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5 Favorite ‘Friday The 13th’ Characters!!!

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Let’s face it, the Friday The 13th franchise isn’t exactly known for great writing, outstanding performances, thematic heft, arcs, or anything that would remotely constitute an olive branch to the non-horror fan. But that doesn’t mean the moves are without merit! I’m a nut for the franchise (which you can probably tell by my ranking of the franchise) and, even aside from the kills, there’s plenty to like!

Just because the series isn’t known for its great characters doesn’t mean that there’s not a handful of characters and performances that rise above the rest.

Head inside for my 5 Favorite Friday The 13th Characters!

TOMMY JARVIS (Corey Feldman, John Shepherd, Thom Mathews)Parts 4-6

Tommy Jarvis wins placement here despite not even really being a character. His traits fluctuate so wildly from film to film that there’s no real defining set of characteristics. Corey Feldman plays him as a precocious special effects expert in The Final Chapter. John Shepherd portrays him as an oily mute in A New Beginning. Though I suppose there’s some consistency here. His version of the character still makes masks and sh*t and I wouldn’t be all that talkative either after the events of the 4th film. Meanwhile, Thom Mathews’ version of the character in Jason Lives (pictured above) is proactive and reasonably mentally healthy all things considered though he actually gives the best performance among the character’s three iterations. What Tommy Jarvis does add is a sense of narrative stability throughout parts 4-6. It’s kind of amazing that all it takes is a consistent name to form mid-franchise trilogy.

MEGAN GARRIS (Jennifer Cooke)Part 6

In a series not known for strong characters on either side of the sexual divide, Jennifer Cooke does impressive work in her turn as Megan Garris, the rebellious Sheriff’s daughter in Jason Lives. Too often in the F13 films a female character is given “depth” by a single line of exposition. Not here. Cooke plays her as confident, bold, naive, smart, sexy and genuinely alive. In the real world it’s probably not such a powerhouse performance but, relative to this series, it deserves any accolades legally bestowable to such a film.

CREIGHTON DUKE (Steven Williams)Jason Goes To Hell

Watch the video below and tell me he doesn’t belong on this list.

JIMMY MORTIMER (Crispin GloverThe Final Chapter

One of the only characters in the franchise with a semi-complete arc. He goes from a shy, goofy kid who’s worried about being a “dead f*ck” to a svelte party master who owns his awkwardness on the dance floor. Then he sleeps with one of the Doublemint Twins, a lady who indeed is able to confirm the validity of his sexual prowess.

CRAZY RALPH (Walt Gorney)Parts 1-2

Such shameless minstrelsy can’t go without notice or praise! I often times wonder what it would have been like to see this series in order or even at the time of release. Had I been in the theater in 1980 I would have known I was in good, goofy hands as soon as he popped up proclaiming, “you’re doomed! You’re all doomed!

What are your favorite F13 characters?

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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