Friday, November 13, 2015

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) dir. Joseph Zito,  Paramount Pictures/Georgetown Productions Inc./Sean S. Cunningham Films





You'd think they would know better than to call something 'final' at this point, but I suppose that's why I'm not a producer.

After being whacked several times with a machete, Jason (Ted White) is the last body to be taken away from Higgins Haven. So this takes about a day after part 3, which took place a few days after Part 2. One would think a bloodbath of that size would attract more than a few local cops.

Jason is then given a place of honor in the local morgue. Axel (Bruce Mahler) is your typical slob coroner. When he isn't eating over the bodies or hitting on nurse Robbie ( Lisa Freeman), he's watching the ladies bounce on the late night aerobic shows. This last one really steams Jason's slacks as he promptly sits up and takes a bonesaw to Axel's neck and a scalpel to Robbie. Not sure why they're so scared, as massive stab wounds can be walked off within hours apparently.

Meanwhile, at Crystal Lake proper, there are two groups moving into the area. The first is the Jarvis family, consisting of Mom (Joan Freeman), Trish (Kimberly Beck), and Tommy (Corey Feldman). Mrs. Jarvis is a a total cipher, while Trish is your standard Nice Girl. Tommy's interests seem to run into horror films and making masks. Good to finally see someone with some taste.

They aren't the only ones in the woods though. A group of teens is heading out that way, no doubt lured by the reports of over a dozen murders within the past seventy-three hours. They are:

Jimmy (Crispen Glover)-he's single...and also Crispen Glover
Ted (Lawrence Monoson)-practical joker
Sarah (Barbara Howard)-she's shy
Doug (Peter Barton)-Sarah's boyfriend
Samantha (Judie Aronson)-The designated 'easy' girl
Paul (Alan Hayes)-Samantha's boyfriend with standards lower than hers

The group passes by a hitchhiker (Bonnie Hellman), who then becomes Jason's next victim. After that we get to meet skinny dipping enthusiasts Tina and Terri (Camilla More and Carey More), as well as hiker Rob  (Erich Anderson). Rob is packing some serious heat for a hiker, but he swears he's only looking to hunt some bears.

From there Jason whittles the cast down with surprising efficiency until Rob, Trish, and Tommy remain. Tommy proves to be the key, as his makeup knowledge is the shocking final key to defeating Jason, at least until the next movie.

With Tom Savani doing the makeup work again, the film would be hard pressed to look terrible. The script almost derails everything, as once again stuff happens. Why does Jason target this group? They're no where near the camp or even Higgins Haven for that matter (and that wasn't near the camp either). There's also no explanation for anything. What is Jason?  At this point Jason has had a machete driven into his chest and taken an axe to the face and he can still hoof it to the woods some distance away. Is he a ghost, a zombie, or just a guy does a hell of a lot of ab crunches?









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