Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

'Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter' is an entry that many fans including myself will say is their favorite and it's not hard to see why. Out of the entire series, I think this sequel has the best characters, it's one of the best designs for Jason Voorhees, and overall it feels like a big budget blockbuster (as far as these flicks go) where everything is twice as big but retains what made the previous films great. It's also the most star studded cast of the series, with Corey Feldman, Kimberly Beck, and even a young Crispin Glover giving some memorable performances especially Feldman whose Tommy Jarvis character has become the main hero of the franchise and Glover's eccentric style coming out in spades.

Ted White's portrayal of Jason is my second favorite behind Kane Hodder but the unfortunate truth is that White has so much better material to work with and was in a better single film than all of Kane's entries (sorry Kane, don't choke me out). What people love about both Hodder and White is that their Jason's display similar traits such as the aggression and more vicious nature. The Jason in this film is brutal and unrelenting, grabbing people and violently thrusting them through a window or slamming a cleaver right into their face after they just had the happiest moment of their young life. Jason is an evil asshole for sure, but that's why we love him.

In terms of negatives, you have the same issues in all of these 'Friday' films and I know it's a review but you've heard this stuff before. Cliche jump scares, lots of nudity and gore, predictable scenes etc. It really is the stronger characters, the clean and well shot direction of Joe Zito, and of course Jason himself that keeps 'The Final Chapter' from becoming just another slasher flick. Really, it's hard to critique movies like this because we know what to expect so is that really a bad thing? Do I have a right to complain about tropes when I watch these movies knowing that's a given? I don't really think so, so while they're obvious flaws with 'Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter' I think the positives make for a better examination and frankly for a more interesting read for you nice folks.

The film is what it is and doesn't apologize for it, even if the executives at Paramount Pictures constantly does.

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