Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is a slasher film released on July 28, 1989. It is the eighth film in the Friday the 13th film series and the last film in the series to have been distributed by Paramount. Many fans consider it the worst of the franchise, although there are some who appreciate it for changing settings from Crystal Lake to the Atlantic Ocean and New York. The film's tagline is, "New York has a new problem." It took in a mere $14.3 million at the domestic box office, making it the second-to-lowest grossing film in the series.

The film opened in 1,683 theaters making $6.2 million its opening weekend. Domestically, the film was a flop only making $14.3 million, making it the second lowest grossing Friday movie.

After being resurrected once again, this time by an electric charge from an underwater cable snagged by a boat anchor, Jason rises from Crystal Lake to board the Lazarus. On its way to New York and full of high school graduates, Jason has plenty of time and people to kill before he eventually chases his prey into the streets of the Big Apple. After Jason kills every passenger and sinks the Lazarus, only two adults, three students and their dog remain. They take refuge in the streets of New York, where their pursuer eventually makes his way as well. Jason kills off three of his victims until he leaves only two students running into the sewers of Manhattan, where he follows. Soon, the sewers are washed out with toxic waste, in which the unfortunate Jason Voorhees becomes submerged. The two surviving kids crawl out from the sewers and reunite with their dog as they enjoy their vacation in Manhattan.

The film was temporarily placed on IMDb's Bottom 100. Though it has since risen out of that list, it is tied with the fifth part for the lowest rated Friday the 13th film. Perhaps the biggest complaint was in the film's faulty promise of letting Jason take Manhattan.[1] On his commentary track for the film in the box-set, director Rob Hedden acknowledges the faults and even agrees that more of the film should have been set in Manhattan. The film failed to generate a substantial amount of money at the box office, which continued the decline in grosses the series had been suffering, and Paramount sold the franchise to New Line Cinema soon afterwards.