Technically, this song just plays over the end credits, but the tie-in music video is something to behold. And, just to be clear– I genuinely love Alice and this song with all of my heart.
There's so much going on, I find it impossible to decide what precisely is the best part, or even which part is the most confusing. Is it Alice manually making the "Chee chee chee kah kah kah" noises with his mouth? Is it Alice's riding crop and his Jason "throne?"
Is it when he rhymes "alone" with "alone?" ["But the moon was full/ And you had your chance/ To be all alone/ but you're not alone"] Is it when he rhymes "can" with "can?" ["Oh, if you see him comin', run away if you CAN/ Just keep on runnin', run as fast as you CAN" – truly only Alice can get away with this shit!] Is it when Jason swings on a rope out of an image of Jason swinging on a rope?
Is it when Alice bursts out of the movie screen, just to smash a breakaway bottle against his forehead?
Is it the look of vague disappointment amongst the teens when the Jason movie they're watching on screen transforms into an Alice Cooper music video?
Is it the apathetic "I'd prefer it if you'd please stop" expression the teens adopt as their supposedly horrific but extraordinarily confusing theatrical experience continues?
Is it when Alice puts the kids in a cage, only to unlock it a moment later?
Is it when Alice is dragged back into the screen by Jason, who has already been revealed to be Alice? (Shades of multiple personalities á la MONSTER DOG and the album DADA?)
Is it the bizarre, non-sequitur of an ending that reveals Alice to be Jason's cultured dad, and "Jason" to be the name of the perplexed and depressed teen, right after we've seen that Alice himself is the man behind the mask as well as "Jason"'s father?
Who can say? But I suppose it doesn't matter. It's a Friday the 13th in sweaty July– just have a couple of cold beers and watch a Jason movie. That's what I'll be doing later. Maybe 3 in 3-D or 4- THE FINAL CHAPTER. I'll have to see what strikes my fancy. Eh, just remember: if you see him coming, run away if you can, just keep on running, run as fast as you can. He's a dangerous, dangerous man. And he's out tonight. And he's watching you. And he knows your house.
Glad to see a dedicated post for this treasure, as it is certainly deserving! I've gone on record in this space before about how wonderful a step up Friday the 13th Part 6 is from the rest of the series (It's so slick and well-made for once! It's got meta elements! It's got Travolta's cousin telling made-up stories about Native Americans! There's a hard-ass local cop, and a deputy with a mail order laser scope! There's an actual summer camp, with actual kids! One of the kids is reading Jean-Paul Sartre, why is he doing that!). Anyway, I could go on and on. But as for "The Man Behind the Mask," well that's just got everything one could wish for in an 80's horror sequel (a la Dokken's "Dream Warriors" from Nightmare on Elm Street 3, which, like Friday pt. 6, is a sequel that's more fun than it has any right to be). The tune is so catchy and good in that guilty pleasure, 80's-comeback-Alice Cooper-does-synth-heavy-hair-metal-better-than-actual-hair-metallers kind of way, and it's almost helped by the fact that he pretty clearly made up the words on the way to the studio. You hit most of the highlights, but I'm partial to the opening when he says "you're deep in love, but you're deeper in the woods." That's a song after my own heart, there. Also, I think that this song marks the last known recorded instance of a rock song referring to someone being "on the make." Talk about your anachronisms! Here's Alice in the middle of the Bon Jovi era throwing out phrases that sound like they belong in some period piece Coen brothers movie! But it all works because really, from the minute Jason goes full-zombie resurrection, I'm all in on Part 6 and ready to embrace everything it throws at me. Long live Jason Lives!
ReplyDeleteHeh, very nice, Mike! In agreement with everything here. I didn't realize that Tom Fridley was Travolta's cousin– that makes it even better. And your "on the make" usage analysis is brilliant. And I should probably do companion posts for Dokken's "Dream Warriors" and maybe even The Fat Boys' "Are You Ready for Freddy."
ReplyDeleteI think JASON LIVES was the best one of the entire series, though that's not saying much since the rest of the series was pretty heinous.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a pretty unoriginal Friday movie.
ReplyDeleteBut wait? Aren't these the best episodes in the series? I guess it's matter to debate.
That said, I got that theme song stuck inside my head sins I saw the film.
And that video is so damn absurd, sweet analysis!
Hmmm sorry for the typos and nonsensical parts of that last post, I'm kinda tired...
ReplyDeletetehbruce,
ReplyDeleteOver time I'm warmed to the Jason series in general– between Savini gore in 1 & 4, frequent laughably unimaginative filmmaking, Alice Cooper music, Crispin Glover freakdancing, etc.– but I can't for the life of me understand the diehards who prefer FRIDAY THE 13TH as a series to NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. In fact, when I first saw FREDDY VS. JASON, it seemed like almost everyone was rooting for Jason. It blows my mind. Then again, what else are you going to watch on a Friday the 13th?
Guy,
" thought it was a pretty unoriginal Friday movie.
But wait? Aren't these the best episodes in the series?"
Ah, but exactly! And thank you for the kind words, my friend.
I root for Jason!
ReplyDeleteFreddy might be more funny, but after all, he's a funny child molester. Yeep!
***
I guess I should post this on the Freddy Vs. Jason article of yours, but since we're talking about it, here goes :
Did you catch the delirious message about the Bush administration, about how the really evil one, Freddy, is the one "pulling the strings", manipulating the other (lesser!) evil?
It hit me like a brick when the cop is on the phone, and you can see the goofy Bush portrait in the background.
I think that the whole message of the movie is that we should root for Osama Bin Laden.
Damn!
Heh– a fine point you make there, Guy, but then again seeing him emblazoned on so many mainstream children's toys and trading cards and bubble gum in the late 80s and early 90s makes Freddy a little more palatable.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the Bush/bin Laden element in FREDDY V JASON, I can see that. I sort of had the same thought when watching the Star Wars prequel (ugggh) ATTACK OF THE CLONES back in the day, in terms of pushing the theory of two privileged political bad boys on opposite ends of the spectrum secretly being in cahoots.