Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
★½ — Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
The fifth entry in Paramount's Friday the 13th series arrived in March 1985, by which point the studio had settled into a reliable formula: low budget, high body count, dependable returns. The previous film, The Final Chapter, had been marketed as the definitive end of the series, yet its $33 million domestic gross made a follow-up inevitable. Danny Steinmann, who had previously directed the exploitation picture Savage Streets (1983), stepped in to helm what was conceived as a soft relaunch rather than a straight continuation. Produced again under Sean S. Cunningham's banner, the film was shot in California on a modest $2.2 million budget and returned over $21 million at the box office, proving the franchise still had commercial life even as critics dismissed the series wholesale.
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) is a baffling entry in the franchise, marketed as another Jason slaughter-fest, but shockingly Jason-free for most of its runtime. Instead, we get a copycat killer wearing the iconic hockey mask, which completely undermines the horror and legacy of the series. No supernatural hulking presence, no eerie stillness, just a generic murderer stabbing teens in increasingly ridiculous ways. What were they thinking? The whole appeal of Jason is his mythic, unstoppable force, and without him, it’s just another dull slasher with a gimmick. That said, the kills are gruesome, practical effects still strong, with plenty of creative gore that’ll satisfy hardcore horror fans. But outside of the blood, everything else falls flat: the acting is wooden, the dialogue cringe-worthy, the pacing sluggish, and the story makes zero sense in this universe. A forgettable, identity-crisis of a film that lost sight of what made the series work. Jason may have been "dead," but the real tragedy is how much this franchise had already declined.
Rating: ★½ | Year: 1985 | Watched: 2025-10-01
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Paramount Plus · Paramount+ Amazon Channel · Paramount Plus Premium · Paramount Plus Basic with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from the 1980s: Nightmare City (1980) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Style Wars (1983) · Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
More thriller: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Angst (1983) · The Long Walk (2025) · Punishment Park (1971)
