A while back on this blog, I randomly watched and reviewed Friday the 13th Part VI and Jason Goes to Hell and the Friday reboot. I also did watch Jason takes Manhattan, which I did not review. Some of these I watched because I simply hadn't seen them in a long time. Some I watched because I had never seen them before at all. Yes, dear reader, I had never seen Manhattan or Hell before the last few years. I know. Crucify me.
Friday the 13th Part 3 was the first to gimmick the franchise. In this one, it was filmed in 3D and also it way ups the stakes in showing that Jason is un-killable and will survive just about anything you can do to him. It invented the now classic look to Jason as well. It joins him with the hockey mask and the machete, whereas in previous Friday part 2, he had a bag over his head and used a large variety of weapons.
Part 3 isn't as bad as one might think. It's plot certainly is bad though, and HOW many times have we fucking seen this?! Recite it with me here: Several Friends Go Out To The Woods To a Remote House / Camping Trip. Ugggggghhhghghghghghg. I GET IT.
To continue my brief breakdown of horror I started in Iced I was thinking about masks a lot as I watched this. I think I can take a shot at exactly why killers wear masks and why we're afraid of them. We are all afraid of the instincts within us. We're afraid of the animal impulse, the desire for blood or for vengeance, to overpower someone with rape or death or control. We know from history we're entirely capable. Humans having been acting in animalistic ways towards other humans for years. And a mask is symbolic of someone making the choice to abandon their humanity. Whatever mask it is, it's inhuman. It's embracive of the instinct, it's embracing the animal, the desire we have within all of us. Especially in movies like this and in Halloween where, as soon as the mask is partially removed, the killer stops everything and struggles to get it back on. Masks are essential for them to survive. To keep on being who they are. Because to show their face is to admit their humanity. So for the love of fucking god, in the next goddamn Star Wars film, have Kylo Ren put his goddamn mask back on!
The deaths are plenty and they are done well. Creative to standard, there's a lot of them, and most of them are spread out within the last 40 minutes of the film. Jason has a lot of screen time, and for a few parts of the film we actually follow him instead of the dumb blond or the hunky beefcake he's going to kill. The characters are all averagely annoying, not very well written, and the dialogue is either non-existent or terrible. There is supposed to be nudity, but the YouTube video I watched had it blurred out...? The fuck?
So that's your "Horror Movie Breakdown" there, rating the normal things one would look for in a horror film. It has mostly successes though, things in the "plus column" so it stands out as above average. The 3D effects that would have been used, I didn't get to witness since I'm watching it in 2D, but let me sum it up in one word: Gimmicky. Unnecessary. Stupid. Okay, more that one word, but all three do apply.
Still though, it's a fun sequel, I can see why they made another, and it helped define Jason for years as the killer we picture when we hear Friday the 13th. 3.5 stars...? Hmmm.... 4 stars.
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