How do you rescue a flailing franchise, especially when the previous installment in the scare series was meant to take the entire enterprise in a new and novel direction? Well, if you're Paramount, you pack up the idea of turning Tommy Jarvis into the next masked spree killer and bring back old hockey head himself, Jason. Indeed, with the underwhelming response to A New Beginning from those within the Friday the 13th fan base, the studio decided to go the route of many macabre myths and bring back the monster that started it all. As a result, Jason Lives literally reinvigorates the celebrated slasher, the work of writer/director Tom McLaughlin injecting the standard slice and dice with a heaping helping of humor.

Once again, Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews, this time) is haunted by his visions of serial killer Jason. So in order to cure his raging psychosis, he breaks out of the local loony bin, drags unsuspecting patient Allen Hawes (Ron Palillo) along, and hits the Crystal Lake cemetery. The plan is to unearth the murderer's remains, soak them in gasoline, and light 'em up. Only then will Tommy be satisfied that Jason is indeed dead. Unfortunately, a fluke accident with some lightning brings the rotting corpse back to life. Soon, an undead Jason is running around town continuing his carving and cleaving ways. This makes Sheriff Michael Garris (David Kagen) antsy, especially with his daughter (Jennifer Cooke) working as a counselor over at the newly reopened camp.

This is it -- the beginning of a new chapter in the Friday the 13th/Voorhees mythos. Fans reference it as the "Zombie Jason" segment of the franchise, and such a label is completely apropos. Instead of being a seemingly unstoppable killing machine with the slightest possibility of biological fallibilities to exploit, the mutant with mother issues is now a walking, whacking murder machine. Granted, this robs the setup of some of its suspense, but it allows series newbie McLaughlin to work on both the tone and the storytelling involved. There is a lot of kitsch here, from the appearance of Mr. Kotter's least favorite student to Kagen's over-the-top Method histrionics as the local lawman. Indeed, Jason Lives is less about the victim pool and more about the notion of having to deal with a psychotic, ambulatory corpse.

The last act is especially potent, with Jason wandering around a camp full of kids. Indeed, this is the only Friday the 13th where children, not randy teens with hormone and alcohol dependencies, are actually threatened. Sure, the youngsters provide a couple of potent giggles (especially a couple of cynical pre-teen boys), but the notion of innocents violated by a hulking homicidal behemoth just has a particularly nasty ring to it. Of course, MPAA-mandated ratings keep the kiddies out of harm's way, but the rest of the murders have a real heft and horror, even without the onscreen arterial spray. From spears through the neck to faces smashed into the side of motor homes (a particularly nasty effect), Zombie Jason means business.

Thanks to the efforts of McLaughlin, his humor-laced script, and the ongoing need to feed the movie macabre machine, Jason Lives becomes a near-classic. Sure, it's sloppy at times, and gets bogged down in one too many daddy/daughter stand-offs. Aside from Kagen and Mathews, the rest of the cast is less than memorable, and we really wonder how Tommy's "plan" for ending the nightmare will really work (it's poorly set up and explained). In a series that was always more by-the-numbers than bravado, this is a fun, fresh facelift. Too bad it was almost all downhill from here.

The Deluxe Edition DVD includes a commentary track, deleted scenes, and retrospective making-of featurettes.