Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDanny Steinmann
Screenplay by
  • Martin Kitrosser
  • David Cohen
  • Danny Steinmann
Story by
  • Martin Kitrosser
  • David Cohen
Based onCharacters
by Victor Miller
Produced byTimothy Silver
Starring
CinematographyStephen L. Posey
Edited byBruce Green
Music byHarry Manfredini
Production
companies
  • Georgetown Productions Inc.
  • Terror, Inc.
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • March 22, 1985 (1985-03-22)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.2 million
Box office$21.9 million[1]

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (also known as Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning) is a 1985 American slasher film directed by Danny Steinmann and starring Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, and Shavar Ross. The film also features a cameo appearance from Corey Feldman, who portrayed Tommy Jarvis in the previous film.[2] It is a sequel to Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) and the fifth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. Set years after the events of the previous film, the story follows a teenage Tommy Jarvis (Shepherd), who is institutionalized at a halfway house near Crystal Lake because of nightmares of mass murderer Jason Voorhees, whom he killed as a child. Tommy must face his fears when a new hockey mask-wearing murderer initiates another violent killing spree in the area.

A New Beginning features a high number of on-screen murders. Aside from its gore and violence, the film has also become known for its explicit nudity, sex scenes,[3] and numerous depictions of illicit drug use. Peter Bracke's book Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th details that behind the scenes, the production was plagued with rampant drug use.

Shot in California in 1984 on a budget of $2.2 million, A New Beginning was released theatrically on March 22, 1985, and grossed $21.9 million at the U.S. box office. The film was initially going to set up a new trilogy of films with a different villain for the series but, after a disappointing reception from fans and a steep decline in box-office receipts from Friday the 13th Part III (1982) and The Final Chapter, Jason Voorhees was brought back for the next installment, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), and has been the main antagonist in the series since. In addition to weak box office returns, the film received mostly negative reviews from critics.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference boxofficemojo1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bracke 2006, p. 120.
  3. ^ TV Guide Staff. "Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2018.