Review of Friday the 13th Part III (1982) by Danny L — 15 Feb 2009

One of my favorite Friday films, I have a pretty big soft spot for the first 4, since their very close chronological order is very cool to keep it going for 4 films, as well as Jason actually being very much more human than his appearances in part 5 and onward, but this one started the utter shlock that the series would become later on. It showed the leeway being given to where goofy jokes, gratuitous nudity/sex, and overly violent kills were accepted within the series. The first and second films held these things back a bit but this is where it started to get unleashed.

Anyway, this one is great for it lead actress, in part, coming from a fairly respectable TV career into a role like this, she seems pretty genuinely terrified in her encounters with Jason. The film really shines once it gets down to just Chris and Jason. Her genuine terror and his commanding presence on-screen always gets me riled up for the last half hour or so of the film and has some of the more memorable Friday "final chase" scenes to me. I always wish the original ending would've made it to light somehow or another, but all that exists now is production photos.

UPDATE: I finally watched this in 3D and it pushed this over the edge to a 5-star rating for me. Thank you, Paramount.