But Jason was still missing something.
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III brought a few new elements to the table. 3D filmmaking had a bit of a comeback around this time, a lot of Bollywood films strangely. But the most notable 3D films of this era were horror films, JAWS 3D, AMITYVILLE 3D, and PARASITE. Friday The 13th Part 3D was among these as well, the first and only time the series went with such a gimmick. The other major element this film added to the series was the hockey mask. The iconic image of Jason Voorhees was nearly complete.
I consider Part III as the second chapter in the original "Jason" trilogy (the first film standing alone as Jason was more or less a footnote in the story or rather a motivation as opposed to a character. Someone should really do a movie explaining how the events of the first film led to the events of the second film i.e. How is Jason alive again? How does he go from being a little boy to a grown man in only five years? What was REALLY going on with Mrs. Voorhees? It would just be nice if they deepened the connections between the films... and I have some awesome ideas as to how they should do it! Sorry, I digress).
Adding the hockey mask and 3D gimmick make Friday The 13th Part III a unique and essential chapter in the series.
THE PLOT
Picking up directly where the previous film left off, a defeated and wounded Jason makes his way to a nearby store, killing the attendants, stealing clothes, and presumably patching himself up. Jason then makes his way to the other side of the lake coming upon some lakeside property just as a group of friends arrive. As news only just breaks out about his rampage at the newly christened Camp Crystal Lake, Jason selects the residents of the lakeside cabin as his next victims. Armed with a machete and various other implements of death, and donning a new mask, Jason continues carrying out his mother's mission.
WHAT I LIKED
Iconography. The 3D gimmick is not the notable aspect of this film (it is perhaps the notorious aspect though). What makes Part III so essential is the introduction of the hockey mask and the evolution of Jason's character into the icon he is today. In Part II Jason bore a burlap sack as a mask, he appeared no bigger than a regular sized man, he moved fast, running much of the time, and his posture and demeanor were more crouched and savage unto a feral animal. Here in Part III he's moving a bit slower (probably due to his wounds) and he's less hunched, walking tall and upright. He seems notably bigger too, taller, broader, and stockier than nearly every one of his victims.
His first kill after donning the hockey mask he merely walks out onto the dock, fires a harpoon through Vera's head, and walks away with what would become Jason's trademark swagger. Perhaps he's growing more confident in his killing skills? He still runs in this film but he begins showing the first indications of his signature "walk" method of pursuit. Couple that with the hockey mask and then the machete and this film becomes the first in the series to really showcase the Jason Voorhees character in nearly all the ways he has become notable for. I say nearly because he has one more trademark yet to "really" surface. Of course I'm referring to his progression into a "super zombie" in Part VI, but more on that later.
For me personally, seeing Jason transform into his iconic form is the main reason why I enjoy this film in the franchise. Also Jason takes some serious punishment in this movie, stabbed, hanged, and ultimately axed in the head! Seeing him take that kind of punishment is more impressive than the body count (for me anyway). And I do love the "nightmare" ending where Mrs. Voorhees rises from the lake to drag our lone survivor down a la Jason in Part I. I like the cyclical nature of that sequence in relation to the series, almost a fitting ending to the series had the franchise ended there like it was intended to.
NITPICKS
Timeline/Continuity Errors. This film occurs a day or two after the events of Part II. Logic then dictates that Jason should be identical to how he appeared in Part II. Over the course of a day Jason seems have grown a foot taller and put on another 50 pounds of bulk. The design of Jason's deformed face is radically different too, way LESS malformed than previous. From a design aspect his face is considerably less revolting and less scary (but what's scary and what's not is all relative). Personally I find this facial design, while still cool and effective, to be not as striking or as interesting as Part II.
Then there's the heroine's flashback sequence. She says earlier in the movie that she's been away from Crystal Lake for two years. Her flashback story must then take place even earlier than the said two years. In the flashback she is attacked by Jason (who looks just like he does now). Nevermind the fact that they try to retconn in some hitherto unknown story connection between her character and Jason that wasn't there before. I'm okay with that part. Here's the problem, the filmmakers had the forethought to dress the actress in different clothes but didn't think to do the same with Jason? He was wearing his Part II clothes at the beginning so they had the right clothes available. And they could've put the burlap sack back on his head too. The film was made by the same director of the last movie too, Steve Miner. Dude, what happened? How'd a thing like that not get checked or noticed?
Obnoxious 3D Shots. I dog on the 3D aspect of this film a lot and here's why. From the opening credits we're subjected to a campier score than usual by series mainstay Harry Manfredini over ridiculously bold titles, all for the sake of utilizing the 3D effects. There are many many gratuitous shots of objects in the foreground that have no bearing on the story whatsoever. But, you know, it was a 3D movie so, as an audience member, you probably expected to see 3D effects. I guess I can forgive the 3D gratuity. It's just that looking back at the movie now those shots are so annoying.
Lastly, it seems as if the MPAA was a little harder on this film than the surrounding films in the franchise. The gore, while still present, feels less spectacular than its predecessors or immediate successor. As far as on screen blood letting goes, the blood is mostly trickles out of the mouth with one or two exceptions. Some of the cuts away from the gore seem premature, as if they were meant to linger a second or two longer but were cut due to ratings issues. I'd love to see an uncut version surface some day as I'm sure more gore was filmed.
THE VERDICT
Friday The 13th Part III is a legendary film in that it introduced the iconic hockey mask to the series and really showcased Jason with the style and personality he'd ultimately be known for. This is a movie for Jason fans as he is treated very well. And really what else could you ask for in a Friday The 13th movie? Well, blood and gore, right? Sadly this movie is not as noteworthy for the gore effects as so many others in the series, likely due to the MPAA rather than the filmmakers. There are some obvious continuity errors in this film, campy music, and gimmicky 3D shots that make this movie a little less intense and thrilling than others. But it's still a fun and excellent film in the series.
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10
Here's that campy music from the beginning that I was talking about. Not exactly scary like Harry Manfredini's usual films scores.
For more Friday the 13th and Slasher horror check out these films below
No comments:
Post a Comment