Jason X
If the entirety of "Jason X" was as deliberately loopy and goofy as the final 10 minutes, the filmmakers might have really had something.The climactic sequence of this science-fiction/horror film is surprisingly funny and (gulp!) entertaining, and seems to indicate that even the filmmakers are acknowledging what a stupid idea this whole film was to begin with.
Unfortunately, it takes nearly 80 minutes to get to that point — an experiment in tedium that's filled with more of the sickeningly gory nonsense we've come to expect from the "Friday the 13th" series.
Though the majority of the film takes place several centuries in the future, the opening sequence is set in the nearer future, as project leaders at the Crystal Lake Research Facility try to find a way to kill the seemingly unkillable Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder), who's under lock and key.
As you might expect, he gets loose and soon murders everyone in sight, except for Rowan (Lexa Doig, from syndicated television's "Andromeda"), who manages to trap Jason in a deep-freeze chamber.
Nearly 500 years later, a group of student explorers finds Rowan and the frozen killer-cicle and brings the two of them aboard their starship. The students manage to thaw and heal the injured Rowan, but they fail to heed her dire warnings about Jason, who soon goes on a murder spree aboard the ship.
Worse, there's no suspense here, since all the characters are pretty unlikable. That can be attributed to both the awful script (by first-timer Todd Farmer, who has a small supporting role as a doomed space marine) as well as the underwhelming performances.
The only performer who seems to realize just how awful all this is, is Doig's "Andromeda" co-star Lisa Ryder, playing an all-too-familiar android character that might as well be called "Data-ette" because of her obvious similarities to the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" character Data.
"Jason X" is rated R for graphic horror violence (including stabbings, shootings and beatings) and gore, scattered use of strong sex-related profanity, simulated sex and sexual acts, crude sexual talk, brief female nudity and brief drug use (painkillers, as well as marijuana). Running time: 89 minutes.
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