Jason X, 2001.
Directed by James Isaac.
Starring Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, Peter Mensah, Jonathan Potts, David Cronenberg, Markus Parilo, Dov Tiefenbach, Melyssa Ade, Kristi Angus, Yani Gellman, Melody Johnson, and Derwin Jordan.
SYNOPSIS:
Jason Voorhees is cryogenically frozen at the beginning of the 21st century, and is discovered in the 25th century and taken to space. He gets thawed, and begins stalking and killing the crew of the spaceship that’s transporting him.
Anyone that has seen enough of the Friday the 13th sequels will understand that expectations have long been a flexible concept. By the time Jason X arrived in 2001, nearly a decade after the lamentable Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, it was clear that the series had two choices – end quietly or go completely bonkers. Thankfully, it chose the latter.
A second directorial gig for James Isaac and first outing for writer Todd Farmer (aided by Victor Miller), Jason X answers a question nobody asked: what if Jason Voorhees went to space? The answer is a daft, brash, deeply silly film, but one that leans into its own ridiculousness with a degree of self-awareness often missing from previous entries. It is by no means a “good” movie in the traditional sense, but it is strangely lovable for embracing just how absurd it is.
In the distant future, the Earth is an uninhabitable wasteland. A group of students on a spaceship stumbles across a cryogenically frozen Jason and an unfortunate scientist (Lexa Doig) from the early 21st century. Against better judgment, they bring both aboard. Naturally, Jason wakes up, and in no time at all, he is hacking, slashing and generally causing bloody havoc. It is a classic slasher premise, only with futuristic guns, spaceships and some truly ropey CGI.
Kane Hodder returns as Jason and, as ever, he gives the mute maniac a lumbering menace that almost, almost makes you root for him. The supporting cast are mostly cannon fodder, though Lisa Ryder as the ship’s android, Kay-Em 14, at least seems to know which film she is in, playing her part with a deadpan wit that lifts the later stages considerably. There is a bizarre joy to be found in watching Kay-Em, armed to the teeth, taking on Jason in a shootout straight out of a bargain-bin video game.
There are moments where Jason X is genuinely inventive. The infamous liquid nitrogen kill, where Jason freezes a scientist’s face and smashes it against a counter, is gruesome and imaginative enough to have earned its place in slasher lore. Likewise, the virtual reality sequence, where Jason is tricked into reliving his Camp Crystal Lake days, is a clever nod to the franchise’s roots, complete with sleeping bag-related carnage.
Visually though, the film struggles. Shot on a relatively modest budget, the production design often looks like a SyFy Channel original from 2005, all shiny corridors and rubbery props. The special effects, particularly when Jason is transformed into the metallic “Uber Jason,” have not aged gracefully. But then again, was anyone expecting them to?
The biggest strength of Jason X is that it understands its own ludicrousness. Unlike the grim-faced Jason Goes to Hell, which tried to reinvent the mythology and succeeded only in alienating the fans, Jason X manages to play to its core audience – those who know exactly what they want from a Jason movie. It’s daft, it’s cheap, but it never pretends to be anything else.
Jason X is the cinematic equivalent of a bad idea shared among mates at the pub that somehow got greenlit. It is loud, it is messy, and it is a fair amount of fun. For the faithful, it is a guilty pleasure worth revisiting, even if only to check out the 4K restoration and marvel at the sheer audacity of sending Jason Voorhees where no slasher villain had gone before.
The 4K restoration includes an introduction to the film by Kane Hodder himself and a bunch of archival goodies such as audio commentary by Jim Isaac and Todd Farmer, interviews with the cast and an interesting documentary called ‘The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees’. All that plus the restored film and glorious artwork (including double-sided poster) makes this release one to treasure.
SEE ALSO: Every Friday the 13th Movie Ranked From Worst to Best
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
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