40 Fun Facts About Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

What brings Jason back to life at the bottom of Crystal Lake at the start of Jason Takes Manhattan?

A damaged power cable does it: a boat's anchor snags it on the lakebed and the surge shocks Jason awake. Earlier sequels revived him with lightning and with a psychic's telekinesis.

How does Jason kill the boxer Julius after their rooftop fight in Jason Takes Manhattan?

Jason punches his head off with one blow, after Julius exhausts himself landing a long string of hits that never put the killer down.

In early plans for Jason Takes Manhattan, which landmark would Jason have climbed and dived from?

The Statue of Liberty dive was one of the big set pieces the writer-director imagined, along with a Brooklyn Bridge sequence and a visit to a Broadway play. Paramount's budget ruled nearly all of them out.

The makers of which later slasher sequel, also set in New York, studied Jason Takes Manhattan?

Scream VI moved its killer from the town of Woodsboro to New York in 2023, and its team studied the 1989 film for the feeling of being alone among millions of people.

Why did Paramount pull the first Jason Takes Manhattan poster after a New York official complained?

It used a tourism logo: Jason was shown slashing through New York's famous heart emblem, and a state development official objected. The replacement had him looming over the skyline.

Which future X2 villain actress made her film debut as the student Eva in Jason Takes Manhattan?

Kelly Hu was a former Miss Teen USA when she took the part, her first in a feature. She went on to play Lady Deathstrike in X2 and Cassandra in The Scorpion King.

In Jason Takes Manhattan, what does Jason use to kill the aspiring rock star J.J. below deck?

Her own guitar becomes the weapon after she goes down into the hold alone for its echoing acoustics. She is the first passenger Jason kills once he is aboard.

What does Rennie hurl at Jason in the sewers at the climax of Jason Takes Manhattan, melting his skin?

Toxic waste from a vat does the damage, and a flood of the same sludge then sweeps Jason away. A sewer worker had warned the couple that the tunnels fill at midnight.

Which Canadian city stood in for most of New York in Jason Takes Manhattan to keep the budget down?

Vancouver doubled for most of the city, alleyways included, because shooting only in Manhattan cost more than Paramount would spend. Only part of the film was shot in New York itself.

Which future Baywatch star was beaten to the lead role of Rennie in Jason Takes Manhattan?

Pamela Anderson was up for the part before she was famous and lost out to Jensen Daggett. She joined the lifeguard drama in 1992.

Which ship carries Crystal Lake's high schoolers toward New York in Jason Takes Manhattan before it sinks?

Lazarus is the ship's name, shared with the man Jesus raises from the dead in the Gospel of John. It suits a film that opens with Jason returning to life.

Which stuntman plays Jason in Jason Takes Manhattan, the second of his four straight films in the role?

Kane Hodder phoned to ask for the part again after The New Blood and became the first actor to play Jason more than once. He kept the role through Jason X.

In Jason Takes Manhattan, who caused Rennie's fear of water by pushing her into Crystal Lake as a child?

Her uncle, the biology teacher Charles McCulloch, shoved her in to make her swim. Rennie only remembers it late in the film, and she abandons him moments before Jason catches him.

Onto what does Sean push Jason to stun him during the subway chase in Jason Takes Manhattan?

The third rail electrocutes Jason and drops him on the tracks, but only for a moment. He soon revives and chases the couple up into the city streets.

Which landmark, named in an early subtitle for Jason Takes Manhattan, hosted filming before crowds of fans?

Times Square scenes were shot on location while passers-by and fans looked on, and one fan fainted when the actor playing Jason pointed at her. The film was briefly subtitled Terror in Times Square.

After the sewer flood at the end of Jason Takes Manhattan, what does Rennie see lying where Jason fell?

A small boy lies where the killer fell, the last of the visions that trouble Rennie throughout the film. The writer-director added them to explore Jason's childhood.

How does Jason scare off a gang of street punks who pull a knife on him in Jason Takes Manhattan?

Jason reveals his face by lifting the hockey mask, and the gang runs. It is a rare case of him choosing to spare people who threaten him.

Jason Takes Manhattan was followed four years later by a ninth film in the series with which subtitle?

The Final Friday was the subtitle of Jason Goes to Hell, which arrived in 1993. Its producer insisted that the events of the Manhattan film be ignored.

The students aboard the ship in Jason Takes Manhattan are sailing to New York City to celebrate what?

Their graduation from Lakeview High is the reason for the cruise, with two teachers along as chaperones. Very few of the class live to see the city.

After Jason Takes Manhattan moved Jason away from Crystal Lake, the tenth film sent him where?

Outer space is the setting of Jason X, which thaws the killer out in the 25th century. Shot in 2000, it did not reach American cinemas until April 2002.

Jensen Daggett, the heroine of Jason Takes Manhattan, later played Tim Taylor's sister-in-law on which sitcom?

Home Improvement cast her as Nancy Taylor, wife of Tim's younger brother Marty. She quit acting in 1999 to raise her two sons.

Scott Reeves, who plays Sean in Jason Takes Manhattan, spent a decade as Ryan McNeil on which daytime soap?

The Young and the Restless made him a daytime star and brought him two Daytime Emmy nominations. He later co-wrote a country song that went to number one.

Saffron Henderson, the rocker J.J. in Jason Takes Manhattan, later voiced Gohan as a child in which anime?

Dragon Ball Z fans know her as the English voice of Kid Gohan, and she also voiced Kid Goku. Her father, Bill Henderson, fronted the Canadian rock band Chilliwack.

Peter Mark Richman, the teacher in Jason Takes Manhattan, played Chrissy's father Reverend Snow on which sitcom?

Three's Company used him as the Reverend Luther Snow in the late 1970s, and he later spent three years on Dynasty. Before acting, he had worked as a pharmacist.

After Jason Takes Manhattan flopped, the rights to Jason went to which rival studio, the owner of Freddy Krueger?

New Line Cinema took over the character and made the following sequels, including the long-delayed crossover against its own Freddy Krueger. It did not get the series title, so its films dropped the franchise name.

Jason Takes Manhattan was the first film in its series with no score credit for which longtime composer?

Harry Manfredini wrote the series' music from the 1980 original onward, and his old cues were reused again in The New Blood. Fred Mollin scored the Manhattan film by himself.

Which act in the script of Jason Takes Manhattan did the stuntman playing Jason refuse to perform?

Kick a dog was a step too far for the man in the costume, who argued that Jason kills people but would never hurt an animal. The heroine's pet survives the film.

Ken Kirzinger, who played Jason opposite Freddy Krueger in 2003, appears in Jason Takes Manhattan as what?

A diner cook who confronts Jason and gets thrown over the counter was his uncredited part. He was also the film's stunt coordinator and doubled as Jason in two brief stunts.

Which crew member in Jason Takes Manhattan warns that Jason is aboard and is then blamed for the killings?

The deckhand fills the doomsayer role that Crazy Ralph played in the first two films: nobody believes him. He is cleared the hard way, found with a fire axe in his back.

Which film critic gave Jason Takes Manhattan two stars out of four yet called it the best in the series?

Leonard Maltin praised its imaginative direction while grumbling about its length. Most reviewers were far harsher, and a Detroit Free Press critic gave it no stars at all.

Which first-time feature director, fresh from the Friday the 13th TV series, made Jason Takes Manhattan?

Rob Hedden got the job ahead of sequel pitches from the previous film's director and two of its stars. His aim was to get Jason out of the lake where the series had kept him.

With what does Jason kill the prom queen Tamara in her cabin after she showers in Jason Takes Manhattan?

A mirror shard from her cabin's smashed bathroom mirror is the weapon. Shortly before, Tamara had lured her biology teacher into a compromising scene to rescue her grade.

Where on the ship does Jason corner and strangle the student Eva in Jason Takes Manhattan?

On the dance floor of the ship's disco, strobe lights make Jason seem to be everywhere at once before he lifts Eva by the throat. She had just found her friend's body.

Jason Takes Manhattan opens with Jason on the lakebed, dragged down by the ghostly father of which heroine?

Tina Shepard summoned her drowned father's spirit at the end of The New Blood, and he pulled Jason down in chains. The Manhattan story picks up a year later.

Jason turned up in full costume as a guest of which late-night host to promote Jason Takes Manhattan?

Arsenio Hall had only launched his talk show that January, and like the film it was a Paramount production.

Which magazine ranked Jason Takes Manhattan, the eighth film in its series, as the eighth-worst sequel ever made?

Entertainment Weekly put it on a 2007 list of the worst sequels. A GQ writer pushed back in 2018, calling it one of the most stylish entries in the series.

The director of Jason Takes Manhattan pitched its ship scenes as part Das Boot and part which monster movie?

Aliens gave him the model for a killer lurking in the lower decks, with a storm at sea adding to the claustrophobia. His first idea kept the entire film on the water.

Which working title, shared with a David Bowie song, hid the script of Jason Takes Manhattan from prying eyes?

Ashes to Ashes was the cover name on early copies of the script, used to conceal that it was a new entry in the slasher series.

The director of Jason Takes Manhattan wanted an opening song in the style of which British rock singer?

Robert Plant was the model for the song by the band Metropolis that plays over the opening and closing credits. It had no official release until 1999.

Gordon Currie, the student Miles in Jason Takes Manhattan, later played the Antichrist in which film series?

Left Behind cast him as Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist who rallies the world against Christ's followers. He once shared a Los Angeles flat with Brad Pitt.