Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Directed by Danny Steinmann
R
1985    1h 32mHorror, Thriller
4.815%26%5.3
Still haunted by his past, Tommy Jarvis, who, as a child, killed Jason Voorhees, is sent to a secluded halfway house in the countryside, where the killing of a young man triggers a brutal series of murders in the area.
  • John ShepherdTommy Jarvis / Writer
  • Tiffany HelmViolet
  • John Robert DixonEddie Kelso
  • Juliette CumminsRobin
  • Melanie KinnamanPam Roberts
  • Richard YoungMatthew Letter
  • Deborah VoorheesTina
  • Mark VenturiniVictor Faden
  • Shavar RossReggie
  • Marco St. JohnSheriff Cal Tucker
  • Corey FeldmanTommy Jarvis Age 12
  • Richard LinebackDeputy Dodd
  • Rebecca WoodLana (as Rebecca Wood-Sharkey)
  • Bob DeSimoneBilly/Male Nurse (as Bob De Simone)
  • Ron SloanJunior
  • Anthony BarrileVinnie
  • Todd BryantNeil
  • Caskey SwaimDuke
  • Corey ParkerPete
  • Jerry PavlonJake
  • domentedcowJune 27, 2025
    A guilty pleasure, no where near the best or worst of the series.
  • Carlos IbarraApril 10, 2025
    This one gets dogged on far too much, and I think mostly it's because of the twist at the end. Admittedly, that's the reason I used to dislike when I was younger, but it's pretty unfair. They worked best with the cards they were dealt. It's pretty sleazy, and one of the cheesier entries in the series, but it's becoming one of the more entertaining ones for me. The characters are such over the top cartoons, it's hilarious, and the kills are pretty wild in this one.
  • ChadDecember 28, 2025
    This is the worst movie in the series. It was a wrong move, and fans lost trust in the people behind this fifth installment. However, mistakes are bound to happen when you make so many entries in a franchise. The best ones are numbers 1, 2, 4, and 6.”
  • Tyler SOctober 27, 2025
    While it's not of the caliber of the prior entries and clearly at this point Paramount was rushing these out as fast as possible for a profit, there is still some slasher fun to be had. The kill count in this one is ridiculously high (nearly all victims die in twos) and the pace is fast. We never really get to know the characters long enough to care about them but most provide some good laughs, except for the mother/son duo, I think we can all agree they are the worst characters in the series. 👍 6/10
  • DANNYZUKO78October 9, 2025
    JASON NEED TO GO CRY TO HIS MAMA. NOBODY IN THIS MOVIE IS LIKEABEL. Y DO I KNOW VINNIE. A YOUNGER CAROL LOCATELL.
  • SandyOlson78October 6, 2025
    It felt like every character was supposed to be a stereotype.
  • Jacob O’NealJune 13, 2025
    There’s lots of bare flesh on display for Jason to rip apart with his machete in Friday The 13th: A New Beginning. Notice how I phrased that sentence. If you haven’t seen the movie, consider it a clue. The movie opens with Corey Feldman once again playing Tommy Jarvis literally in his own backyard. They had one night with Feldman before he was leaving for Stand By Me, if memory serves. If I’m wrong, my apologies. It could have been Goonies. But I digress. Wait, can I digress if there was no direction to this paragraph? Ugh. Forget it. Back on task… After Tommy witnesses the resurrection of Jason and the murder of a couple random thrill seeking grave robbers he begins to be strangled by Jason and wakes up a now late teens Tommy played by John Shepherd. Tommy goes to a home for mentally challenged and crazy youth. The first true death in the movie is not committed by Jason, but one of these asshole teens killing a man whose name I don’t want to say. If you know his real life connection Corey Feldman and Corey Haim you know why. Anyway, he was playing Simple Jack before Simple Jack. Then he gets axed for too many questions (bad joke. Sorry). After that, more killing start and the dumb random victims start dropping at the hands of…Jason? But he’s dead…right? That Jarvis kid done kilt ‘im. Maybe not. Or maybe it’s a copycat. Hmm. Could they be trying to make lighting strike twice in the same franchise with the mystery killer routine? Yes. Yes, they could. Danny Steinmann, the director, packed the movie full of blood, boobs and one scene with a two pump chump while lying with a Vorhees pretending to be someone else for the movie while some stuntman plays the actor playing a man pretending to be a Vorhees. I shouldn’t say “some stuntman”. His name is Tom Morga and he’s a very sweet guy. He signed the action figure of him I have. Steinmann trees in more nudity per capita than any other film in the franchise (maybe the reboot rivals it. We’ll see), presumably because in the early 80’s people would get naked in PG movies. It was no big deal. So the MPAA was cracking down more on violence. We had great kills, very little gore…but wait, here’s more boobs! Maybe he cracked a formula. I used to think there was a 10 minute rule when a producer knows a movie sucks - boobs every 10 minutes will keep a guy watching and waiting for the next pair. But does it save this doomed sequel that tried and failed in so many ways? Are we judging it solely upon the best in the franchise came right before it and put the final nail in Jason’s coffin? That’s a hard act to follow. I say yes and no. It’s better than most people think it is. And it’s better than 9 for sure. One last complaint. Sorry. The mask to head ratio needs to show more head. If the mask were smaller then Jason would look bigger. They got it more right in the later sequels.

Watch Friday the 13th: A New Beginning Videos

  • Friday The 13Th, Part 5: A New Beginning
    Friday The 13Th, Part 5: A New BeginningTrailer

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning Trivia

Get Plex on Your Devices

Free on 20+ platforms. Pick yours.
See all supported devices →