Reel to Real Filming Locations: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Lakeview High School has got them a boat. It's as big as a whale. And it's about to set sail! (Wooooo!) Unfortunately, the SS Lazarus has one unregistered passenger - the maniacal Jason Voorhees. He quickly disposes of the graduating class as their vessel makes its never-ending journey to The Big Apple from Crystal Lake. Cause, you know, most lakes lead to the Atlantic Ocean. As the ship sinks, those remaining jump on the life raft and paddle to Manhattan, dragging Jason along for the ride. Unable to lose him in a city of seven million people, the bloodshed continues until Jason meets his demise in the sewers of New York City in a serious WTF moment.

Let's be real. The best thing about this movie is the marketing. In the trailer stands the silhouette of a man (scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?) as he gazes at the lower Manhattan skyline while a familiar instrumental plays in the background. We get closer and closer when finally he turns around to reveal himself to be none other than camp counselor decimator Jason Voorhees!! Quick shots of New Yorkers acting campier than Crystal Lake and a voiceover declaring New York has a new problem. Genius! It could've been a wonderful fish out of lake ;-) tail as Jason wreaks havoc at The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty and The Great White Way, but noooooooooooo, we get Jason on a modern day Titanic for an hour and fifteen followed by Jason Takes Vancouver's back alleys until we finally get thirty seconds in Times Square. The poster was awesome too, until The New York Board of Tourism had a shitfit and the iconic I Love NY sign had to be removed. For all the faults this sequel has, it was cool to see Jason on my turf, if only for a few frames. The rest of it can go to hell. ;-)

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan was filmed in Vancouver, BC and New York, NY

Location: Jason Takes in Lower Manhattan
Address: 26 New Dock Street, Brooklyn, NY

The instantly recognizable Pier 17 at South Street Seaport with the outlining lights is no longer. It has undergone a major restructuring and a new glass structure has taken its place.

This area is also seen in Coming To America (1988) and Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It (1984) music video. It's also where Whitney Houston shot the cover for her I'm Your Baby Tonight album...

Location: Times Square
Address: Broadway/7th Avenue & 42nd Street, New York, NY

The seediness and sleaziness of Times Square seen in the movie is long gone thanks to former Mayor Rudolph Guliani. It is now an urban Disney World. Gang members and porn theaters have been replaced with character photo ops and retail shops galore.

Rennie and Sean emerge from a fake subway entrance at 7th Avenue and 46th Street. Sbarro is a victim ;-) of the times but McDonald's is still there of course...

One of the coolest stills from the franchise...

Jason punts the gang's boombox on Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets. You can see the Marriott Marquis theater in the background...

We return to Times Square at the very end on 45th Street & Broadway thanks to the Minskoff Theater seen in the background, which housed the Tony award-winning Black and Blue at the time. Today it is home to Tony award-winning The Lion King...

The 8th Street & Broadway subway sign looked authentic when Rennie and Sean ran up the escalator that I thought it was filmed in Manhattan but the actual subway stop, like most others, looks nothing like it so it must have been somewhere in Vancouver. And while the subway cars might look a little nicer, they're still full of characters, some even more frightening than Jason at times...