It's not the Final Chapter, though.
It's never the end.
At least not until Victor Miller comes along.
Friday the 13th had actually intended to be ended at Part 3. However, the film committed the cardinal sin of actually making money and a lot of it (it was, until Freddy vs. Jason the highest grossing film of the franchise), so Paramount decided the time was ripe to make a fourth film that would definitely end the franchise for good.
...you're not believing this at all, are you?
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter picks up with a montage of Paul from Part 2 doing his little monologue to the soon to be dead wannabe camp counselors, interposed with shots of the kills from...mostly Part 3, though bits of 1 and 2 slip in there. Then we drop in on the barn from the end of Part 3. The body of Jason Voorhees is taken up by the paramedics and carted away. As the CinemaSnob pointed out in his review of the film, there is something definitely eerie about the long, dragged out shot of the place once the paramedics and the cops have left.
What happened to Chris? No idea. She's not mentioned and given the absolutely trippy nightmare-esque sequence at the end of 3, I choose to believe the alternate ending where Jason decapitates her actually happened. Just like I believe Paul survived the events of Part 2 and became an officer working for JAG.
But, predictably, Jason is not dead and wakes up to go on yet another killing spree. Given that Part 2, Part 3, and this movie all take place on the same weekend, I'm not surprised that the town wanted to rename itself Forest Green in Part 6. This is literally the worst weekend ever since what happened to Bernie!
Rather than a young woman and a rape revenge plot as last time, our focus this time is instead on young Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) and his family living in the countryside. A group of teenagers come up to the house across from them to party (including Crispin Glover), and Jason has a new batch of victims to hack up! But that isn't all! A roguish woodsman is hiking about in the area, with a very keen interest in Jason...
The Final Chapter is one of the films in the franchise I can honestly say I don't have any problems with. No major ones, at least. That only extends to what we see onscreen, though. Behind the scenes, Ted White (the stunt actor for Jason) wanted his name taken off of it when his championing for safer conditions for the actors failed. One actress during a lake scene was not allowed to get out of the lake to warm up despite absolutely freezing temperatures. There were other incidents, of course, but those two in particular stand out.
That being said, in front of the camera, this is one of the best films in the franchise. I personally have it in my top four along with the original, Jason Lives, and Jason X (yes, I'll be getting to that). Tom Savini came back to do the special effects, and they are pretty spectacular. The deaths are pretty well done, and some of them are astoundingly brutal - such as when Jason crushes a man's skull against shower tiles. Jason's final revealed look is pretty creepy as well, so kudos there.
It also has a good score, which I haven't talked about too much in these. Harry Manfredini returned to score this film as he had the rest of the franchise, and would continue to do so until Part 7 and then later returning to do Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, and the Friday the 13th game that I reviewed last year. His work is iconic and quite memorable, no more so than it is here.
We have a few good arcs here. The roguish woodsman I mentioned, Rob, is actually the sister of one of the victims from Part 2. This creates a bit of a continuity error, seeing as Part 2 was only two days ago. He speaks of it as though it happened at least a few weeks ago, if not longer. Which means either Crystal Lake is in a time warp or he literally left his sister's funeral to go hiking in the words after a killer who is supposedly just a legend.
Of course, he dies in the climax so it's hardly a problem for very long. Spoiler alert.
We also have Crispin Glover and Lawrence Monoson as the loveable Jimmy and Ted, two of the teens that come to party at the house opposite the Jarvis residence. In fact, most of the teens are likeable in a throwing off of what's considered the 'conventional' 80's slasher film formula. It's something that the early films of the franchise did well...and, sadly, something that the later films of the franchise forgot to do. It's a shame, really, because we aren't supposed to be rooting for the killer to kill off everyone. That isn't the point. And it shouldn't be.
We should not be rooting for the killer in a slasher film. Seriously.
The ending is one of the best set ups for a sequel - a mentally-scarred Tommy embracing his sister as he looks menacingly into the camera as the music swells, implying that while Jason has died, another killer is going to follow in his footsteps.
It is something that, I'm sure, will be touched upon in the next film and then flawlessly followed through on into Part 6.
...it won't.
God in Heaven, why. Why didn't they just follow up on it?
Despite the neat idea that it might have been, much like H20 after Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, it won't be followed up on.
I mean, we got Jason Lives, so it's not that bad...until you get to pretty much every film after that one...
Also, Crispin Glover improv dancing to heavy metal is possibly the funniest thing that the 1980's intentionally produced.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is brought to us by Paramount Pictures. Rights currently owned (as of this writing) by New Line Cinema.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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