Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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understand and anticipate the narrative to come, in much the same way a trailer
would communicate similar information. Additionally, this opening sequence runs
close to three and a half minutes, similar to the length of a full film trailer. The
franchise viewer will find little of this information illuminating, and the introduction
will manage to provide a crude, rudimentary way to establish the mood of the film,
by providing mostly dark compositions, visual depictions of violence, and menacing,
tense music.
This method of contextualising a film within a larger franchise narrative by
using film clips from previous films in the series can effectively communicate this
information. However, the variety of ways in which this information can be framed
can contribute to an enhancement of the film’s aesthetic, and an articulation of some
of the film’s themes. Alice’s nightmare in Friday the 13 th Part 2, the campfire story
in The Final Chapter, and even the trailer-like opening of The New Blood all
establish the sense of the horrifying experiences portrayed in the previous films, and
Jason’s status as legend. Even the truncated climax of Friday the 13 th Part 2 at the
beginning of Friday the 13 th Part III 3-D informs the viewer not only of his violent
potential but also of his obsession with his mother, conveying within the film clip
enough character information to create a sense of Jason’s motivation, and begins to
establish the myth surrounding Jason. While this is useful, these sequences stand out
aesthetically in contrast to the rest of the film, and other films in the series have
created alternatives to this in order to maintain its individual aesthetic continuity.
Ongoing Narrative Implied Through New Footage
The New Blood became the final film in the franchise to use film clips to
establish the running narrative of the Friday the 13 th films. An alternative to this is