Film

Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI

Name: Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 1986
Cast: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Renée Jones, Kerry Noonan

Jason Lives is the point where Friday the 13th stopped pretending to be grounded horror and embraced gleeful cartoon violence. It's faster, funnier, and more action-packed than its predecessors—less slasher, more video-game boss fight. Perfect for fans who love the *idea* of Jason more than they fear him.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy slasher films that wink at their own mythology, where a gleeful, self-aware tone and inventive kills matter more than dread or realism.

Skip it if you want a tense, slow-building chiller; this one moves briskly from set piece to set piece and plays its scares for laughs as often as shocks.

What it asks of you: At about eighty-six minutes it asks little beyond a willingness to go along with its cheerful silliness and accept gore as the main event.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors1987

The same creative reinvention: taking a tired franchise and injecting wit, energy, and genuine craft. Freddy becomes a character again, not just a kill-delivery system. It understands that sequels can be smarter than their predecessors.

But If you want genuine scares, this won't land. It's comedy-horror, which some purists find dilutes the threat entirely.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors poster

Evil Dead II1987

The template for making a horror sequel that's louder, sillier, and more entertaining than the original. Bruce Campbell is brilliant, the effects are inventive, and the tonal whiplash is the whole point. You'll understand why people love these films.

But The humor is so prominent that actual horror tension vanishes. If you want dread over laughs, you'll feel let down.

Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood1988

Jason Lives' direct sequel doubles down on the action-movie approach. A teenage telekinetic fights Jason—it's premise-as-spectacle, and it commits fully. Pure, unironic fun with genuine stunt work.

But The kills are bloodlessly shot (blame the MPAA), so the gore-hound appeal gets neutered. It feels safer and less inventive than Part VI.

Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Re-Animator1985

Both are sequels that realized their franchises worked better as slapstick chaos than serious horror. Both found their tone and never looked back.

The spiritual predecessor to Jason Lives' tonal shift. It's when 80s horror-comedy locked in—absurd premise, deadpan performance from Jeffrey Combs, gore played for laughs, energy that never quits. Watching it, you understand why Part VI works.

But Extremely dated in places, some truly awful acting alongside the good stuff, and the humor is crude and scatological. It's also the reason Jason Lives exists, so if you want the innovation unspoiled, skip this.

Predator1987

Same year, similar DNA: an unstoppable killing machine, a group of tough guys with nowhere to hide, absurd stakes played straight. It's the action-horror template done perfectly. The energy is infectious.

But It's a big-budget spectacle, which means if it doesn't grab you in the first fifteen minutes, you're stuck watching expensive boredom for two hours.

The Hidden1987

A body-horror creature feature wrapped in a buddy-cop comedy. Fast, inventive, and genuinely nasty in places. It knows exactly what it is and commits. Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri have real chemistry.

But The tone is tricksy—it whips between funny and grotesque, which can feel unfocused if you're not on its wavelength.

Hellraiser1987

Clive Barker's directorial debut: high-concept horror with visual ambition and genuine ideas. It's gothic, sexual, and grotesque in ways mainstream horror was afraid to be. A true original that still holds power.

But It's slow and methodical, which will frustrate anyone craving Jason Lives' kinetic pace. The sexuality is explicit and perverse, not everyone's thing.

From Beyond1986

An interdimensional gore-fest from Re-Animator's director. Weird, funny, gorgeously disgusting practical effects. It swings for the fences and occasionally connects in surprising ways. Great cast, great energy.

But It's aggressively strange and occasionally incoherent. The plot is an afterthought, and the tone is proudly ridiculous—if you want clarity, look elsewhere.

Rawhead Rex1986

An Irish creature feature with a creature designed by H.R. Giger. Bizarre and committed in equal measure. It's aggressive and strange in ways mainstream horror wasn't, and that strangeness is a feature, not a bug.

But It's genuinely poorly made in some ways—script issues, pacing problems, uneven acting. The strangeness won't fascinate everyone.

Creature1985

A locked-room sci-fi slasher with a genuinely interesting creature and committed ensemble work. Underrated, tense, and fun. The set design alone is worth the evening.

But It's the definition of mid-tier 80s horror: capable and entertaining but not exceptional. You might forget it within a week.

Dead Heat1988

Same tonal DNA: takes its horror premise seriously enough to execute it competently, then undercuts every scary beat with genuine humor. Both understand that commitment to the bit is what makes it funny.

A buddy-cop zombie-action film that nobody has ever heard of, and that's criminal. Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo investigate a zombie outbreak with enormous practical ingenuity and genuine laughs. It's madcap and generous with its jokes.

But It's broad comedy first and action second, so if you want a 50/50 split, you'll feel the imbalance. Production values are visibly limited, which some will read as cheap.

Visiting Hours1982

Both are slashers that understand spectacle over psychology—but Visiting Hours is the dark mirror, showing what happens when you don't let the comedy in.

A hospital-set slasher from Jean Claude Van Damme's early career, with Lee Grant and Michael Ironside. It's utterly committed: visceral in ways Jason isn't, genuinely unsettling, but also completely preposterous. A cult gem nobody talks about.

But It's darker and meaner-spirited than Jason Lives—it's misogynistic in ways that feel intentional and gross. The plot is thin and the protagonist spends half the film unconscious. It's an ordeal.