While the first couple of Friday the 13th films were noticeably lacking in color, the series has made up for those monochromatic early days by including fairly significant black characters in most of the entries since then. Apart from the downright Negroid Part 5, Jason X has the largest black cast of the bunch, with Peter Mensah as the no-nonsense futuristic space soldier Sergeant Brodski (How many black men named Brodski have you heard of?), Derwin Jordan as science geek Waylander and Amanda Brugel as grunt Geko. All three die, of course, but Mensah and Jordan’s deaths serve as textbook examples of the patented “black man sacrifices himself for the good of all”-type death scene. When Jordan’s attempt to blow up Jason (and himself) doesn’t save the day, it’s Mensah’s turn to jettison the killer into space…with himself. Although Jason X didn’t achieve nearly the popularity that follow-up Freddie vs. Jason did, it’s overall a better film with more imagination (granted, Jason’s upgraded look is a bit cheesy), funnier lines and more gnarly kills.
