As its title suggests, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was intended to signal a rebirth for what would become the 1980s’ most prolific horror franchise. Instead, thanks to a combination of gratuitous exploitation, disgruntled actors, and some groan-worthy identity theft, the fifth entry nearly killed it.
Having started out shooting hardcore porn before making the rape-revenge thriller Savage Streets and the gleefully perverted slasher The Unseen, director Danny Steinmann was always going to take the series into bloodier and seedier territory. He lived up to his reputation, racking up a record-breaking kill count of 22 while also reaching new highs (or, arguably, lows) in scatological humor and naked flesh.
