A cruise ship leaves Crystal Lake en route to New York. Jason hitches a ride. Chaos ensues.

The first time I heard about this film was when there was a report on its production in the classy film magazine Premiere. I’m sure a number of their readers were disgusted to see such a piece of ‘low culture’ in their midst.

When I finally got to see the film, my criticisms were the same as others expressed- most of the film takes place on the bloody boat! These scenes are uninspired, formulaic and rather naff. I’m glad Jason killed those involved with making a pop video for possibly the worst soft-rock track ever recorded though.

The actual ‘New York’ (Vancouver!) sequences are pretty good, whether it’s the rooftop boxing match or Jason confronting Times Square street youths. There’s also a scene in which Jason unwittingly saves a young woman from a r*pist. The ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ gag involving the hockey mask billboard was also very funny. The fact that Jason can melt into the background in somewhere like New York was also a great device and very perceptive.

The ending is dreadful and makes no sense whatsoever. There’s a danger with so many films in a franchise that new directors don’t know a series timeline (whether it makes sense or not). There’s fanboys who do know however and will pick over even the smallest mistakes especially in these days of social media.

If only the whole film had taken part in New York whilst utilising a much better screenplay then Part 8 could have been a fan favourite to rival Jason Lives. Oh well.

2 out of 5 stars