Now the moment you've been waiting for....Jason finally puts on his iconic hockey mask. This was a more of a fun addition to the series, that dosen't have to take itself too seriously. Some say this was the more dumber of the series but I generally liked this one. It has funny and likeable characters, good special effects and quite a few suspenseful moments. Jason is much more gusto in this one, showing his superhuman strength to many levels (I guess it's the power of the hockey mask). This is the movie that made Jason popular, though I think he still has a long way to go.
So here's the story: After the events of part 2, Chris Higgins and her group of friends go to her family lodge, just a corner near by Crystal Lake. She goes to face a dark past and rekindle her first love, but little do Chris and her friends know that something menacing is lurking. and that something is a product of Chris's haunted past....
The cast is quite the quirky bunch in this one.
We have the innocent, resourceful heroine Chirs
Her muscular love interest Rick
A sexy, young couple(whom are expecting) which consists of loveable jock Andy and nice cheerleader Debbie
Spicy Latina Vera
Insecure goofball Shelly
And The Stoner Couple, who looks too old for their age, while spending the rest of the movie getting high off their asses.
I liked how the actors blended into their roles, especially Larry Zerner as Shelly, who actually had character development than your usual prankster in a horror film. And the actors seemed to have fun in their roles, almost like they're playing themselves. But I guess the most challening parts to play were the biker gang, who didn't seem that all convincing really. Then there's false hero Rick, who seems like a tall, big strong guy who could take on Jason, right? unfortanately no. Jason gets him pretty easily, which will result in one of the coolest deaths in the movie. Now, let's talk about Chris. She is one of the first few heronies to have a history with Jason and it's a implication that she may have come back to her summer vacation home to face her demons.
Chris also inhabits the classic final girls tropes: She has a girl-next-door charm, She is resourceful, and she also has a sense of paranoia that something's not right. It was actually Dana Kimmel's suggestion to make the character should be in the purer side of things. And it works. It makes us feel scared for the character, since Jason is veering towards being indesctructible.
And yes, let's get to Jason. He is much more stronger and broader than the klutz he was in the second film. And he seems to be much more intense with his kills:
The highlight of this is the scene where Jason crushes one of his victim's head until his eye pops out into the camera:
This movie is also memorable for having Jason don his hockey mask for the first time:
It is Pure Awesome!
It really brings out Jason's character and it has been a staple of many slasher films that ripped it off from time and time again.
From what I remember, this was actually one of the more conterversial of the Friday films. There is a scene where one of the character mentions that she is at least three months pregnant. So technically, Jason just killed a soon-to-be teen mom and a soon-to-be teen dad. Just to be honest, I wouldn't be so non-chalant about being pregnant in college. Then there is the implication that Jason might of raped Chris but it's never disclosed during her monolouge. The mystery of the whole thing just makes it more disturbing and makes Jason more like this wild animal/caveman.
There was an alternate ending used at the last minute but due to creative differences it was cut out for a re-shoot. Here's a little snapshot:
A Rumor was speculated that Dana Kimmel called foul on the ending because she felt her character shouldn't deserve the treatment she recieved after what she'd been through. But in reality, it was all a dream. So her character would still be alive then, right? So instead, we have a retread of the first movie's ending but not with much impact:
Now to put some thought into this, I really thought the ending would be more scarier and definitely more original. It would actually have more impact than you're usual jump scare in an 80's slasher.
Again, I think this is quite an enjoybale addition to the Friday the 13th series. Although, it can be cheesy in some moments, it makes up for it by making Jason this ferocious madman, along with some pretty suspenseful sequences.
My Last Word: a definite favorite for all slasher fans.