Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)

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Friday the 13th Reviews

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I've always personally had a bit of a soft spot for 'Part 3' here. This is not only the chapter in which Jason receives his iconic hockey mask (from someone we really want to see Jason pick off), but I'm also a big fan of the gimmick that is the 3D aspect of the film. These movies are something I love for their "cheese factor," and all 3D does is add to that. When all is said and done, I dunno that it would be considered one of the "best" of the bunch, but it does deliver a suitable happy medium for long-time 'Friday' fans.

While the timeline for this series is pretty murky at best, it is abundantly clear through the dialogue that parts 2, 3 and 4 (aka 'The Final Chapter') occur within the same week. So this picks up immediately after Part 2, where we see Ginny Field (Amy Steel) getting hauled away in an ambulance. On the same night, Jason's loss of control is fully realized by audiences as he opens the film by simply doing away with a couple of local yokels. In this scene, we get a good dose of what we're in for, which includes not only Jason (Steve Dash) seemingly starting to go haywire, but the 3D tech of the time (through good ol' blue and red lenses) and that 80s horror cheese at its finest.

We are soon introduced to a fresh new crop of could-be victims. Our third lead, Chris (Dana Kimmell), happened to encounter Jason one summer a couple of years prior and survived his attack on her. She heads back to Crystal Lake with her friends to try to have fun again and move on from the nightmare memory - face her fears. Among her friends are sex-starved couple Andy (Jeffrey Rogers) and (pregnant) Debbie (Tracie Savage), hippie stoner couple Chuck (David Katims) and Chili (Rachel Howard) and a practical joking, mopey, and even pretty creepy ass hat named Shelly (Larry Zerner), who the friends attempt to hook up with a lovely girl next door type named Vera (Catherine Parks).

Once they arrive at their lake getaway, we also meet Rick (Paul Kratka), Chris' romantic interest, thus giving Jason a grand total of four "couples" to potentially tear apart. Things pretty much play out as expected, except for giving these characters a bit more personality than last time, mainly Shelly. Granted, the personality of Shelly sucks. He's exceptionally down on himself and doesn't understand why no one likes him, yet he acts like a complete ass to all his friends, especially Vera - the one he's TRYING to hook up with. But with that, and without saying precisely what happens, guess who Jason takes his iconic mask from? It's... satisfying, to say the least.

Otherwise, things are "business as usual" for Jason here at Crystal Lake as he tears his way through this new group of campers, 3D style. I will admit that watching this in 3D for an hour and a half in the old blue and red style really messes up your eyes. Still, it is fun to live out the gimmick if you can get your hands on the special edition Blu-ray (which I believe is the only format currently with 3D available, but I'm not 100%). I feel like I'd further suggest, in addition to the 3D, that this is the chapter where things really start turning from just horror to FUN horror. You know, the kind of movie you wanna eat popcorn with.

When it comes to 'Friday the 13th' as a whole, I tend to like to start my introduction of it to newcomers through this movie. Most newcomers to the franchise now understand that it all started with Jason's mother, thanks to the opening scene to 'Scream,' the 2009 'Friday' remake, and the internet as a whole. It's one of those "spoilers that isn't a spoiler anymore." As far as Part 2 goes, I tend to tell people it's worth checking out if only to say they've seen it. But honestly, if you came to the party to see Jason BE Jason, I'd highly argue that one should start with 3 and take it from there. But that's just my opinion.

If we're looking at these movies regarding their overall quality, I would argue that this is one of the very middle-ground ones. I may have a lot of fun with the cheesiness and gimmicks involved, but not everyone will see that. It's still pretty slow-moving at times, and the characters aren't really likeable in any way, shape or form (which adds to the desire to watch Jason do what he does best, I must admit). The kills are a lot of fun, though, as so many involve old practical effects that stick out in a cheese-tastic way. I'll always have a soft spot for it, but there's no denying that it's not the best of the bunch either.


​3/5

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