Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)


The Friday the 13th series, popular as it is, was never a hit with critics.  For many horror fans it is questionable, as few of the movies justify how long the series lasted.  The original is still a solid early slasher, while Friday the 13th Part 2 will always be my favorite because it is the one movie out of the series that made Jason somewhat scary.  

There is only so far one can push an idea like this and the second movie, suddenly introducing a character that was supposed to be dead just to cash in on the success of the first, was already walking on thin ice.  Other than adding 3-D effects, Friday the 13th: Part 3 proved that the series was already running on fumes.  Since that was the case producer Frank Mancuso Jr. decided it was time to wrap it up with the fourth installment.  It was that temptation that brought Tom Savini back, as he looked forward to closing the door on his involvement. 

We begin at the site of the murders in Part 3, as the police process the scene and paramedics haul away the bodies, including that of Jason (Ted White).  Of course, he is not dead yet, as he wakes up in the morgue and continues his spree, making his way back to Crystal Lake.  As usual a bunch of teens have come to party: Paul (Clyde Hayes) and his amorous girlfriend Samantha (Judie Aronson), Doug (Peter Barton) and the shy Sara (Barbara Howard), stoner Ted (Lawrence Monoson) and his strange friend Jimmy (Crispin Glover).  The house they rent is next door to that of the Mrs. Jarvis (Joan Freeman) and her children Trish (Kimberly Beck) and Tommy (Corey Feldman).  The partiers are soon joined by a couple local twins (Camilla More, Carey More) that are looking to have some fun as well. 

The uninvited guest is Jason, who as usual shows up to wreck the party in a number of spectacular ways.  Looking for him is Rob (Erich Anderson), who heard of Jason's escape from the hospital and is looking to avenge the death of his sister.  Trish takes a liking to Rob, but soon it comes down to Trish and Tommy to take care of the deranged killer one final time.

By all accounts this was not a fun movie to make.  Ted White, Corey Feldman and others on the set clashed with director Joseph Zito, and the director had a habit of forcing his young cast into dangerous situations.  What Zito did bring, though, was a bit more of an action background rather than straight exploitation, although he had already made another cult horror film with The Prowler, which also utilized Tom Savini's makeup skills.  

Despite the difficulties on set The Final Chapter didn't turn out half bad.  For many this is the best in the series, but for me it is too busy following the same pattern.  Crispin Glover, as usual, adds a bit of needed strangeness.  Lawrence Monoson can get a bit irritating, but the rest don't stand out too much.  They're not so annoying that one is cheering for Jason throughout.  The lost opportunity is not spending more time with the Jarvises and Rob, as Jason could have conceivably dispatched the partiers and then spend the second half of the movie going back and forth being the hunter and hunted. 

This has quite a bit of nudity and much more blood than the movies that would come after it.  Zito and Savini made the scenes so over the top that they got what they really wanted after making the MPAA's cuts.  Also, despite Ted White's problems with Zito and wanting to have his name removed from the movie, he was physical enough to make the living Jason a believable and formidable foe.  Savini's makeup when the mask comes off helps as well.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter was good enough to help launch careers for Glover and Feldman, as well as minor ones for some other participants.  Still, despite being much better than its predecessor, it still fails to do much more than provide a few thrills and some laughs.  It does wrap up Jason's story and, as everyone is aware of at this point, this is where the whole thing should have come to a close as promised.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Time: 91 minutes
Starring: Ted White, Erich Anderson, Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton, Crispin Glover, Clyde Hayes, Barbara Howard
Director: Joseph Zito

 

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