Out of all the FRIDAY THE 13TH movies FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 is the one film that I have seen recently. I actually saw this film a few months ago on the now deceased Monsters HD at three o’clock in the morning. When fans look at PART 3 its a film that did more than just bring back Jason Voorhees for another round of murders, He gave him a face. In the first film we saw him as a young boy, the second film he had a bag over his head, but its the third film that gave him his signature hockey mask thanks to the character of Shelly played by Larry Zerner.
The story behind the third film is that it takes place a day or two after the second film. A whole new group of people make their way to Higgins Haven. A family retreat that one of the characters in the film family owns. It just so happens that it’s near Camp Crystal Lake. Jason recently hurt when Ginny attempted to kill him in the second film; get up and moves on. After offing a family at a local store, Jason gets himself a change of clothes and moves on towards Higgin Haven in what seems to be an attempt to hide out until things calm down a bit. But of course that’s not the case and Jason finds himself face to face with Chris Higgins ( Dana Kimmell) and her friends. Meanwhile a biker gang whom Shelly (Larry Zerner) and Vera ( Catherine Parks) pissed off back in town make their way to the haven in an attempt to get revenge on the crew. Unfortunately for them Jason takes them out first. While Chris and her boyfriend Rick (Paul Kratka) go for a walk in the woods, Jason moves in on their friends and begins to kill them one by one. Jason soon finds that behind the his new face; the hockey mask he is more sinister than ever before.
The script for FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 pretty much has the same premise as the first two films, but takes place in a different location this time, although it looks very similar to that of Camp Crystal Lake. The thing is that the script does try to be different in terms of who involved this time, and Jason is not really the only villain that the poor party goers have to be careful of. However where the characters could be put into an even more screwed up scenario the bikers in the film which could of been more of a threat to the characters are quickly taken care of by Jason, and only manage to do minimal damage. The thing with the characters in this one is that they seem to be just as developed, but all of them are just as likable as the leads in the first two films. So when their killed off, you tend to almost feel for them. Where I think the script makes the movie weak compared to the first two is all the jumping around and the B-movie like dialogue almost makes the film seem unreal in nature.
When it comes to FRIDAY THE 13TH movies, Out of all the characters that have been victims in out of the franchise, I seem to remember the characters more in this film than any of the other ones. It’s really not so much definded as to whom the lead really is, but I guess you can say the lead character is Chris Higgins( Dana Kimmell) whom seems to really fight Jason tooth and nail in the films final battle scenes between the two. Some of the supporting roles such as Larry Zerner as Shelly and Paul Kratka as Rick were pretty memorable. Especially the way Rick is killed by Jason. The acting in the film is not the greatest but the characters are decently developed and they are at least memorable. I really think the dialogue held back the actors from really giving outstanding performances, but that aside, everyone in the film is likeable and at the end of the day, that’s what counts, even if they are about to meet their fate.
Due to the success of the first two films, PART 3 had a much larger budget than the previous two, however I thought the production value was weaker that it was in the previous two movies. I’m not sure it had to do with a lot of the sets being built just for the film or if some of the on location shoots were dressed up a bit to much, but I found the set design to kind of be a bit too nice for my liking. I think it took away from the film’s scare factor. Everything seemed to be bright in color and even the costume design, especially with Jason looked as if he went to the dry cleaners between each kill to get the blood stains out. I know he changed clothes at the beginning of the film, but I still expected him to look somewhat dirty. I mean the guy’s lived in the wilderness for how many years? I don’t think he showers much, nonetheless washes his clothes. For me, everything looked to polished and set up. There was really no signs that the area in which the film took place had any kind of run down look that brings atmosphere to the film. For Myself, it took away that eerie feeling your supposed to get when you watch a horror film.
The Deluxe DVD had no special features other than the trailer and the film in both 2-D and 3-D. Lucky for us however the Blu-ray disc comes with the 3-D version along with two pairs of 3-D glasses as well as the remastered 2D version of the film. It has a bunch of special features to go along with it. All the features are presented in HD format and include featurettes such as Fresh Cuts: #D Terror, Legacy of the Mask, Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular and Lost Tales from Camp Blood -Part 3. It also includes the theatrical trailer in HD as well.
Overall, While FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 is one of the weaker films in the series when it comes to it’s overall production value and it’s B-movie like look and script. It’s still fun to watch. It’s probably the least frightening film of the whole FRIDAY THE 13TH series, but it is fun to watch and has some classic and memorable character moments. Don’t forget, this is the film that put the hockey mask on Jason’s face.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
