Five years after Paramount dumped the series, New Line Cinema, recruited the originals director Sean S. Cunningham to produce this ninth entry in the Friday The 13th series to try and spin it into a new direction (and it works somewhat).

At first we're not too impressed with a seemingly by-the-book opening shot that has a nubile young woman going to a remote cabin, getting undressed and being chased by Jason. But, guess what!, turns out she's an FBI agent and they've set a trap that ends with them blowing our favourite hockey masked killer to bits.

This being a sequel though, soon Jason's evil black heart hypnotizes the local coroner who soon sloppily maws down Jason's still beating heart. Soon it's all sorts of body switching fun (think 1987's The Hidden and you'll get the idea) as Jason possesses body after body and bloodily knocks people off while trying to hunt down and transfer his soul to a living relative in order to be reborn. Also in the mix is an underdeveloped bounty hunter character played by Steven Williams who is after Jason and explains he can only be killed with a magical dagger by his own kin (umm, yeah...).

This isn't a bad little sequel and certainly gets marks for not only having the most grue of the series but also for trying to at least have some sort of plot (no matter how silly it feels at times).

Like part six this goes for a tongue-in-cheek approach and it works okay (I like how Jason treads on a condom before dispatching some un-safe sex practising campers) and there's enough cool dispatch (the tent peg split is the best murder in the entire series, there's a cool arm break and a diner massacre that serves up lots of gory enjoyment) to make it a watchable time for fans despite the fact the last third is a little sloppily scripted and the finale is quite silly.

Check out that lame set-up for a "Jason Vs. Freddy" movie - which, much to my chagrin, started filming in September 2002. Avoid the R-rated version - it's cut to ribbons.

Followed by Jason X.

Directed By: Adam Marcus.
Written By: Jay Huguely, Dean Lorey.

Starring: John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Allison Smith, Steven Culp.