Review of Friday the 13th Part III (1982) by Kevin Y — 07 Aug 2008

Friday the 13th Part 3 is an important entry in the series; this film marked the screen debut of Jason Voorhees? infamous hockey mask, but other than that historical fact, there isn?t a whole lot going on here. This film was originally released in 3-D, but no official home video-released copy of the film exists in 3-D. Therefore, the viewer is treated to drawn-out scenes of characters sticking objects into the camera; I?m sure it was fun in 3-D on the big screen, but it looks ridiculous without the 3-D. The characters in this movie are purely slasher fodder. Not even Shelly, the film?s attempt at a geeky "sympathy character" is likeable. Part 3 probably features the worst acting of the entire series, and that?s saying something. A good deal of this film consists of inane banter between the lifeless characters and a couple uninspired death scenes. Granted, the death scenes do become more interesting as the film progresses. A kid gets cut in half while doing a handstand, another has his head squeezed until his eyeball shoots off into the camera (which I imagine looked really cool in 3-D). Richard Brooker is about as good as any actor can be in the role of Jason Voorhess, if only for the fact that his physical presence is menacing.

While much of the film is drek, I almost want to recommend it because of the climax. The final 15 minutes in which Jason chases Dana Kimmell?s character are genuinely suspenseful. Sadly, this doesn?t make up for the rest of the film (including the 5-years-too-late disco theme). Series fanboys need to see this, but the discerning Horror fan should stay away.