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Part five is always a weird entry in any horror franchise. For one thing, it’s rare for a franchise to make it to five entries and still have a pulse in the series. Part 5 is usually where things get weird. In Halloween 5 The Revenge of Michael Myers, Myers, and his niece Jaime share a psychic link. Is it ever explained why they do? No, and there is a mysterious man in black that breaks Myers out of prison, which is also never explained. Then there is Leprechaun 5 In the Hood which asks the question, what if this time we put him in the ghetto? Hellraiser Inferno, Howling 5 The Rebirth, the list goes on and on. That being said there are a few gems to be found in Part fives. I recently asked myself, what if you did a horror movie marathon, with five-part fives, from five different franchises. Could your mind handle that? That sounds like a feat only the great Joe Bob Briggs and Queen Darcy The Mail Girl could handle. For two of the films, I will also be recommending that you listen to two different horror podcasts, that cover the films. Horror Queers from the Bloody Disgusting podcast network. As well as Halloweenies from the Consequence podcast network. So submitted for your approval I give you, The high five, the five best part fives, and the best order to watch them in.
1) Friday The 13th Part 5: A New Beginning
To start the marathon we are gonna ease ourselves into the crazy with a classic 80’s slasher, Friday The 13th Part 5: A New Beginning. I know that it has had a lot of hate over the years and I’ve never understood it. It’s fast-paced, with great kills and a pretty likable group of characters, which is rare in one of these movies. Plus the Tommy Jarvis trilogy made up of parts, 4,5 and 6 have always had a great continuity that the rest of the series lacks. This film takes place 5 years after the last film, which ended with Tommy killing Jason. Tommy was a sweet and dorky horror fan in part 4, in this entry he is a PTSD stricken mess.
One moment he’s just sitting and minding his own business, the next someone upsets him and bam! Karate kick to the face. What makes F13P5 so unique is that they tried to reinvent the franchise in this film. Jason never actually appears in the film, the killer is revealed to be an imposter after being killed by Tommy. The original plan for the franchise was for Tommy to become the new killer of the franchise, becoming psychotic from his trauma. This would have been a really interesting move to keep the franchise fresh and original.This could have been an interesting turn for the franchise. And to keep it fresh you could make Jason into a curse, maybe whoever kills him becomes him. It didn’t come to pass as due to the negative reception from fans, Jason was resurrected in part 6. It all worked out for the best in the end. Still, A New Beginning is an essential part of the franchise and the slasher genre in the long run. It has great kills and a unique setting. Fun characters and good performances and most of all, random kick-ass karate from Tommy Jarvis.
2) Seed Of Chucky
The Childs Play franchise is one of the most imaginative and enduring franchises out there. Very few franchises have been able to go from straight-up horror to horror-comedy, to this crazy-ass movie and back to horror, without ever rebooting the series. Don Mancini is the brilliant mastermind behind this series and I love this series to death. He really doesn’t get enough credit for keeping this franchise inventive and original. Keeping that in mind Seed Of Chucky is balls to the walls crazy. As Trace Thurman of the Horror Queers podcast says, “I have to know how this movie got made?”The previous film in the series Bride Of Chucky was a horror-comedy leaning more into the comedic side. Seed is a straight-up wacky ass comedy.
This movie is so wacky it has the wonderful Jennifer Tilly, playing not only Tiffany but also a fictional version of herself. The film follows Chucky and Tiffany’s child Glen/Glinda who seeks to find their parents. Easily the best thing about this film is Jennifer Tilly. She is fully aware of how crazy this movie is and is a giving a hundred and ten percent in her performance This movie also is filled with some of the wackiest kills in the franchise. We have death by sulfuric acid, and death by a homemade flamethrower. Chucky even runs Britney Spears off the road leading to a fiery car explosion, and yes that is the real Britney Spears playing herself. There are many queer elements in this film that I feel I am unqualified to talk about. This is why I recommend listening to the Seed Of Chucky episode of Horror Queers, Hosted by horror queer experts and bloody disgusting writers Trace Thurman and Joe Lipsett. In the episode, they cover the film brilliantly and discuss the queer themes regarding the character of Glen/Glenda. At the end of this piece is an link to their episode so you can check it out. And you’ll see why this is an essential part of the high five horror marathon.
https://horrorqueers.libsyn.com
3) Silent Night Deadly Night Part 5- The Toy Maker
Like Seed Of Chucky, It’s shocking that this movie got made.The fifth and final entry in one of the most bizarre horror franchises ever made. Most people have at least seen at the first film, or are at least are aware of its existence. The same can also be said of the second film if only for the infamous garbage day scene, that has become a famous internet meme. The first two films follow the killer Santa storyline, the third film does as well but also introduces supernatural elements. The fourth one is about an evil cult. Then you get this film, with evil toys made by the psychotic Mr. Petoo, played by Mickey Rooney. Is this film a good movie?
Not at all, that being said it was a very entertaining horror flick that keeps you guessing till the very end. I won’t spoil the twist at the end of the film in case anyone hasn’t seen it but holy hell, is it crazy. I don’t think anyone watching this for the first time expected this film to go in that direction. Probably the best thing about this movie is that you don’t know who to trust. Mr. Petoo seems like a sweet old toymaker, who just wants to cheer up Derek, the protagonist who lost his father. Seconds later he’s beating his son in a drunken rant and blaming him for his failures in life. Then there is his son Pino. Right front the beginning you can tell something is wrong with this kid, and like Petto his behavior is erratic and almost bipolar. The first time we see him, he scares Derek with a scary mask, then proceeds to offer him a toy as an apology. Pino is so unsettling in almost every scene because you never get a sense of what is going on in his head. I also really appreciate the on the nose joke of the character’s names being an obvious play on Gepetto and Pinocchio. You might wanna take a 10-minute intermission after this film to process what you just watched.
4) A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5- The Dream Child
This is another one of those films that for years was considered a bad movie by many horror fans, but it’s pretty good upon rewatch. Dream Child is the one I watched the least growing up because it wasn’t as fun as, Dream Warriors or Dream Master. That’s probably why so many people who love this franchise, didn’t love this entry as kids. As Mike Vanderbilt of the Halooweenies podcast says. “Even the worst Nightmare On Elm Street movie is more imaginative than the best Halloween sequel. And I agree with him 100%.In Dream Master, Freddy had long MTV Freddy, seen throughout all mediums of pop culture. However the tone of the movie feels more like they wanted to take the franchise back to the first film, and get back to making a scary film. The film takes place roughly a year after the events of Dream Master and continues the story of Alice Johnson. Alice is one of the greatest horror heroines in all of slasher history. Don’t get me wrong Nancy Thompson is a great character, but she worked best in Dream Warriors as the mentor guiding the group. Alice has such a great arch that feels real and genuine. She begins as a shy and introverted girl who is unsure of herself.
Then after losing her friends she uses her trauma as a weapon against Freddy and becomes the dream master. In this entry, we see her in a new role, a mother. Her boyfriend Dan has been killed by Freddy and Alice is pregnant with Dan’s child. She once again must battle Freddy, not just to save her own life, but the soul of her unborn son. What also really works in this movie is just how dark it is, especially when compared to Dream Master. There is a dark and gothic tone that is felt throughout the film that the series hasn’t seen since part 2. Not everything works unfortunately, this is the movie that gave us one some of the hammiest and over the top Freddy moments ever. “It’s a boy!” To name one. There is also a very silly comic book style dream where Freddy becomes super Freddy. Considering this film tried to go back to the dark roots of the first two films, it feels like Robert Englund is playing MTV Freddy at his worst, at least until Freddy’s Dead. It has some silly moments but it is still a really fun slasher film and has aged surprisingly well. For a more detailed explanation of this film be sure to check out the Halloweenies podcast episode on the film
5) Final Destination 5
And here we come to an end with the greatest part 5 in horror history, Final Destination 5. Not only is it the best part 5, but its arguably the best of the whole series. The series reenergized the slasher genre, in a fun and inventive way that we had not seen before. With the exception of part 4, all of these movies are fun and enjoyable thrill rides, with some of the most over the top and fun death scenes in horror history. But what is it that makes part 5 so good? For one thing, it has some of the best kills in the series. My personal favorite is when a victim in the disaster falls off a bridge and is impaled on the mast of a passing ship. I’m also always a fan of an unlikeable character getting an over the top death, making Isacc’s death in the massage parlor particularly enjoyable. At their core, the Final Destination movies are at their best when they are fun and over the top. That’s why to me this one is the best entry in the series. How many series can say that the fifth one is the best? In each film, we learn more about how death works in this universe, how the rules work and more importantly how to cheat death. My favorite of those rules is in this film. If you kill someone before it is their time to die, you get all of their remaining years of life. For being such a fun and over the top series, this rule raises great questions of morality. How far would you go to stay alive? Could you murder someone in cold blood, to save your own life?This is executed in a brilliant way when one of the characters resolves to kill one of his coworkers, who has always been an asshole to him. Done deal right? Wrong, it turns out that guy had a terminal illness and was gonna die at any moment. In the end, there is no cheating death, only prolonging the inevitable.
And there you have it, the five best part fives. Any of these films are worth watching if you want to watch a fun horror flick, or make a night out it and make a drinking game out of the movies. I hope Joe Bob Briggs considers doing this for the Last Drive-In marathon, or at least something similar. Maybe a triple feature of all part threes. If you haven’t seen any of these checks em out. And if you are brave enough try doing a marathon of all five, if you are brave enough.
