It’s Friday the 13th
Friday again, and this time I’m expanding on one of the horror lover challenge
questions:
25: Best version of Jason
Voorhees
Let's start by narrowing
down what I mean by best. Best actor? Kane Hodder, no question. Ask either of the
guys who’ve done it since, they’ll probably tell you the same. Kane Hodder’s
Jason has a very specific body language that the others don’t have (though I
wish they had).
It’s the heavy breathing as he
stands still, the turn of the head before turning the body, the wide stance,
sudden movements coupled with methodical walking pace. This isn’t just some
stuntman in a mask and a boiler suit, this is a proper performance.
The trouble is, as evidenced
by sources of the clips above, Kane Hodder’s Jason was in the worst instalments
of the franchise.
Next, we move on to costume. Jason’s
had a lot of looks over the years; let’s take a look over them:
I like Jason in battered but
not shredded clothes – this is more a constant of the latter films, Jason X
onward. I think I’d give this one to the Freddy vs. Jason version. Least
favourite is probably Jason Goes to Hell. Best look for Kane would be the
opening scenes of Jason X.
A key element of Jason’s look is
the mask, obviously. Here’s a close-up guide to all the masks:
There’s actually a lot more
variation there than the casual observer would expect. Again, I think the prize
would go to the more recent entries, FvJ and the remake, with the remake just
edging it out. The mask has a better shape and looks battered and aged without
being broken. It has a better fit than the early masks, and the weathering rids
it of some of the sheen of the early versions. Kane’s best version is probably
Jason X again, but that one has a weirdly flattened nose which merges with the
mouth part. Least favourite is probably JGTH again – I really don’t like that
broken look.
The ultimate Jason then would
be Kane Hodder in the FvJ outfit with the remake mask, but as we’ll never get
that let’s go for flatface Jason from the start of Jason X. Runner up in all
categories (with the potential to someday be the best if the gets the chance to
do it again) is Derek Mears, remake Jason. Least favourite would be either JGTH
battered Jason or Jason X’s Uber Jason.
And that’s about as nerdy as I
get. Thank goodness I don’t have any readers; I’d have lost them all.
Do you similar rankings for unmasked Jason? I seem to recall that his face differed from film to film.
ReplyDeleteNot really given that aspect much thought, but there's an article on it here: http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/2012/10/30/the-many-faces-of-jason-voorhees/
ReplyDelete