Quentin Tarantino Applauds Streaming Slasher for “Truly impressive kills”; Watch Now [Video]
Horror is more than its kill scenes, though as the genre has developed and shifted over time, a subgenre predicated almost exclusively around those kills has emerged. That isn’t to dismiss the other merits of films like Terrifier and, more recently, In a Violent Nature, but the calling card is often the new, gruesome ways filmmakers can dismember, behead, or maim (among other things) its cast of characters.
In the world of slashers especially, a good kill scene often makes all the difference. Suspense and artistry are just as important, though legacy slashers have all but exhausted the stories they’re going to tell. In narrative’s place is instead the same killer in a different setting killing different characters in different ways. It can elevate even a mediocre film, and in the case of Jason X, esteemed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino seems to agree.
At the time of release, the Friday the 13th franchise was struggling. It’s struggling now, too, no doubt, but after The Final Friday, the series, frankly, had no idea what to do with Jason Voorhees. Make no mistake, the series remained a hoot, though it was hard to watch something like The New Blood and wonder how we’d gotten there.
In the case of Jason X, Jason had just finished a body-swapping spree near Camp Crystal Lake before his mask was dragged to Hell by none other than Freddy Krueger. Freddy vs. Jason would sit in development hell for years, so director Jim Isaac would resurrect him one more time for some extraterrestrial tomfoolery. It’s so out there, so ridiculous, it’s no wonder it’s one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite entries in the series.
Our own Tyler Doupé loves Jason X, noting how the film is “entertaining and boasts some truly impressive kills.” I’m not its biggest fan, but I’ll side with both Tyler and Quentin Tarantino when it comes to the tenth entry’s carnage. Tarantino is particularly fond of the scene where Jason “solidifies a woman’s face by forcing it into liquid nitrogen, then slams it against a counter so it shatters like glass.”
It’s pretty sick. It’s up there with Part 2’s double-impalement and The Final Friday’s signpost through the back. The series has long been lauded for its increasingly creative deaths. Jason X, at the very least, deserves some credit for maintaining that ingenuity decades in. Now, if we could get another movie, please, and thank you. Why not make that your final film, Quentin Tarantino?
What do you think? How do you feel about Jason X? Do you agree with Quentin Tarantino? Sound off over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
