Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
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After accidentally resurrecting the mass murderer Jason Voorhees, a haunted young man must find a way to stop the undead killer's new killing spree.
The story
One year after being released from a mental hospital, Tommy Jarvis returns to Crystal Lake, now renamed Forest Green, with his friend Allen Hawes to confront his fears. They intend to cremate the body of the mass murderer Jason Voorhees to end Tommy's nightmares. However, during a thunderstorm, Tommy accidentally restores Jason as a revenant with superhuman strength. As Jason begins a new killing spree, Tommy is branded as a delusional liar by the local sheriff. Tommy must navigate the town's suspicion and his own trauma to stop the supernatural force that has returned to the woods.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
One year after attempting to kill Pam Roberts, Tommy Jarvis is released from the local Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He still suffers from flashbacks of the mass murderer Jason Voorhees, whom he killed six years ago. Tommy returns to Crystal Lake, renamed Forest Green, to confront his fears, along with his friend Allen Hawes. The pair visit Jason's grave during a thunderstorm, intending to cremate the killer's body and finally end Tommy's nightmares. After digging up Jason's corpse, Tommy experiences another flashback of his last encounter with Jason. As he impales Jason's body with a metal fence post, two lightning bolts strike the post; this restores Jason as a revenant with superhuman strength. After killing Hawes by punching his heart out, Jason dons his hockey mask (which Tommy has brought). Tommy flees to the sheriff's office, where he attempts to warn the police of Jason's return. Instead, Tommy is arrested and jailed by Sheriff Mike Garris, who is aware of Tommy's institutionalization. Sheriff Garris presumes that Tommy is hallucinating Jason's return. On the road, camp counselors Darren and Lizbeth get lost looking for Camp Forest Green. They discover Jason, who murders them both. The following morning, Garris' daughter Megan arrives at his station, along with her friends Sissy, Cort, and Lizbeth's sister Paula. The four teenagers report Darren and Lizbeth missing. Tommy warns them about Jason, who is now considered an urban legend. Despite her prompt attraction to him, Megan is unsure whether to believe Tommy. In the woods, Jason happens upon a corporate paintball game; he crushes the player Burt's face into a tree, decapitates three other players, and dismembers Roy, the final player. He also commandeers a machete from the players. As children arrive at Camp Forest Green, the teen counselors do their best to run the camp. They keep wondering what has happened to Darren and Lizbeth. Meanwhile, Garris opts to transfer Tommy out of his jurisdiction to prevent anyone else from hearing his rants about Jason's return. On the way out of town, Tommy makes a run for Jason's grave, which Martin, the caretaker, has covered up to deny responsibility for the grave being robbed. Hawes' body is buried in Jason's place. A handcuffed Tommy is escorted out of town by Garris, who threatens him if he ever returns. That night, Jason butchers Martin, along with a nearby couple who happen to witness the murder. Meanwhile, Cort meets with a girl named Nikki. Jason stalks Cort and Nikki in their RV and lures them outside but the teen couple drives away. Jason pulls Nikki into the RV's bathroom and kills her. Jason then kills Cort which flips the RV, before Jason walks out. When Garris' men find Darren and Lizbeth's bodies, Garris promptly implicates Tommy in the double murder. Garris is convinced that Tommy's "delusions" regarding Jason have driven him berserk. Tommy contacts Megan for help luring Jason back to Crystal Lake, and she agrees. Meanwhile, Jason makes his way to the camp. He kills both Sissy and Paula but refrains from harming the children. Elsewhere, Garris pulls Tommy and Megan over and brings them back to the station. When he receives a call about the murders of Nikki and Cort, Megan points out that Tommy has been with her for the past few hours and could not have been responsible. Garris, however, remains unconvinced; he locks Tommy up and tells Megan he will decide what to do with her later. Garris and two of his deputies Thornton and Pappas head out for the camp to arrest Tommy's (nonexistent) "accomplice". Jason attacks all three lawmen, forcing Garris to accept that Tommy is right all along. Megan breaks Tommy out of jail, and they rush to the camp. Garris is killed by Jason while trying to protect Megan. Jason is about to kill Megan when Tommy calls to him from a boat out on the lake; remembering his killer, Jason goes after Tommy instead. Tommy chains a boulder around Jason's neck, trapping him underwater, but Jason demolishes the boat and drags him beneath the lake's surface. When Megan dives in to rescue Tommy, Jason grabs her leg; she pushes Jason off using the boat's outboard motor, sending him to the bottom of Crystal Lake. Megan swims Tommy back to shore and revives him via CPR. Tommy says that Jason is finally home. The final shot shows Jason underwater, still alive, but powerless to free himself.
- First release year
- 1986
- Runtime (minutes)
- 87
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tom McLoughlin
- Writers
- Tom McLoughlin · writer; Tom McLoughlin · director
- Cast and characters
- Thom Mathews · Tommy Jarvis; Jennifer Cooke · Megan Garris; David Kagen · Sheriff Mike Garris; Renée Jones · Sissy Baker; Kerry Noonan · Paula Mott; Darcy DeMoss · Nikki Parsley; Tom Fridley · Cort Andrews; C.J. Graham · Jason Voorhees
- Genres
- slasher; horror
- Themes
- Resurrection; Supernatural horror; Metahumor; Gothic fiction
- Tone and mood
- Slick; Predictable; Gory; Self-referential
- Premise and plot tags
- Slasher; Supernatural; Action; Comedy; Horror
- Franchise connections
- Friday the 13th
- Content notes
- Sex
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and is considered a fan favorite, praised for its self-referential humor and prefiguring the Scream series. It was a financial success, grossing $19.5 million on a $3 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was the first in the series to feature Jason as an explicitly supernatural force.; The film's producers requested 16 killings, while the original cut contained 13.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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