The long-running Friday the 13th franchise is still going strong after over 40 years since the original premiered in 1980. The most recent installment in the franchise was 2009’s remake of the same name, but since then, there haven’t been any developments since the lawsuit fiasco between the original film’s director/producer Sean S. Cunningham and screenwriter Victor Miller. Although the lawsuit did end in December of 2021 with no resolution in sight. Since, there haven’t been any updates on a new Friday the 13th film either, so the franchise has been stuck in purgatory for several years. Even Friday the 13th: The Game couldn’t release more content during the legal dispute, so there hasn’t been much love for the slasher franchise lately. What’s more, a handful of lackluster sequels haven’t exactly given the franchise a good foundation to build upon.
In 1986, six years after the original, Tom McLoughlin released Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, starring Thom Matthews as Tommy Jarvis and C.J. Graham as Jason Voorhees. Following on from the events of its predecessor, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, the sixth installment sees Tommy Jarvis accidentally resurrect notorious serial killer Jason Voorhees and must overcome his fear to defeat Jason once and for all. As we know, it wasn’t “once and for all” because Jason returns for another sequel, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, two years later. But still, dramatic effect. Long-time fans of Friday the 13th are decidedly torn on whether or not Part VI is a worthwhile sequel; some will vote against it, while others are entirely in-favor of it — it depends who you ask.
Thankfully, @ErickLorinc was kind enough to provide us with an incentive to give Part VI another try. It isn’t clear whether Erick made the edit or not, but thousands of fans agree that it makes Jason Lives much more watchable. Not even that, but the noir effect actually adds suspense to a lot of key scenes, so perhaps McLoughlin should take notes, if he ever signs on to direct another sequel in the future. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives can be enjoyed in black and white for 30 precious seconds below:
Judging by the swarm of comments, all the Jason nuts agree that the black and white version is the way forward for the Friday the 13th franchise.
Maybe once this pesky lawsuit is finally swept under the proverbial rug, we’ll get a theatrical release of a Friday the 13th film in deliberate black and white for our viewing pleasure. If not, Jason Lives (and any other horror film of your choosing) can be enjoyed in this way by turning the TV’s saturation down to zero. You can thank us later.
