. Some smile walking off, others nudge their friends saying about "the nutcase" helping out.
Despite most the past murders being attributed to Jason or his copycat's Tommy is still distrusted by others for being in and out of mental homes for so long. Jane Voorhees comes to the opposite till with Kelly in tow, she smiles at Tommy who waves. The attendant mentions that she's one of the new people that own the old Voorhees house.
Tommy's face quickly turns dark, overreacting he tells them to stay away from the house the killer Voorhees lived there. Tommy suddenly recoils when Jane mentions she is a Voorhees herself. They walk in a huff, Tommy is quickly called into the back his job threatened by the manager who states "he's already doing him a favor" Tommy apologizes.

That night we see Tommy doing his favorite hobby speaking on his CB radio, he talks about Jason and his fears of his return but he's more than ready this time. His shelves still hold his old mask paraphernalia. Cut to elsewhere we see a hand it's fingers tapping along a big sawed off shotgun that sits next to a CB radio (It's Julius Duke, Creighton's brother) a laugh (like only Tony Todd can do) rings out as he grabs the gun then leaves.

Back at the Voorhees house, it's now nighttime and now deserted, we travel through the front door to the back yard. a blood red circle appears in the discolored patch of discoloured grass. The dirt seems to start pouring in like an hourglass from the center of the circle (similar to the effects of the orange/red lights that came from Jason in part 9 they now start hitting the ground). suddenly a blackened tattered leather gloved hand erupts from the dirt, it's still faintly yellow but the fingertips are now gone showing almost fully skeletal tips. Then the whole arm clad in a charred cloth shirt with patches of gnarled skin showing through holes fully erupts from the hole. Some of the gnarled skin is badly burnt revealing sore looking charred red wet looking muscle underneath.
A second equally garbed arm plows through the opposite side the massive muscles flex. A malformed lump akin to the top of a deformed head pulls free looking up to the moonlit sky. (It's not the meatball look of part nine more like part 4 with all the previous damage still there, head axe wound scar, one eye missing due to Tommy's strike, the socket skeletal, burnt and fractured. All the rest of his skin taught, burnt almost like Freddy in the new nightmare film, (that's right a face reveal this early on!)
Pulling himself out totally we see him look around surveying the area like part 9 was only recent for him. His head with its rictus grin looks toward the hole. It does the lolling to one side in the puppy dog way he does trying to make sense. Dropping to his knees he thrusts one hand back into dirt hole. His superhuman muscles straining as he pulls forth a squealing demon of some kind. in it's grasp it holds a mask to its chest defiantly, its damaged to the level of part 7, yet sooty, slightly charred with the chevrons missing but still visible where they were, it's still distinctly his hockey mask. The demon hisses snapping at him but with a quick flick of his wrist the demons neck breaks. It drops the mask, retrieving his mask he places it on his face. The discarded demon dissolves into the ground. Jason turns to face the camera his one good eye full of rage. We then hear Jason's mothers voice.
"Kill them Jason, get your revenge none of them can survive, or they'll send you back to the bad place, mommy loves you dear"
With that he strides off into the night. Beginning credits roll something new from Alice Cooper but in the same vein as man behind the mask.

Trish Jarvis an old woman now lives alone, like Tommy she's never been able to have a stable relationship since that night with Jason. She's just always had trust issues. Despite being there that night living through it then watching Tommy kill the killer. She's also been unable to face her brother since. Especially since He'd been unable to believe that Jason was dead, yes there had been killers in his wake. Hell she'd even thought about getting in touch with him after the Roy incident, that was until Tommy went mad and got himself institutionalized again after scaring a bunch of kids. 

The agents came and explained to her that it had all been mostly delusional visions on his part. Especially after his then girlfriend tried to defend his innocence.

Reading a book in bed a loud sound from downstairs startles her, she goes down to have a look. Boom a cat startles her. She backs up right into Jason who attempts to grab her. She manages to fight back for a while escaping to the back shed. At some point she's grabbed her cellphone, hiding she tries to ring the police on the phone. She cries saying Tommy was right all along into the receiver just as his charred leather gloved hands crash through the walls. Trish drops the phone which Jason inadvertently steps upon as the officer on the end says "mam?"
He grabs her and strangles her to the ground until she dies. One old enemy down he strides off once more.

Tommy obliviously enters work the next day he frowns when all the workers turn to look at him, pale-faced. Looking towards where they were, on the TV there's a report that a woman named Trish Jarvis has been killed in a nearby town. His face drops and he rushes out despite protestations from the manager of the store, taking his pick-up truck he drives off. We see another car pull out to follow his from the parking lot.

We next see the Voorhees couple dropping Kelly off to the new camp ground. Its called Higgins camp. They tell her it's only for a few days while they go back to help clear the old house. We see, though she was last seen in a hysterical state at the end of part 3, Chris Higgins She now owns and runs the new camp for children along with younger teen counselors.
She does a slight double take at Kelly's last name, but then thinks nothing of it as she shows Kelly and her parents around the camp, then to her own group. Her parents say their goodbyes then leave.

Her parents return to the house to begin removing any salvageable or worth anything from their new acquired abode. Micheal hears some creaking and scratching noise from a nearby wall it stops and they just think it's animals. Jason suddenly crashes through the wall as they begin talking and enjoying themselves. The special knife which was on the side goes flying across the floor.
"Holy shit it can't be!" Micheal screams.
We see how different Micheal's side of the family is as he hopelessly tries to reason with him. He says that they to are all Voorhees and that this can finally be put all the bad behind them, he can even be part of their family.
Jason seems to stand there listening until Micheal gets too close, then Jason grabs him. Drawing him into a mighty bear hug Jason crushes him forcing blood to spray from his mouth, Jane smashes Jason across the back with the sweeping brush handle. He drops an almost dead Micheal, to turn on her. On the floor he spots the knife, using all his effort he drags his crushed body forwards.
Picking up the snapped part of the handle Jason grabs Jane by the neck. He lifts her up then pins her to the wall almost instantly killing her as she feebly touches the handle before her head droops. Micheal is still trying to crawl towards the knife he found outside, he still doesn't know it's special he just wants a weapon.
Jason steps on his hand Micheal screams as the bones crush in the process. He picks up the knife which has no reaction to his touch, Micheal looks up muttering please as Jason thrusts the knife into the top of his head. He places both corpses in the basement just as loud engines rev outside.
Two large JCB's begin to destroy the house burying Jason and the two corpses in the basement in the process.

In the next town over Tommy barges into the sheriffs office, even they know who he is and warn him to keep calm or they'll arrest him. They play the recording from Trish's phone call for him, he breaks down as he hears his sister voice for the first time in years. Even more so when she says sorry for not believing all those times.
"I'll kill him Trish, for you this time for good" He shouts.
The police ask him if he wants to identify the body, he says he knows his sisters voice and that's good enough for him. They tell him not to go causing problems it's probably just another copycat killer there's been no confirmed sightings of Jason for twenty years or more.
Tommy just nods then turns to leave.
"That's what they want you to believe, he's back Sheriff you know it just as well as I do" He says before he walks out of the station.
He's taken aback suddenly as he notices a cowboy hat wearing man stood leaning against his pick up truck. He looks up with a smile at Tommy.
"Tommy Jarvis, in the flesh" he sneers
"Listen I don't have the time"
"Jason he's returned hasn't he?" The man says more seriously.
Tommy asks who he is, He introduces himself as Julius Duke, telling him he's sorry about his sister. Tommy up to date on all things Jason asks if he's the brother of Creighton Duke. Smiling Julius says his brother would have asked a price for that kind of information. He then explains that he's not as severe as his brother. Though yes many years ago his brother and some Voorhees descendant did fight off Jason in some big battle. All he knows it involved some special knife that could kill the evil inside Jason.
The only way he'd have found some way of making it back would have involved the knife and another relative. If that is the case he'll be stronger than ever now. Tommy tells him about about the two Voorhees relatives getting ownership of the house only a day or two ago. Asking if he is back can they kill him again the same way.
Julius shakes his head, saying he doesn't know if the knife will be strong enough on it's own to kill Jason a second time around, that it might also require more of a sacrifice for it too work now. Jason will know this and attempt to seek to kill them all first. Tommy says they should get to the Voorhees house and warn them about it all. Julius gets in Tommy's truck and they both drive off.

Back at the Voorhees house Jason manages to break his way out of the wreckage while the two drivers are taking a break, he kills them both with random tools.
"The accursed camp Jason, they play and ignore poor children there even to this day, go there, show them Jason"
Listening to mommy he then sets off.
While on his way to Higgins camp he comes across a frivolous couple having secret sex in the woods. As is customary in these movies, he kills them in some gruesome way then carries on his way to the camp.

Tommy along with Julius arrive at the destroyed Voorhees house, they find the dead JCB drivers stuffed into their vehicles. Hoping they aren't to late for the others. Julius spots a car in the not yet knocked down wooden garage. Fearing the worst the two men dig through some debris revealing the basement trapdoor.
Opening it they both descend into the darkness, turning on torches they are greeted by the corpses of the two Voorhees elders.
Julius exclaims they've been dead a while from different causes. Tommy says they had a daughter, she must be somewhere else considering she's not dead with her parents down there. Looking for more clues in their car Tommy finds the admission slip for Kelly to Higgins camp. Julius says they need to get her before Jason does. He frowns a little when Tommy says he needs to go to get something that will help them. Julius takes the Voorhees car saying he'll go to the camp to make sure Kelly is fine then. They both go their separate ways. However a nosey neighbor comes over to see what the madman Tommy and his creepy friend was doing and finds the corpses, she screams running back to call the police.

Chris Higgins is still paranoid from her night of terror, so when a car pulls up outside Higgins camp she reaches for her revolver. Moving out onto the porch she watches tentatively as Julius exits the vehicle.
"That's far enough" She says.
"No problem" Shouts Julius.
"You can keep the gun in your pants for now" He says too.
She frowns. He walks forwards explaining who he is and that he also knows who she is. She relaxes a little until he says about Jason being back.
"No, no he can't be he was killed years back" she says a little hysterically.
"I'm afraid he's back, it's all linked to a young girl you have here" He explains.
"It's that little Voorhees girl, Kelly isn't it" She knew the moment the girl came.
"We need to get everyone, especially her out of here!" Julius exclaims.
Suddenly a scream from across the green where the cabins are makes both of them look over towards the noise. Running out of the darkness screaming comes one of the young female counselors. A male follows close behind limping holding a cut up arm too.
He brutally cut down as from the shadows emerges the charred, scarred Jason Voorhees. Chris screams, Jason seemingly recognizing the sound of Chris's voice looks directly at her. Chris strides off of the porch drawing her handgun. All six shots squelch wetly into various sections of Jason, yet he seemingly shrugs them off without an ounce of care or pain.
"No, no, no you won't get me again" She backs up tripping backwards as Jason holds up a hand brandishing a newly found machete.
There's a deafening roar as Julius walks forwards swinging his duster coat open. Inside is the pearl handled sawed off shotgun, he rams it right into Jason's torso pulling both triggers at once.
Chunks of burnt rancid flesh along with the thickest black blood burst from Jason's back. The force of the blast sending him tumbling backwards onto the ground.

At the noise and gun shots the kids come running from their dorms in fear, screaming at Chris and crying.
"You need to snap out of it, get these kids to safety, especially the Voorhees kid"
We see Kelly go wide eyed at this mention.
"Yes, yes the bus i'll go and get it"
Julius begins to reload his weapon as Jason does his sudden sit up thing.
"Get behind me kids, especially the girl named Kelly Voorhees"
Getting to his feet supernaturally fast Jason strides towards the hapless group. Julius pulls up the shotgun again Jason has managed to close the gap inhumanly fast somehow, Jason bats the gun aside sending the double shot awry and flooring Julius. He goes to slash at a floored Julius who manages to dodge the first blow, as the modified school bus comes charging around the corner.
Painted in camp colours with the words Higgin's Camp! painted on the side too. It rams right into Jason. For a second time the monstrosity man is thrown from his feet as the front end crumples on his unnatural bulk.
Julius sorts himself out dusting himself down from the swipe. He begins to usher the kids onto the bus as Jason lays dormant. From out of the shadows two of the counselors come running too, a boy closely followed by a girl. Jason's hand whips out grabbing the boys ankle as he tries to pass, twisting his hand the lads ankle snaps. He falls screaming to the floor, Jason rises once more crushing the screaming boys face into the dirt as he does.
Already on the bus Julius reaches out for the girl grabbing her hands. Just as she's almost safely on board Jason manages to grab her ponytail. He yanks her hair back strongly, with a snapping noise her limp body falls from the bus.
"Put your damn foot down Chris" Julius shouts over the sounds of the children screaming.
Jason is left with the dead counselor at his feet and a torn ponytail in his hand as the bus speeds off.

Despite wanting to go straight to the Voorhees house Julius sees that taking a bus full of children isn't the best option. He agrees with Chris to take them to the sheriff's office, though skeptical they might even be able to get the police's help too.
Hearing the screaming the crying of children the sheriff comes out before they can even disembark. He spots Julius and draws his gun asking him to step away from the kids.
A man matching his and Tommy Jarvis description was called in for a multiple homicide earlier.
It's all panned out that the Voorhees kid will stay in the station until someone can pick her up. Chris refuses to go stating that Jason is back, she saw with her own eyes.
The deputy is to take the kids home while the sheriff and the other cop stay and watch their prisoner and Kelly.
"Look Chris something is going on, but this man was seen with that lunatic Jarvis earlier, how do you know this isn't some sick thing they've cooked up to make everyone believe he's back?"
"Lunatic? Really Joe, you thought that of me perhaps considering I've seen him too? I know what I've seen" Chris says ashen faced.
"I didn't mean it that way, there's a lot to work out here, the kids folks are dead, some others were found in the wood earlier too, now your saying some young counselors, what am I supposed to do?"
"Maybe see what's in front of you for a change, hell just make sure that girl stays safe, she's the one he's truly after" Chris walks away back to Julius.
Julius has been locked in a cell, he looks up as Chris comes into the holding area.
"He's going to be here soon, if all else fails get that girl to safety and wait for Tommy"
Literally minutes later theres a crash from the front of the building. Chris turns in terror to the direction of the noise.
"The girl Chris" Julius shouts.
She runs into the main office where Jason is stood in the area of the front doors. The sheriff and his other officer are stood in shock and awe at the sight.
Ignoring Chris, Jason begins to stride towards the two officers. Though she knows he's more interested in what's behind them than the two stood in front of him.
The sheriff orders him to stop or they'll open fire, both start firing as Jason descends upon them. They're six shooters fire hardly making a difference.
"Throw me the cell door keys" she shouts to the sheriff.
He does as asked as grabs the female officer, he throws her through a nearby window with ease.
Chris runs to unlock the cell with Julius locked in.
"Kelly you hide in there darling" the sheriff shouted.
Jason draws his machete from it's sheathe to swing at the sheriff, holding up a hand in protection results in his arm being amputated at the elbow.

Julius free and Chris come back around the corner to see the sheriff fall to the ground holding his stump. Spotting his shotgun and ammo on a nearby table he rushes for it.
Bravely the sheriff draws a combat knife from his boot with his good arm. He rams it into Jason's thigh causing him to grunt in pain.
He swings the machete again removing the man's head this time, then looking up crashes through the back door. He looks about for the hiding young girl. Despite herself she lets out a scream alerting him to her position.
Before he can stride towards her hiding place Chris heroically charges in smashing a wooden chair over his back. His machete slides across the room.
"Come on freak, I know your obsessed with me"
Quick as lightening Jason reaches out to Chris throat, as he chokes her she flashes back to that time when he first chased her.
"Chris, fight back!" Julius shouts.
She comes too, spotting the knife still in Jason thigh, kicking out she drives it deeper into his leg. He grunts dropping her to the ground.
Julius instantly unloads both barrels into Jason's back sending him flying into spare desks.
"Kelly quickly run to Chris" the girl runs out of her hiding spot towards the both of them. They all turn to quickly leave the room. A few feet away from the door bright lights flare from outside the station.
Distracted the three don't notice as the combat knife flies from the shadows of the room. It buries itself deep into Chris's shoulder causing her to cry then stagger.
"What the hell" Julius cries.
Jason comes striding from the room, Julius tries to quickly reload the gun.
"Forget it, Julius, run with Kelly" Jason strides over towards them. The hurt Chris throws herself Infront of Jason.
Closing her eyes, she accepts the death she escaped all them years ago.

"Hey maggot head, remember me?" Comes a familiar voice.
Chris opens her eyes. Seeing Jason seeming straining to bring his muscled arm down upon her.
"I brought a friend too" Tommy shouts.
Looking over towards the voice she sees a man and woman, the woman has her hand outstretched a strained look on her face too.
Reloaded Julius once again empties both barrels into Jason. It sends him sprawling again, though seemingly more pissed off than ever he sits up almost right away.
"He's enraged, we need to get away" Julius says.
"Tina!!" Tommy shouts.
Julius and Chris watch on as the blonde woman gestures with her hand sending multiple metal desks crashing into Jason. Chris drops to her knees.
Buried under metal and wood they hear crashing as he fights his way from under the debris. Julius sends Kelly over to Tommy and Tina then helps Chris to her feet.
They all run out to Tommy's pick up laying Chris the back, Tina and Kelly leap up with her.
Julius gets in the front with Tommy.
"We need to get back to the house and find the knife" he looks back to the blonde woman. She's sat Kelly at her side, Chris's head in her lap.
"Tina shepherd, she got locked up not long after I did apparently she'd brought Jason back up from the lake after I drowned him a second time"
"What was that she was doing?" Julius asked.
"She's psychic and telekinetic, although she kept that hidden from everyone apart from me, we helped each other while locked up, I don't think we'd have made it through without each other"
"Guys I don't mean to worry you but Chris isn't looking good here, also if the bodies have been discovered" she said trying to speak as simply as she could so not to scare Kelly.
"Wouldn't they be holding them at the coroner's in the hospital?"
Tommy and Julius look at each other, Tommy switches gears then makes a U-turn. Chris is very pale, the knife is still in her and seemingly caused more damage than it first seemed.

They pull up at the hospital, Julius and Tommy head around the back towards the coroner's office. Tina, Kelly and a limping Chris head in through the front doors.
Explaining the situation doctors rush in and take Chris away, telling Tina and Kelly to wait in reception.

Around the back Tommy and Julius sneak into the morgue section of the hospital.
"You and Jason, you go back a long time" Julius questions Tommy.
"Since he attacked my family all those years ago, it's like he's imprinted himself on me ever since" Tommy explains.
"Weird you should say, I found a bunch of recordings from a long time back, your father he had dealings with Mrs Vorhees back when she first lost Jason"
"I never knew, he was very private man, after everything that happened I never heard from him again" Tommy explains.
"Your family is inextricably linked with the Vorhees further back than even you knew" Julius finishes picking the lock.
"I wish I'd never heard of the damned name" he spits angrily.
They make their way into the building. Quietly checking everything over as they go through.
"Was there not a time after the copycat killer Roy, that you thought you were possessed?" Julius asks.
"Yeah I almost killed someone else who survived that night, I just about managed to fight it back but it still got me locked up again" Tommy shakes his head.
"Then you and friend escape again and bring the real Jason back from the dead a few years later right?"
"Yeah, that was a bowl of laughs, I think all the killings after that are pretty much my fault" Julius laughs.
"If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else, besides the possession thing, my brother followed a case a few years back, they thought they'd managed to kill Jason with a task force" Julius explains.
"I remember the FBI came to see me asking if I knew anything about him, questioned me for hours, I told them as much as I could" Julius pulls out a cadaver.
"Jason possessed many people after that night, killed my brother in the process, before regaining his body back from a dead relative"
"That family is just fucked up" Tommy shakes his head.
"Some fucked up shit for sure, Creighton was sure black magic or worse was involved but it's never been proved"
"Here this is the father, Micheal Vorhees, papers says the knife was removed and stored in the backroom"
"Magic knives, possession, it's nothing normal, that's for sure Julius" he nodded as they proceed to the back.
"Just don't kick yourself too bad, if he is capable of possession maybe he really did take over Roy then try to take you over too"
"Yeah, let's get that's knife and end this for good"
They both go over and Julius forces the locked door open, they both search. Tommy find the knife in a sealed bag.
"This it?" He asks.
"Yeah, let me take that" he grabs the bag before Tommy can really answer.
"We really have to rely on a small child to try and kill this monster?" Tommy asks.
"We'll see about that when we get to it" they both sneak out of the office.

Meanwhile Tina is waiting in the waiting room with Kelly. The young girl begins to sob.
"Hey, come on, I know you've been through a lot darling but we'll protect you now" Tina cuddles her.
"I just miss my mom and dad, the police told me either the other man who helped me or some relative of mine killed them, why would he do that?"
"First off, I'm sure Julius wouldn't save you if he was a killer, if Tommy trusts him then I do too, as for Jason, he may have your family name but there's nothing but evil inside that man, so don't worry about that"
"I saw him, he's so scarred and was shot lots and still got up, he'll kill us all" she cried.
"Not if I've got anything to do with it" Kelly buries her face into Tina's side.

A doctor comes out twenty minutes later, Tina looks up then he heads towards them.
"Good news, we've removed the knife, it did cause excessive bleeding which we've stopped, she'll need a transfusion, we are in the process of stitching the wound up now" the doctor smiles.
"Great news doctor, I'll tell my friends when they get here"
"Good good, she'll be in room 2b in about fifteen to twenty minutes, I'll leave you be now" the doctor strides off back through the doors.
Tina lived in a bigger town, that's where Tommy had gone to get her. It was weird to see such a small hospital that was also pretty quiet. Since they had come in nearly thirty or forty minutes ago only one other person had come in.
They were sat a distance away cradling their head, Tina could sense he was in pain with it.
Suddenly her vision blurred as a premonition happened.
Tommy, Julius, her and Kelly were stood almost going through the doors to see Chris?
The main doors auto open, the desk attendant screams and runs. In the commotion the bad head man looks up too, he attempts to run.
To close to killer, Jason has his machete back, in one deft swing the man is cut down sprawling to the ground gaping wound from chest to waist. Her vision clears just as the double doors auto open in real time.
She's happy to see Tommy then Julius stride through the doors with a look of accomplishment on their faces.

Tina beckons them over quickly. Leaving Kelly seated she rushes to meet them halfway.
"He's near I just I just had a premonition of him coming, we need to get Chris, you did find the knife right?"
Julius jangles the bag in front of her.
"Kelly quickly come to me" the young girl runs over.
"Can't we just use this here?"Tommy asks.
"No, it's been used once Tommy, it's power is severely depleted, we need a Voorhees and the exact spot he died before even then it might not work properly"
"You really expect Kelly to do that?" Tina asks quietly.
"We'll all help, I'm not sure how but we will" he eyes Tommy.
Suddenly there's the sound of the doors swishing open. Looking over they see the terrifying form of Jason, yet he unlike in Tina's vision looks strangely as the door automatically opened like it puzzled him. The sudden scream of
"Oh god what the hell?" From behind the counter quickly snaps him out of his wonder.
"That's a child's mind trapped in a man's body" Julius comments.
"Kelly inadvertently screams too" the striding behemoth sets his sights on them.
They all run through the double doors into the corridor beyond them. Unseen to them the migraine man tries to make a break for it but like the vision is cut down.
In the corridor all four run down the wards, Tina tells them it's ward 2b. Rushing into the room there's six patients in bed. A women with a trolley full of full syringes turns startled.
"Oh what are doing here?" She asks sharply.
"Chris Higgins, where is she?" Tommy asks.
"Last bed on the right, your lucky I was just coming to sedate the patients for the night" she waves her hand over the needles.
"Chris needs to come with us now" they say.
Loud clomping bootsteps come from down the corridor and other people start to scream. The other patients start to sit up or wake.
They all scream as Jason strides to the door of the ward.
"Chris if you can hear us we need to get going, Tina can you do anything" she looks around.
The other patients are starting to run for the door, blocking the way.
"I can't I might hit one of them" she screams.
"Get to the back of the room, we'll get out of the window if needs be" Julius shouts.
Chris comes from behind the curtain of her bed. Still pale, her arm in a sling, her other hand holding a bone saw. Tina covers Kelly's eyes as Jason mercilessly cuts down the patients as they try to run from the room. One or two have stayed in bed shivering and screaming.
"No, no, no" screams the nurse.
As Jason now strides in towards her. Chris spots something and hands Tommy the bonesaw.
"Keep the little girl safe" she says weakly smiling at him.
"Chris no!" Tommy shouts.
Jason takes the nurses head cleanly off with his machete. He sees Chris running at him, she's picked up, despite her wounded shoulder, the shock paddles of a defibrillator.
She smashes one into his machete, sparks flying as it booms out of his hand. The smell of charred flesh and ozone strong in the air, Jason goes stiff suddenly for a few seconds.

Back at the window both Tommy and Julius are trying to get the window open.
"Tina can you get this?" Tommy asks.
One hand pulling Kelly's face into her, she outstretches the other and strains her powers. The metal begins to buckle.
"We need to hurry" Julius shouts.
Chris charges the paddles again, about to push with both into Jason's seemingly stunned torso. The killer quickly reaches out grabbing Chris by the neck. Colours swim as her vision begins to blacken, she shouts out.
"Keep the camp open for me will you, make it safe for kids to play again" she smashes both charged pads into the killer.
The high voltage courses through both of of them sending them sprawling into different directions. Tina pushes the window out of the housing too.
Julius runs over to Chris, feeling her neck he looks back to Tommy and Tina then shakes his head. The other patients take this opportunity to run now. Tommy shakes his head then looks out the window. It's a good few feet to the ground, the hospital was built on quite an incline, to far for Kelly anyway.
"We need to get back out that way, this way is too high Julius" Tommy explains.
Julius makes like he spots something but Tommy is distracted as Jason once again rises to a sitting position. Jason gets to his feet then strides towards Tina Tommy and the young girl.
Julius has managed to sneak around the killer, Tina holds out her hand straining her powers. Stopping Jason in his tracks with her telekinesis. Though the giant killer fights against her control, Tina starts to drop to one knee.
Julius comes up behind Jason with four syringes full of sedatives. Ramming them into his side's and injecting the fluids into him.
Tina loses control as Jason's strength is to much for her, he hits Julius sending him flying. Her view now free Kelly screams at the sight of her would be relation.
Tommy now charges forwards with the bonesaw in hand, he is instantly caught by the one handed grip of the killer.
Jason places both hands on his neck. Tommy notices a quick waver in the killer strength and his remaining eye rolls back a little.
Using this lapse Tommy kicks the sedative trolley tray into the air. Jason shakes his head renewing his grip.
"Tina the sedatives use them" Tommy gasps for breath.
Though tired out she reaches out with some last reserves. Catching the syringes out of the air she sends three more into Jason's neck.
He drops Tommy reaching for the needles in his neck. Pulling them out then throwing them to the ground. Tommy backs away into the wall, trapped between two beds. Jason puts out both hands staggering towards our hero, much like when Chris hit him in the head with the axe in pt3.
Inches from Tommy's face the killer behemoth drops to his knees then keels over completely.
"Great let's get out of here" Tommy says jumping over the killer.
"No Tommy we need to take him with us" Julius says.
"Are you mad Julius?" Tommy shouts.
"Tommy if we leave him here there's no telling when he'll get up and follow us, the longer we leave this the stronger he gets as does the possibility of killing him"
"God damn Julius I hope your right, I'll go and get a stretcher, you two keep watch here" Tommy runs off.
"Do, you really need me to kill him?" Kelly suddenly asks.
"Is that why he wants to kill me?" She sobs.
"We'll see Kelly, if there's any other way we can do this we will darling okay" Julius reassures her.
Though Tina doesn't look so reassured herself from behind the small girl.
"I don't want to kill anyone, won't he just leave us alone?"
"We won't let him hurt you darling" Tina says.
Tommy comes rushing back in, tentatively the two men load Jason's body onto it. Julius grabs the three bottles of sedatives from the tray, he loads up three more hypodermic needles. Before they move off he sinks the needles into Jason topping off the killers sedation.
"Take these you'll need to keep him topped up until we get him to the house" he hands Tommy the bottles and needles. Outside they quickly load Jason onto the back of Tommy's pickup truck. Julius, Tina and Kelly get into the front while Tommy bravely sits in the back keeping Jason sedated.

Despite only a thirty minute drive we see Tommy using the last of the sedatives as Julius pulls up near the wreckage of the Voorhees house.
Leaping from the front and back of the truck, the four are immediately assaulted by the neighbors across the road.
"You can't be here you sick freak, they never should have let you free Tommy Jarvis!" The wife shouts.
"These your killer accomplises?" The husband says swinging his shotgun around.
"What's this in the truck, another corpse?" The wife asks
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Julius warns her.
"Check it Harold" she commands her husband.
He goes to throwback the sheet covering Jason but the killer is already coming around. He grabs Harold's arm, Kelly screams as the man let's of a blast in terror.
"Harold, what is it!" Screams his wife.
Jason however drags Harold into the back of the truck where he snaps the mans back over the side of the truck bed.
"Run, get the back of the house" Julius shouts to the others.
Harold's wife attempts to run but Jason grabs and throws a random wrench from the back of Tommy's pickup. It embeds itself into the old hags head, she immediately drops dead.
Leaping from the truck Jason follows immediately after the group. They all watch as Jason strides towards them, their terror growing as he draws near.
"Julius do something, the knife or shoot him!" Tommy shouts.
"I've been out of ammo since the police station, Tina try slow him down" Julius asks.
Spying the rusted mangled jungle gym, she sends it flying at the killer. With all her telekinetic might she bends it around the frame of the killer. Jason drops to floor strangling against the metal bonds.
"Now Kelly can use the knife while he's incapacitated" Tommy shouts.
"No the girls always been a last chance Tommy, I haven't been totally truthful with you, your father's mother was a Voorhees, Pamela's older sister in fact since the original killings your father never told you to protect you" Tommy looks on disbelievingly.
"All this time, he's been linked to me?" Tommy cries.
"It's been no coincidence, that's why he went after Trish first, I did try to warn her but she didn't want to believe"
"The damn feds they brainwashed her, made her believe non of it was real, they tried for years with me too, even Tina" he looks over to her.
"I could really use your help, he's breaking free" Tina shouts.
Julius takes the blade from his coat removing the bag from it he hands it to Tommy, the blade instantly forms into the Voorhees killing dagger. Tommy looks it over then charges toward the incapacitated Jason.
"Time to die once and for all maggot breath" Jason's arm breaks free.
It's too little too late for giant killer though as Tommy plunges the knife into the behemoths chest. Jason falls to knees clawing at his chest with the one free arm for a change we actually hear him roaring in pain.
Falling to his knees, Tina slips unconscious from her exertion just as all the metal piping falls away from the killer. He falls forwards pushing the dagger even further into him.
The night goes eerily quiet as goes completely silent.
"Is he dead is it done?" Tommy asks.
He runs over to the unconscious Tina, who Kelly is shaking.
"I don't know, he was dragged to hell I was told last time maybe it doesn't have enough power to do that anymore"
"Or maybe hell doesn't even want him anymore" Tommy remarks.
Before any of them can react however the clanging of metal from the killers direction makes them turn. Jason, though noticeably weaker, even looking less charred (like his skin looking more human like) begins to rise.
"It wasn't enough, Tommy you need" before Julius can finish however Jason has pulled the knife from his chest and thrown it into Julius's back. It returns to normal form and slips out.
Mouthing the words Julius says weakly, "it'll take the blood of a Voorhees to stop him for good now."
Tommy nods, he picks up the knife which once again transforms in his grip.
"Keep your eyes covered Kelly, if this doesn't work, run and never stop running okay darling" he strides over to Jason.
The killer is using a long metal pole to help get himself to his feet. Tommy rolls back the sleeve of his shirt. He drags the dagger down his arm. The blood seems to soak into blade it's power slightly invigorated by the taste of fresh blood.
It's taken on a dull but definite red glow. Tommy charges at the bane of his life, Jason raises the bar to counterstrike. Closing his eyes Tommy waits for the strike that never comes as he strikes upward with the dagger. Thrusting it deep into where he hopes the killers heart lay.
Opening his eyes he sees the red glow spread out like lightening around Jason's Torso. It burns around his entire body, looking up into the masked face the red electric finishes in the killers only good eye. Like a like bulb the eye turns back and the now totally lifeless body of the killer crashes to the ground, somehow in the exact circle of dead grass where arose. Tommy see's the killer looks even more human than ever before, like the knife has exercised something from within him.
Tommy looks over, Tina lowers her hand, she must have somehow came too and prevented Jason's final strike against him. She smiles.
"Is he dead?" Asks Kelly.
"I think it's over, I think it's finally over" she notices Julius "oh, Julius no" she cries.
The sudden sound of a helicopter comes out of no where, bright spotlights shine down on them and Jason's corpse. Tina draws Kelly nearer her while Tommy looks about bewildered.
The craft lands and a lithe young brown haired woman exits it with her hair blowing around her face. She has a stern but friendly look on her face. She walks over to Tommy extending her hand to shake.
"My name is Rowan Lafontaine, sorry I haven't been able to get here until now" Tommy shakes her hand.
"What is this, what's going on?" Tommy asks
"Since we thought we killed Jason last time the FBI has been working on a new place, not far from here we have the crystal lake research facility" a second person exits the chopper.
This man has greying hair, glasses and a nonchalant look on his face. Out of nowhere soldiers come running along with a stretcher.
"Enough chat with non essential personnel Rowan" he says sternly.
The soldiers begin loading Jason's dead body onto the stretcher.
"You can't do that, he's very dangerous" he warns.
"That's none of your business anymore Mr Jarvis, you and the others will be compensated for your troubles" the man says.
Rowan however looks to Tommy seriously.
"I assure you he's in good hands, I know everything about him, thanks to you" she winks at him.
Soldiers come and start to lead Tommy, Tina and Kelly towards an APC. Before he gets in he turns back to Rowan and says.
"I wouldn't remove that dagger out of him, one day at some time it'll bite you in the ass" he warns.
Rowan just nods. Behind her the soldiers carting off Jason's corpse the camera zooms in as his hand falls out from under the sheet ki, ki, ki, ma, ma, ma
Roll credits.

Phew this has taken a lot longer than I thought, I'm no script writer or full novel writer, yes I've wrote and had published short stories but with help. Please if things seem shitty edited etc I do this all myself and will be constantly re-editing from time to time.