Alam Nyo Ba?

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple came out about a month ago and, despite genuinely strong reviews, it seriously underperformed at the box office.

The film grossed $25 million domestically and another $31 million overseas, for a $56 million worldwide total. To put that into perspective, the previous film in the series made $151 million internationally alone. That’s a massive drop-off.

For a well-reviewed horror sequel in a recognizable franchise, those numbers aren’t great.

Can Home Media Save It?

There’s still a chance the movie finds its audience.

The digital release hits February 17th (basically tomorrow) across platforms like iTunes, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and other major retailers. The 4K UHD and Blu-ray release follows on April 21st.

Horror titles often perform well at home, especially ones with good word-of-mouth. If people skipped it in theaters, they might be more willing to give it a shot from their couch.

So What Went Wrong?

It’s a little puzzling because this one was actually better received than the previous entry.

The earlier film left some fans cold, with many calling it slow or dull. That may have hurt interest in this sequel before it even opened. Once audiences check out of a franchise, it’s hard to pull them back in.

Ironically, The Bone Temple earned an A– CinemaScore, which is excellent for a horror movie, and critics were largely on board too. A lot of the praise centered on Ralph Fiennes, who many felt delivered an iconic performance as Dr. Kelson.

But strong reviews don’t always translate into ticket sales — especially in a crowded market where horror fans are picky about what feels like an “event.”

What’s the Movie About?

Fiennes returns as Dr. Kelson, a physician who appears close to developing a treatment for the infected. Unfortunately, things get complicated when he crosses paths with the unhinged cult leader Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who runs a violent group known as “The Jimmies.”

Spike (Alfie Williams), who met Kelson in the previous film, becomes central to the conflict.

The sequel leans more into character tension and moral ambiguity than straight-up infected chaos, which may have pleased critics but made it a tougher sell for mainstream horror crowds.

What’s Included on the 4K and Blu-ray?

The home release comes with:

• Commentary with director Nia DaCosta
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes (New Blood, The Doctor and the Devil, Beneath the Rage)
• A deleted scene
• Bloopers (“Infected Takes”)

For fans of the franchise, that’s a solid package.

Will We Still Get the Third Film?

The big dangling question is the long-promised third installment, which is supposed to bring back Cillian Murphy as Jim from the original 28 Days Later.

Whether that actually happens may depend on how this one performs on digital and physical media. If it finds a second life at home, the studio might still roll the dice on finishing the trilogy.

What do you think? Can The Bone Temple make a comeback on home media, or has the franchise lost its momentum?

The post When Is 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Coming to Digital, 4K & Blu-ray? appeared first on JoBlo.

There’s something quietly funny about the fact that My Bloody Valentine has always been a franchise built on underestimation. Underestimated towns. Underestimated legends. Underestimated movies.

It was never positioned to be a slasher juggernaut. Just a grim little story about a town that tried to forget its worst mistake and paid for it in blood. And yet, decades later, it’s still here. Still resurfacing. Still sharp enough to cut through louder, flashier horror franchises that burned bright and disappeared just as fast.

What makes that endurance fascinating is this: My Bloody Valentine doesn’t survive because it evolved aggressively. It survives because its core idea never went out of style. The fear is communal. The guilt is inherited. The trauma sits unspoken.

You can update the technology. You can change the tone. You can throw the pickaxe at the audience in 3D. But the spine of the story stays the same, and that’s why both versions resonate in their own ways.

This isn’t just remake discourse. It’s a look at how horror audiences changed and how some fears didn’t. One film whispers and lets silence do the damage. The other shouts and dares you to flinch. Same legend. Very different delivery.

The 1981 Original: The Little Slasher That Could

The original My Bloody Valentine (1981) feels like the little engine that could. It wasn’t designed to launch a franchise. It was modestly budgeted, filmed in Canada, and shot in real mining locations. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, it never felt like a polished studio product. It feels handmade. Earnest. Slightly rough around the edges. That roughness becomes part of its charm.

Valentine Bluffs feels lived in. These are people who grew up together, dated each other, broke up, and never escaped the gravitational pull of their small town. The love triangle between TJ, Axel, and Sarah doesn’t feel like a soap opera device. It feels like unresolved history.

Axel, especially, carries the film’s emotional tension. Angry. Defensive. Shaped by the town’s buried trauma. When the truth surfaces, it doesn’t feel like a twist engineered for shock, it feels inevitable.

Harry Warden: A Legend, Not a Mascot

Harry Warden isn’t Freddy. He isn’t Jason. He doesn’t quip or pose. He’s a warning.

The film doesn’t overexplain him, and that restraint is what makes him effective. He exists less as a personality and more as a lingering consequence. A reminder that the town failed and that failure has teeth.

Real Mines, Real Darkness, Real Discomfort

One of the most powerful elements of the 1981 film is authenticity. The production shot in real mines. That meant cold, cramped conditions and very little room to maneuver. You can feel that discomfort in the finished film. The darkness isn’t stylized. It’s suffocating. When characters disappear into the black, you lose them too.

That’s why moments like the girl crying on the ladder near the end feel emotionally honest. She’s trapped underground. Her boyfriend has just been murdered. Everyone is yelling at her to keep moving.

Crying isn’t weakness. It’s survival.

Censorship and the “Missing” Kills

The original’s legacy is inseparable from its censorship history.

Heavy MPAA cuts stripped out some of the film’s most graphic kills during the height of the early ’80s slasher boom. For years, audiences knew My Bloody Valentine as a compromised version of itself. You could feel where something had been shortened or softened. And yet, it still worked.

The atmosphere carried it. The setting carried it. The bones were strong enough to survive being sanded down.

Later home releases would finally restore much of that missing footage, transforming the film’s reputation from cult curiosity to respected genre staple.

2009: My Bloody Valentine 3D Kicks the Door In

Fast-forward to 2009 and My Bloody Valentine 3D doesn’t quietly re-emerge. It arrives wearing novelty glasses and immediately lets you know the mission: this is an experience.

Directed by Patrick Lussier and starring Jensen Ackles, the remake leans hard into its identity. This wasn’t a lazy post-conversion cash grab. It was designed around 3D from the ground up. Weapons fly outward. Blood explodes toward the audience. The mines feel wider, constructed almost like corridors to launch violence directly at your face.

It’s aggressive. Theatrical. A little ridiculous. But it commits.

When the Gimmick Actually Works

3D is often a hollow marketing tool. Here, it earns its place.

The pacing bends to accommodate depth. Kills are engineered for trajectory. The audience becomes less spectator and more participant. In theaters, it created a genuine communal horror experience; people flinching together, reacting together.

For a brief moment, the remake carved out a cultural identity. Even its Blu-ray release leaned into the novelty, complete with 3D glasses included in the packaging. It felt more like a theatrical extension than a quiet archival effort.

Restoration vs. Spectacle

The original film’s afterlife couldn’t be more different. Shout! Factory gave the 1981 film a meticulous 4K restoration that emphasized preservation over gimmick. Deeper blacks in the mine sequences. Sharper industrial textures. The grime and claustrophobia feel intentional rather than accidental.

Special features dive into production realities: shooting underground, working with limited budgets, and navigating censorship. Instead of ignoring the missing footage, the release treats it as part of the film’s identity. It feels less like a reissue and more like validation.

Shared Structure, Different Emotion

Despite stylistic differences, both films cling to the same skeletal structure:

• A town trying to bury its trauma
• A legend rooted in collective guilt
• A return of violence when the past is ignored

In both versions, the mines aren’t just a setting. They’re symbolic. Guilt and memory are literally buried underground.

Where they diverge is emotional tone.

The 1981 film internalizes tension.
Conversations are restrained. Guilt simmers beneath the surface.

The 2009 remake externalizes it.
Arguments explode. Accusations fly. Emotions are volatile and immediate.

One suffocates you. The other assaults you. Both approaches work. They just create radically different viewing experiences.

Endings That Refuse Closure

Neither film offers clean resolution. The original ends with quiet unease. The remake ends with sequel-bait energy.

But both share the same message: violence here is cyclical. It doesn’t end. It pauses.

That refusal to provide comfort might be the franchise’s most defining trait.

Cultural Footprint: Flash vs. Longevity

The remake burned bright and brief, remembered as a bold 3D experiment that fully committed to its gimmick.

The original lingered. It seeped into the genre. Became a reference point. A reminder that atmosphere and simplicity can outlast spectacle.

The remake is louder, flashier, and immediately satisfying. But the original is stronger. Simpler. Better. It didn’t need technology to sell itself. It just needed a town, a legend, and a pickaxe waiting in the dark.

Why It Still Works on Valentine’s Day

Every February, when audiences debate between romance and something unhinged, My Bloody Valentine slides back into the conversation. It’s become a Valentine’s Day horror staple.

Flowers wilt. Chocolates melt. And somewhere, a miner sharpens a pickaxe.

Honestly? It pairs beautifully with candlelight.

The post My Bloody Valentine (1981) vs. My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009): Which Version Is Better? appeared first on JoBlo.

Jake

Top 10? Hell, the only 10! Well not quite, but damn close! We’ve actually tallied a solid list of ten horror/thrillers that happened to be set on Valentine’s Day itself. Now, some spend the entire day reveling in lovelorn lethality, some merely glance past the February 14th date, but in just about every case, old cupid’s shooting an arrow in the head, if not the heart. Ah hell, you’ve heard enough. Here’s the Top 10 Valentine’s Day Set Horror/Thrillers!

#10. LOVERS LANE (1999) 

Before Anna Faris was spoofing SCARY MOVIEs and wooing the world as THE HOUSE BUNNY, she happened to stroll down LOVERS LANE, a listless paint-by-numbers slasher flick about a man who went on an indiscriminate murder spree on Valentine’s Day 13 year prior, only to return to town to stalk and slash the victims’ children, foully disemboweling them with his hook-handed murder weapon. Lovers Lane refers to a place for lovebirds to park their cars and make-out, which is where the sadistic slasher shows up for slaughter (hence the tagline: there is no such thing as safe sex). Now, this is clearly a bad and poorly made movie, but far more fun for ardent slasher completists than one might expect. GET HERE

#9. MY BOYFRIENDS BACK (1993)

I can’t be the only 10 or 12 year old one besieged by the inveterate run of MY BOY FRIEND’S BACK on HBO, can I? Not buying it! Thing is, I always dug the lighthearted tone and slapstick humor, almost playing like the best of a cheesy Tales from the Crypt episode crossed with a zanily cartoonish Sam Raimi flick. It’s a perfect intro for budding preteen horror fanatics. Love that shite! Of course, it would take decades to realize the film was directed by Bob Balaban, bringing his own mordant sense of humor to the flick, a la PARENTS. Granted, it would have been killer to see what Peter Jackson could have done with the script (he was offered to direct). Props to late greats Ed Hermann and Phil Hoffman for appearing in the film, and for Matthew McConaughey for making his big screen debut! GET HERE

#8. VALENTINE (2001) 

No bullshit, I adore VALENTINE far more than most. Yes, it’s abjectly terrible, but so what, it has a damn good bit of fun knowing just how derivatively lame it is. Moreover, the first time you see it, I’d argue the mysterious whodunit element of the plot actually works more than many of its ilk. Look, I love slasher flicks so much that I have the lowest bar of expectations to enjoy one. Just give me a gaggle of deplorably annoying teenagers, a cool location and a unique array of profligate death-styles and I’m a happy boy. To this end, VALENTINE checks off the most basic of slasher film rubrics, boasting a plot-line about a rejected childhood Valentine’s Day suitor out to vengefully vitiate his female deniers decades later. The cherubic Cupid mask is a cute touch, but nothing tops Denise Richards getting drilled by the killer in a hot tub harder than Charlie f*cking Sheen! GET HERE

#7. HOSPITAL MASSACRE (1981) 

Also known as X-RAY, as well as BE MY VALENTINE, OR ELSE, the little known obscure early 80s slasher flick HOSPITAL MASSACRE just might be your required homework assignment for the week. As in, see this f*cking movie stat! Why? It features a vilely vengeful Valentine’s Day subplot, in which a gorgeous gal (Barbi Benton) visits an L.A. hospital for a routine checkup, only to be horrifically hunted by a sick psychopath in O.R. scrubs who she jilted on Valentine’s Day 19 years prior. It’s essentially the plotline for VALENTINE, but directed with beguiling verve by the Israeli madman Boaz Davidson (THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN). Oddly, the movie was made and released in Mexico in 1981 but had to wait until April of 1982 to arrive stateside. Props to Shout! Factory for issuing HOSPITAL MASSACRE on Blu-ray as a double feature with SCHIZOID! GET HERE

#6. PONTYPOOL (2008) 

Okay, so of all the flicks on our list, this one portrays Valentine’s Day with the least amount of romantic prominence. And yet, technically, PONTYPOOL is indeed set on Valentine’s Day, as a deadly viral outbreak threatens the small Ontario town on February 14th. What’s so coolly original here, other than the kickass performance by stellar Canadian actor Stephen McHattie, is how the aforesaid virus is detected through radio transmission, as a shock-jock radio DJ begins filtering ferocious bits of info through his airwaves as the night wears on. Half of the flick takes place in the claustrophobic radio station, the other half in the Canadian frigidity, with the sum total likely equaling the most unique Valentine’s Day horror flick to date, using the unofficial day of love as a background to explore the threat of universal death! GET HERE

#5. DOWN (2019)

We’re happy to report that our most recent Valentine’s Day themed horror flick on the list is qualitatively good enough to rank among the upper-half. True talk, the fifth episode of Hulu Original’s Into the Dark series, DOWN, is a deeply duplicitous two-hander that gets stronger as it progresses, setting up a wildly unpredictable finale that atones for a few early cliché-ridden scenes. Directed by Daniel Stamm (THE LAST EXORCISM), the story centers on a man and women who happened to get stuck in a parking lot elevator afterhours, on a three-day holiday weekend (V-Day coincides with President’s Day here). Of course, it turns out this was no accident at all, but rather an elaborate kidnap and hostage scheme plotted by the man, in order to bed his stalked-upon female obsession. A solid back-and-forth cat-and-mouse match of wits that pays off handsomely and horrifically!

#4. ST. VALENTINES DAY MASSACRE (1967)

Codify it a crime thriller or a gangster picture all you want, the semantic argument does not change the fact that a real life massacre took place at the hands of mafia magnate, Al Capone, in 1929 Chicago. That is, swap the tommy-guns for knives and you’d easily have one of the gnarliest real life horror stories of all time. The gist? Simple. In order to strike his most formidable foe, Bugs Moran, Capone orchestrated a sneak attack, in which he sent his men in hot, guns-a-blazing, disguised as policemen, until his rivals were mowed the f*ck down into a gory morass of bone, blood and viscera. The great Roger Corman directs, but the real reason to see the flick is for the powerhouse performance of the late great Jason Robards as Capone! GET HERE

#3. PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975) 

Few filmmakers have conjured such a mystifying air of ambiguity the way Peter Weir did with his lyrical curio, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK. Having seen the flick for the first time fairly recently, the story about three students and their schoolteacher suddenly disappearing while taking a walk on Valentine’s Day in 1900 is as fascinating a movie mystery as I’ve ever seen. Part of this is due to the pacing, putting us in a time and place where time moved like molasses, which lends a kind of eerie hypnotic quality to the viewing. The unspeakable haunting of the townsfolk trying to solve what happened feels palpable, and we’re just as vexed trying to piece together the maddening puzzle, all the while steeped in the beauteous Australian idyll! GET HERE

#2. MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D (2009) 

One of the most difficult Original Vs. Remake face-offs we’ve seen in the past has to be that between MY BLOODY VALENTINE and its three-dimensional redo in 2009. It’s a tough call, as certain aspects of Patrick Lussier’s version – about a psycho killer in a miner’s mask slaughtering Pennsylvania townsfolk on Valentine’s Day – actually reigns supreme. The whodunit mystery is just as adroitly maneuvered as in the original, keeping us guessing the identity of the killer all the way to the end. The acting goes a long way toward preserving the mystery, and the resplendent grue of the uncut version rivals the uncut version of the original, where the unflinching profusion of graphic gore was forced to be excised by the MPAA on both accounts. Simply put, MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D is the rare case of a remake being on par with its predecessor, the original of which ranks…

#1. MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981)

…Number one with a mother*cking bullet! Indeed, the one and only definitive Valentine’s Day horror film, George Mihalka’s MY BLOODY VALENTINE really deserves rank as one of the all time best slasher films as well. At least, 1980s slasher flicks, from which the majority of them derive. In addition to brilliantly setting the film on a holiday meant for lovey-dovey romance and horny courtship, thereby subverting the happy holiday in favor of something far more sinister, the setting of an underground mine is a sheer stroke of genius. It gives the murderer reason to don the mining mask, and gives us reason to organically guess who among the miners is moonlighting as a pickaxe wielding murderous madman. The iconic heart-shaped candy boxed filled with a carved out heart, or a gruesomely decapitated head lolling around in a washing machine (both of which were affectionately called back by Lussier in the redo) easily prop MY BLOODY VALENTINE as the most beloved February 14th horror salvo to date! GET MBV ’81 HERE, ’09 HERE

The post Top 10 Valentine’s Day Themed Horror Flicks! appeared first on JoBlo.

In the final months of 2024, the Peacock streaming service gave a straight-to-series order for The ‘Burbs, a contemporary TV series adaptation of the 1989 movie of the same name (which starred Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher). The eight-episode season is now available to watch on Peacock – and JoBlo’s own Ryan Cultrera had the opportunity to interview multiple people involved with the show at a red carpet premiere! You can watch the interviews in the video embedded above.

Cast and synopsis

Keke Palmer (Nope) stars in and executive produces the series and is joined in the cast by Jack Whitehall (Jungle Cruise), Julia Duffy (Newhart), Paula Pell (Girls5eva), Mark Proksch (What We Do In The Shadows), Kapil Talwalkar (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Haley Joel Osment (Tusk), RJ Cyler (The Harder They Fall), Justin Kirk (Weeds), Kyrie McAlpin (Cheaper by the Dozen), Danielle Kennedy (Man on the Inside), and Randy Oglesby (For All Mankind).

Celeste Hughey (Palm Royale, Dead to Me) writes and executive produces the series. Set in present-day suburbia, The ‘Burbs follows a young couple, with Palmer playing the wife, returning to the husband’s (Whitehall) childhood home. Their world is upended when new neighbors move in next door, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.

Same filming location as the original

In addition to Palmer and Hughey, executive producers on the show include Brian Grazer, Kristen Zolner, and Natalie Berkus for Imagine Entertainment, Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins, and Aimee Carlson for Fuzzy Door, and Rachel Shukert. Dana Olsen, the writer of the 1989 film, Amy Aniobi, Zora Bikangaga, and Neil Reynolds serve as co-executive producers. Nzingha Stewart (Daisy Jones & The Six) directed the first episode and is another executive producer. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio behind the series.

Filming took place in Los Angeles at the same location as the original film, the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood.

The original The ‘Burbs was directed by Joe Dante. When asked for his reaction to the TV series announcement, Dante said, “I think my actual comment was, ‘How are they going to make a whole TV series out of that story?’ As opposed to, ‘I want to be the one to do it. ’Good luck to them. It’s kind a one-off story…It’s always nice when things have a shelf life.“

Our reviewer Alex Maidy gave the show a 7/10 review, so it seems they did a good job of making a TV series out of the story.

Interviews

On The ‘Burbs red carpet, Ryan was able to talk with stars Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall, who gave us the inside scoop on bringing this cult classic back to life for a whole new generation. From neighborhood chaos to modern satire, the duo break down what makes this reimagining feel fresh while still honoring the original’s spirit.

But that’s not all! He also spoke with Chad Lindberg, RJ Cyler, and more of the cast about joining the twisted suburban world of The ‘Burbs, the ensemble chemistry, and what fans can expect from the series.

Cast and crew members interviewed in the video above include Keke Palmer, Mark Proksch, Chad Lindberg, Kathleen Kenny, RJ Cyler, Max Carver, Randy Oglesby, Celeste Hughey, Jack Whitehall, Danielle Kennedy, Kapil Talwalker, Erica Dasher, Rachel Shukert, Aimee Carlson, Erica Huggins, and Georgia Leva.

Have you watched Peacock’s The ‘Burbs? Take a look at the interviews, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post The ‘Burbs interviews: Keke Palmer, Jack Whitehall, and more discuss the Peacock series appeared first on JoBlo.

Cody

A new era of the Friday the 13th franchise is about to begin, with Linda Cardellini having been officially cast as Pamela Voorhees in the Peacock streaming series Crystal Lake and the rights holders actively working on a new movie. As we sit in this space between eras, we still have the classic movies to watch over and over again. So let’s take a look at this Friday the 13th Movies Ranked list!

While this list is all in good fun, I have to admit that I found it to be surprisingly difficult to put together. That’s because the Friday the 13th franchise is my favorite of all franchises and I love every one of these films. Ranking them was like trying to rank my major internal organs. Some may work better than others, but I need them all! I struggled to decide which order to put them in, and ended up listing them based on which ones I would most like to watch at any given time. So here they are, listed from “Yes, put that movie on right now!” to “Sure, okay, let’s watch it.” Check it out, then let us know how you would rank the movies by leaving a comment below.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III (1982)

The Jason everyone knows is born here. This is where he gets his iconic hockey mask, and he wears it while taking out a group of youths vacationing at a cabin on the edge of Crystal Lake. Part 2 director Steve Miner returned for this one and managed to make it creepy while also packing it with gimmicks meant to be seen in 3D on the big screen – and you ever have the chance to see Friday the 13th Part III in 3D, go for it. It’s an awesome experience. Especially when you get to watch the hulking, hockey masked Jason (Richard Brooker) engage the final girl in one of the best chases of the franchise. A 13 minute sequence that goes all over the cabin property.

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

Directed by Sean S. Cunningham, the original Friday the 13th has achieved classic status – and yet somehow it still doesn’t get enough respect or credit for how effectively creepy it is. A low budget but well crafted production, it delivers a dark-yet-fun atmosphere, an unnerving back story, an incredible score, amazing special effects (courtesy of Tom Savini), and an unforgettable performance by Betsy Palmer. Palmer shows up late in the film as a grieving mother out to avenge her young son, who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake more than twenty years earlier because the counselors weren’t paying attention. The new counselors didn’t have anything to do with it, but they pay the price.

FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984)

A family living in a house out in the woods. A group of young people renting the house right across from them. And Jason Voorhees (Ted White this time) lurking nearby, waiting to strike. Director Joseph Zito brought a very dark atmosphere to this film, and yet it’s also a whole lot of fun, featuring some of the best, most likeable young characters in the entire series. (Plus some wild dancing from Crispin Glover.) Tom Savini believed “The Final Chapter” subtitle and returned to supply the bloodshed for Jason’s send-off. The kills are brutal, even the ones that are cut quickly, and the showiest of all is reserved for Jason himself. Jason is legitimately scary in this film, but a clever young boy named Tommy Jarvis figures out how to defeat the monster. For now.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986)

Tasked with bringing Jason Voorhees back from the dead, writer/director Tom McLoughlin looked to the Universal Monsters era for inspiration and resurrected Jason Frankenstein-style, with a well-placed lightning bolt. Jason rises from his grave a bit rotten but stronger than ever, just in time for the re-opening of Camp Crystal Lake. As returning adversary Tommy Jarvis tries to stop Jason, McLoughlin treats the viewer to fun characters, humorous lines and situations, cool stunts, great cinematography, and a rock ‘n roll soundtrack. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (which shows the title and subtitle the other way around in the title sequence, so it’s Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI) pushes the comedy further than any of the previous movies, but it works because Jason himself (CJ Graham) is never the butt of the joke. McLoughlin found a way to bring fresh energy to the franchise while still keeping it in the woods.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)

Friday the 13th Part 2 (not Part II, as they didn’t get fancy with the Roman numerals until later) is so good, it’s easy to overlook the fact that it’s built on a very odd decision: the one to make Jason Voorhees, the drowned child whose mother was out for vengeance in the first movie, the killer this time around. This isn’t the Jason who would become a pop culture icon. This is a backwoods fellow who wears a sack on his head (with Steve Dash being the man under the sack). But he’s also a terrifying killer who slashes his way through a new batch of counselors. Director Steve Miner did a great job of replicating the tone of the first movie, and the film features one of the best heroines in the franchise: child psychologist Ginny Fields, who comes up with a clever way of stopping Jason in his tracks.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD (1988)

When Paramount couldn’t secure a deal with New Line Cinema to make Freddy vs. Jason, they shifted gears and made a sequel that is basically Jason vs. Carrie. You have the same set-up as The Final Chapter, partying youths in a house across from a family home, but this time the family home is occupied by a troubled girl with telekinetic abilities. Like Tommy in Jason Lives, that girl (named Tina) accidentally resurrects Jason, then has to deal with the consequences. And when it comes time for their showdown, Tina uses her telekinesis to dish out quite a beating to the hockey masked slasher. It’s pretty awesome. Kane Hodder made his Jason debut in this film, and director / FX artist John Carl Beuchler gave him a great rotten look.

FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING (1985)

After years of psychiatric treatments, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter hero Tommy Jarvis arrives at Pinehurst Halfway House… and soon a killer in a hockey mask starts picking off the staff of the halfway house, the troubled youths staying there, and people in the surrounding area. The identity of the killer is meant to be a mystery, but it’s pretty hard to miss the clues. Directed by Danny Steinmann, A New Beginning has a bad reputation, but it’s still a lot of fun. Jason (Tom Morga and Johnny Hock) may only be present in Tommy’s hallucinations, but we still get a hockey masked killer who acts just like him. The characters are ridiculous, the movie is extremely sleazy, but that’s all just part of its charm.

FREDDY VS. JASON (2003)

After a long trip through development hell, Freddy vs. Jason finally reached theatres in 2003, with director Ronny Yu bringing the concept to the screen with great style. Robert Englund reprises the role of Nightmare on Elm Street franchise dream stalker Freddy Krueger, who uses the image of Mrs. Voorhees to encourage Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) to rise from Hell and head over to his old haunt of Elm Street to commit murder and stir up fear. Fear that will allow Freddy to return to the dreams of the Elm Street kids. But when Jason overstays his welcome and claims too many victims on Elm Street, the slashers clash. Fights take place in both the dream world and at Camp Crystal Lake, and the climactic battle is a glorious bloodbath.

FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009)

Ideas from the first four Friday the 13th films were mixed together for this reboot, a collaboration between Paramount and New Line Cinema. Derek Mears plays a Jason Voorhees who is faster and more intense than ever before. He’s wearing a sack on his head when we first see him, and later in the film he acquires a hockey mask. The set-up is the same as we’ve seen multiple times: Jason slashes his way through a bunch of youths who are vacationing at a house near Crystal Lake. The movie also draws from the end of Part 2 for its most controversial element: when Jason crosses paths with a young woman who resembles his mother, he locks her up in his mine shaft lair instead of killing her. Some fans think it’s a logical extension of what we saw in Part 2, other fans hate it.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (1989)

The Paramount era came to an end with Jason Takes Manhattan, which underwhelmed at the box office when movie-goers saw that it didn’t really deliver on the promise of the title. Jason (Kane Hodder) spends most of the film on a cruise ship that’s on its way to Manhattan, knocking off youths who are on board for a senior trip. When they do reach their destination, Manhattan is mostly played by Vancouver alleyways. But there is a great moment where we see Jason standing in the middle of Times Square. Part VIII also disappoints with a spacey heroine who’s always tripping, since director Rob Hedden wanted to work in some Elm Street-esque elements. The movie is fun, but you can see why Paramount gave up.

JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1993)

The franchise moved to New Line Cinema with this installment, and director Adam Marcus set out to deliver a film that would be very different from any of its predecessors. He certainly accomplished that. Jason Goes to Hell starts off with Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) being blasted to pieces by the FBI… then spends the rest of the movie possessing people, starting with the coroner who is compelled to eat his heart. Jason’s spirit moves from body to body as he seeks out family members we never heard of before, because this movie creates its own mythology. “Through a Voorhees was he born, through a Voorhees may he be reborn, and only by the hands of a Voorhees will he die.” How can he die? By being stabbed with a magic dagger that sends him straight to Hell.

JASON X (2002)

While Freddy vs. Jason was making its way through development hell, director James Isaac decided to make another Friday the 13th sequel – one that would be set in the future to avoid causing continuity issues with the Freddy crossover. So a frozen Jason (Kane Hodder) gets blasted into space in the year 2455, and once he thaws out it’s business as usual because the ship he’s on happens to be inhabited by a bunch of youngsters. Plus some Marines, but those aren’t a problem. The cyborg causes him more trouble, but once his body gets blasted apart he just gets a new one, thanks to nanotechnology. Jason is upgraded into Uber Jason! Jason X is extremely goofy, and highly entertaining when you’re in the mood for absurdity.

Obligatory Mention: SWEET REVENGE (2025)

Now that we’ve covered the feature films, we have to mention that writer/director Mike P. Nelson’s short film Sweet Revenge was released in 2025, giving us our first official piece of live-action Friday the 13th content in sixteen years. Building off the traditional “Jason kills people on a trip to the lake” set-up, Nelson drops some wild ideas into his 15 minute short, including a heroine that returns from the dead… for some reason. Please don’t tell me “cursed lake water” is resurrecting people, because I hate that idea and feel that it takes away something special from Jason. Whatever the case, the short has its moments and a cool kill involving a boat motor. Stuntman Schuyler White did a fine job as Jason for the most part, although he doesn’t quite have the right build for the character and former Jason performer Kane Hodder would not appreciate that he’s shown holding his machete in his left hand. The biggest issue is the mask. The rights holders, possibly for copyright reasons, have decided to redesign Jason’s iconic hockey mask, which always had 31 holes before and now only has 13 holes. That could work, but so far, there’s just something off about it. The size, the texture. It doesn’t look right. There are some shots of it that look okay, but there are also shots of it that look horrible. This thing needs some tweaks done to it before we see it again. Sweet Revenge is not the triumphant return fans have been waiting for, but it was a fun way to let people know that Jason Voorhees is making a comeback.

The post Friday the 13th Movies Ranked: Jason at his best (and worst) appeared first on JoBlo.

Jake

#1. MACHETE TO THE FACE (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2)

When my man in the wheelchair is unceremoniously dispatched in Friday the 13th Part 2…by having a machete planted in his face with such force he wheels down a flight of stairs backwards in the rain…my heart is always a bit sunken. The technical suspense – the slow push in, the portentous score – is met by the equally adept narrative of killing a character we actually kind of root for. If not to survive, to certainly get laid, as it appeared he would in the lead-up scene. We feel for the kid, hope he gets lucky, but nope…Jason ain’t having any of that shite. Extra props to the flash-to-white freeze frame!

#2. ARROW THROUGH THE THROAT (FRIDAY THE 13TH)

Man hands and improbable precision aside, the marvel of Kevin Bacon catching an arrow straight through both sides of his throat the original Friday the 13th never fails to amuse. Not just the graphic nature of the great Tom Savini FX, replete with the burble of choking blood, but the startling nature of it as well. In a post-coital respite, Bacon’s character is as oblivious to his fateful demise as we are watching it. Suddenly, that masculine arm shoots up from under the bed, straps Bacon’s head to the pillow and WHAM…an arrow tip pierces through the bed, through the back of Bacon’s nape, and pops through his trachea. Six degrees of nerve separation, no doubt!

#3. LIQUID NITROGEN FACE SHATTERING (JASON X)

Although Jason X is as goofy a franchise entry as they come, seeing it in an empty theater with two friends on my 19th birthday will always hold a nostalgic place in my ever blackened heart. One of the main reasons? When Homegirl in the beginning gets her pretty little face violently grabbed, pulled across the room, dipped in liquid nitrogen, frozen, then for good measure slammed down hard on a countertop…completely shattering into thousands of corpuscle smithereens. So simple, so effective, yet remains one of the most inventive kills in Voorhees’ entire oeuvre. I love it!

#4. HACKSAW TO THE THROAT, SPINAL TEAR (FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER)

For The Final Chapter, my favorite sequel in the series, I could have just as easily gone with Crispin Glover catching a cork-screw to the hand and a meat cleaver to the face (great FX), but I’ve long been a fan of the death of the sleazy doctor. Early in the flick, before Jason escapes the hospital, he finds himself a gnarly hacksaw and puts the blade to the doc’s neck, graphically slicing his throat into a bloody pulp. Not done however, Jason angrily twists the dude’s neck something fierce, basically going Linda Blair on dude’s head…tearing it plum off his spine. Nasty, nasty bit of biz!

#5. SLEEPING BAG BONK (FRIDAY THE 13TH VII: THE NEW BLOOD)

Of the hundreds of grisly deaths Voorhees has incurred over the years, few stand out more than when he, in The New Blood, finds a victim hiding in a sleeping bag, drags them across the campsite, picking her up, and in one fell swoop, bonking the living shite out of her against a tree-trunk. Both hilarious and frightening at once, the death was so good the late Jim Isaac felt impelled to virtually recreate the moment in Jason X. Even more interesting, the original cut had Jason slamming the bag multiple times, but in the end, doing it once proved most effective.

#6. HARPOON THROUGH THE EYE (FRIDAY THE 13TH 3D)

All cheap 3D gimmicks aside, one instance used admirably in Friday the 13th Part III occurs at the same time Jason dons the hockey mask for the very first time. You know the deal. Voorhees strolls up the dock to find a hottie wading in the water after a lost wallet. Unimpressed, Jason palms the steel and lets an arrow go…which pierces straight into the frame and ultimately through the girl’s pretty little eye. She plops into the drink, and in a touch I’ll never forget, Jason throws the harpoon gun down and sadly saunters off, head down, demoralized. Compunctious? No. Sad? Yes!

#7. BLOCK KNOCKED OFF (JASON TAKES MANHATTAN)

The eighth entry in the franchise, Jason Takes Manhattan, has few redeeming qualities outside a young Kelly Hu getting choked out and dropped to the disco dance floor. That said, I think most would agree that one of the most outlandish, even cartoonish death scenes in the entire canon comes atop a skyscraper in NYC. You know what’s up, the hip pugilist goes basic and decides to use his jabs and crosses to put a stop to Voorhees. Toying with him, Jason lets the dude punch himself dead tired, then with one quick hook, knocks homey’s head clean off…into a garbage chute some 5 stories below.

#8. IMPALEMENT & BACK-BREAKING (FREDDY VS. JASON)

While I’m not a particular fan of Freddy vs. Jason, there’s no denying one of Voorhees’ most vicious kills takes place in the first reel of the much anticipated mash-up. As if jousting the largest machete blade ever made into the back of a prone teenager…many times over…wasn’t brutal enough, my man Voorhees finishes the douche off by rising up and snapping the bed in half, with the kid in it, in essence folding his spine like a pressed shirt in a suitcase. The enfeebled whine let out by the kid always musters a smile. Shite’s rough, rugged and raw!

#9. BELT EYE GOUGE (FRIDAY THE 13TH V: A NEW BEGINNING)

Sure, A New Beginning is often treated as the redheaded stepchild if the franchise, but like Halloween III, I’ve come to appreciate it more and more over the years. First off, the Jason wannabe messes people up…full stop. And one such instance that rivals the best of what the rest of the series has to offer is when homeboy gets his eyes gouged to gory sockets by tightened belt wrapped around a tree. Besides being a fresh touch, it’s the held shot of the killer’s hands behind the tree, twisting, shaking and tightening the belt harder and harder until we eventually see the victim’s pupils melt into a deep red.

#10. TRIPLE DECAPITATION (FRIDAY THE 13TH VI: JASON LIVES)

I usually hate the cutaway type kills in horror movies, but there’s something about Jason lopping off three bitchy heads in Jason Lives that has always stood out to me. Perhaps it’s the swath of blood that paints the camera lens. Maybe it’s the inherent humor therein. Or is it simply the idea? Either way, when that lame-ass, bickering trio of paint-ballers happens upon Voorhees in the woods, the jarring triple decapitation hikes the body count in a single lope. I’ve said it before, but I believe Jason Lives is the most underrated F13 movie. Jason wrecks mofos at an unparalleled clip.

The post Favorite Friday the 13th Kills! appeared first on JoBlo.

The February 27, 2026 theatrical release of the slasher sequel Scream 7 is swiftly approaching – and two weeks out from the release date, the Motion Picture Association ratings board has announced that the film has earned an R rating with strong bloody violence, gore, and language. Every film in the franchise has been rated R, and Scream 7 keeps the tradition going.

Troubled History

Spyglass Media and Paramount once intended to make a Scream 7 that would have starred Scream (2022) and Scream VI leads Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, with Freaky and Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon at the helm. But then Ortega allegedly asked for a substantial pay raise – and as we saw when Neve Campbell dropped out of Scream VI due to a pay dispute, these pay issues don’t tend to work out. Then Barrera was fired from the project after comments she made about the Israel-Hamas war didn’t go over well with executives at Spyglass. Landon dropped out the of the project soon after. So Scream 7 has been re-developed, Campbell has signed on to return as franchise heroine Sidney Prescott, back in the lead role, while Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplay for the original Scream, directs the film from a screenplay by 2022’s Scream and Scream VI writer Guy Busick, who crafted the story with his co-writer on the fifth and sixth films, James Vanderbilt. (Vanderbilt is also a producer on the most recent sequels.)  

Cast and Synopsis

Neve Campbell is joined in the cast by Isabel May of the Yellowstone prequel 1883, who has signed on to play Sidney’s daughter; Mckenna Grace of the Ghostbusters franchise, Grace’s Ghostbusters co-star Celeste O’Connor, Gen V‘s Asa Germann, The Fabelmans‘ Sam Rechner, Pitch Perfect‘s Anna Camp, Riverdale‘s Mark Consuelos, fellow franchise star Courteney Cox, who reprises the role of reporter / author Gale Weathers, Joel McHale (Community) as Sidney’s husband Mark Evans, and Ethan Embray (The Devil’s Candy). Although two of the “core four” characters established in the previous two movies are no longer around, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown are back as Chad Meeks-Martin and Mindy Meeks-Martin.

Also in the cast are Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley, who played Ghostface killers in the original Scream and Scream 3, respectively, and did not appear to make it out of those movies alive. David Arquette is back as the dearly departed Dewey, who exited the world of the living in the fifth movie.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter (Isabel May) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

Are you looking forward to Scream 7? What do you think of the reasons given for the film’s R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Scream 7 earns an R rating with strong bloody violence and more appeared first on JoBlo.