Five years after the first massacre, a new group of camp counsellors arrive at Camp Crystal Lake.
But while Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) may be dead, her long-lost son Jason (Steve Daskewisz) is still haunting Camp Blood, and ready to give the place a fresh coat of red...
While it opens with a big dollop of footage from the original, Part II is immediately defined by a more dynamic and playful directorial hand.
Debut director Steve Miner had worked behind the scenes for a decade under Sean S. Cunningham when he was tapped to take over on the sequel.
Miner and his cinematographer Peter Stein had some practice - they stepped in for Cunningham towards the end of production to film the final scene of the first movie.
Going straight from the original to Part II, the difference in filmmaking is obvious.
In contrast to the functional conservatism of the original, Miner and Stein make more use of a prowling, voyeuristic camera.
The first sequence establishes this focus on using the camera to misdirect and build suspense - for example, the camera tracking toward the shower curtain like a killer’s POV.
Another example of this strategy is the death of Mark (Tom McBride), who uses a wheelchair - the camera tracks behind him like a killer, but then the killing blow comes from in front of him.
While more energetic and stylish than its predecessor, Part II also feels like the series finding its true self.
While it tries to create some bridge of continuity, Part II does not waste time trying to justify Jason’s existence.
Rather ingeniously, the filmmakers use lead counsellor Paul’s (John Furey) campfire monologue to recast the events of the previous film as a mythologised story, where the details are obscured and Jason’s existence is a matter of speculation.
It is a rather elegant and unpretentious way of delivering the film’s exposition, and lacks the overworked continuity of a lot of contemporary films, which result in bloated unwieldy story-telling.
The characters have more personality, and are well-cast. There is a sense of rapport to the counsellors that was not present in the first film - part of this is down to the sheer number of background characters.
This version of a summer camp feels more expansive and lived-in, and creates a warmer and more stable environment (how can all these people be murdered?).
Of the new cast, Amy Steel is easily the standout.
Her character Ginny is easily the best final girl in the series (at least the Paramount cycle).
Smart and with a wry sense of humour, she feels like a fully-rounded person amid all of the archetypes.
Her gravitas gives the third act a burst of vitality, as the film essentially turns into a one-woman-show for most of the chase and final showdown.
Part II is not particularly scary or gore-y, but it has a sense of fun and Miner handles the various setpieces with such a sure hand that the lack of gore is not an issue.
I cannot say it has become a personal favourite, but it gave me more enthusiasm to carry on viewing, and if I was to nominate an instalment to an initiate, Part II is not a bad place to start.
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