Sweet Sixteen

This movie really inspires a love/hate mentality. Every element has a good and a bad to it that makes the movie hard to assess as anything more or less than smack dab in the middle. For instance, this is another whodunit slasher in the vein of Mortuary and Friday The 13th. Unlike either of those, it doesn’t tip its hand early or give you no clues and an unfair eleventh hour reveal, and it sets you up with a few possible red herrings. But one is too obvious, and the other ... well ... the character’s name is Jason. And two of the murders occur near a lake. I mean, COME ON NOW. There’s on the nose, and then there’s this. That kind of fourth-wall-breaking in-joke doesn’t fit the tone or style of the movie, and it certainly doesn’t fool anybody. And the killer’s reveal, while not entirely unguessable, comes with a motive that is absolutely insane, as it comes with this big dump of backstory we didn’t have. It’s all rather unfair. And Jason is also an American Indian, which is used for a subplot about some good ol’ boys who suspect him because racism, which the sheriff finds deplorable. It’s a nice, progressive touch for 1983 ... but it’s also made to feel like the sheriff only feels that way because he’s part Indian. And even if it isn’t, the Indians have as much character depth as the word “Indian”. The characters that are drawn very well are enjoyable, but up to a point. Dana Kimmell is wonderful as a mystery loving teenage daughter of the town sheriff ... until her junior detective wannabe act is no longer needed and gets dropped. Melissa, the main character, is fiercely independent and sexually open ... but the movie also wants to sexualize her, with long shots of her nude or scantily clad body, ignoring that, in the movie, she’s supposed to be a week away from sixteen. Yes, the actress isn’t underage, but we’re supposed to believe the character is. Pouring over every inch of her body feels prurient and gross. And when the movie doesn’t want her sexualized for a period of time, they just stop and give her nothing to do. I do enjoy the natural feeling of the sheriff’s relationship with his kids ... but then he has this obviously flirtationship with someone at the county records department that goes nowhere. Why was that necessary to include? It doesn’t add anything to anybody or to the story. For every positive, there’s a head-scratching choice this movie makes that runs against the positive thing. It’s never a bad movie, but it struggles to maintain momentum or good will because it keeps shooting itself in the foot. Certainly one of the better oft-forgotten 80’s slashers outside of the big franchises, but you must love slasher movies to appreciate this. And I’d still only stream it, on an ad-supported app if possible.