Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

R

1989

1h 40m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

11%

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28 Reviews

26%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Mass murderer Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) is resurrected from the bottom of Crystal Lake. After he kills a passing boat's occupants, he stows away on a cruise ship filled with a high-school graduating class bound for New York City. Biology teacher Charles McCulloch (Peter Mark Richman) is on board with his niece, Rennie (Jensen Daggett), who has visions of Jason drowning as a child. They escape his bloody shipboard rampage, but, when Rennie and Charles reach Manhattan, Jason is close by.

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Critics Consensus

Jason terrorizes a ship and nearly sinks the franchise in a clunky sequel that feels like self-parody without the charm.

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Trevor Johnston

Time Out

For what it's worth (very little), probably the best in the series.

Jan 26, 2006

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

Director Rob Hedden may have been onto something: From Crystal Lake to Manhattan, the series itself was always drowning in ****.

Rated: .5/4

Sep 25, 2004

Full Review

Richard Harrington

Washington Post

Among the passengers is a bright girl who's having visions of a drowning boy, her smarmy guardian, her concerned teacher, a boyfriend whose soon-to-be-late father is the ship's captain, and assorted high school stereotypes.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

It's hard to decide what's worse: everything that happens before Jason gets to Manhattan or everything that happens after.

Rated: 1/5

Sep 11, 2025

Full Review

Kat Halstead

Common Sense Media

For a start, the characters don't even make it to Manhattan until more than an hour into the film and Jason doesn't exactly "take" it when he arrives -- things get pretty tiresome pretty fast in the city that never sleeps.

Feb 8, 2024

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

This awful movie barely has anything to do with Manhattan. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 12, 2022

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M M

it should’ve been much better for it being made in 1989. lol

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/04/25

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Rafael S

The film is very average, with iconic moments, better Jason (and one of the best visuals), fun and with very good deaths, but the script is weak.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/02/25

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Craig W.

This was is s ridiculous it’s good

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/24/25

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Dylan P

Not Bad But It's Just There's Not A Lot Of Killing From Jason

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/09/25

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Guilherme M

got so high expectations on this one, but i can't defend it. Another protagonist change. (and for only this movie.) "Jason takes Manhattan" is more like "Jason takes a boat and hunts two people in New York." The movie has little to almost to use to Manhattan, the title of the movie. Besides the recycled kills, totally unimportant characters, weak story, weak script, weak Jason. This time, the reviews don't lie. It belongs to one of the worst movies of the franchise, if not the worse (if Jason goes to hell didn't exist.). I understand the presence of iconic scenes and good design, but i really can't. Avoid it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/09/25

Full Review

Khaliel P

By the eighth installment, the series is clearly running out of steam. The writers no longer know how to bring Jason back, the victims pile up without purpose, and the change of setting to Manhattan feels more like a gimmick than a fresh idea. Originally meant as a direct sequel with Tina, the story was rewritten under studio pressure, and Rob Hedden’s weak script and direction don’t help. Overlong and drenched in misplaced ’80s pop music, the film delivers 19 uninspired and poorly executed kills. The only novelty is Jason’s newfound ability to seemingly teleport, but aside from that and the New York backdrop, this entry feels like a forgettable TV movie—an episode fans would rather skip.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/23/25

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Rob Hedden

Director

Jensen Daggett

Rennie Wickham

Scott Reeves

Sean Robertson

Kane Hodder

Jason Voorhees

Peter Mark Richman

Charles McCulloch

Barbara Bingham

Miss Colleen Van Deusen

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Murder Caught on Tape

2:13

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Seductive Anatomy Lesson

2:13

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Knockout!

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Jason vs. Toxic Waste

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Jason vs. New York

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Drowned in Toxic Waste

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Subway Chase

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Two for One Slaying

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Killer Dance Moves

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Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan: Official Clip - Jason Says No to Drugs

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Movieclips: Jason's Best Kills

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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Mass murderer Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) is resurrected from the bottom of Crystal Lake. After he kills a passing boat's occupants, he stows away on a cruise ship filled with a high-school graduating class bound for New York City. Biology teacher Charles McCulloch (Peter Mark Richman) is on board with his niece, Rennie (Jensen Daggett), who has visions of Jason drowning as a child. They escape his bloody shipboard rampage, but, when Rennie and Charles reach Manhattan, Jason is close by.

Director: Rob Hedden
Producer: Randy Cheveldave
Screenwriter: Victor Miller, Rob Hedden
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Horror Films
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1989, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.3M
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo, Mono, Ultra-Stereo

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