Friday The 13th Pt 3/Review
From The Grindhouse Cinema Database
< Friday The 13th Pt 3
Back in 1982 when this film was released in the theaters it was a special 3-D version. In this 3rd installment of the series, the film opens the day after the big massacre at the house with the camp counselers. We get a quick recap of what went down in the last film with a pre-credits sequence. In this opening we see Jason still isn't dead as his body moves out of frame. Then we see the big opening credits sequence which has a sort of quick disco-techno rhythm to it. The credits are supposed to be in 3D but we sadly don't have that option on this DVD version.
As the film starts, we are at the local Crystal Lake General store. There is a long tracking shot that slowly moves in and is really cool if you look closely. The owners of the store are unaware that Jason is still alive and the lady owner Edna (Cheri Maughans) watches her TV as the newscaster (a cameo by director Steve Miner) gives word about the massacre at the lake nearby. Meanwhile, her dopey husband Harold (Steve Susskind) is outside walking around. Quickly we learn that they aren't alone, Jason (Richard Brooker) is outside too. As the woman hangs the laundry we see a shadowy figure behind the sheets (you can see Jason's gnarled face for a quick second if you look fast). They finally go inside, but the husband hears a noise outside and he goes to check it out. Bad idea. As he rummages around the garage, we can feel the suspense build, he looks through some closets then he is executed Jason style with an axe to the chest. Inside Edna is cranky and bitching about him not doing what hes supposed to do, then she is taken out with a knitting needle to the head!
A group of kids are planning to go up to the lake for a weekend of swimming and fun. They are Kris (Dana Kimmel), and her friends including the chunky jokester Shelly (Larry Zerner). They go to pick up Kris' friend, a sexy babe named Vera (Catherine Parks) but her mom tells her she can't go. Vera goes anyway. When the kids get up to the cabin, they start unpacking and look around. Only they aren't alone. Kris goes inside and she is scared by her old boyfriend Rick (Paul Kratka). He's been waiting to see her again, but she acts sort of cold towards him. It's been a long time for her and she needs to get warmed up again. Later, Kris and Rick get to know each other while they bail some hay in the barn.
The other kids chill out and we see that Shelly really likes Vera. She doesn't like him, but he gets her to go into town with him to pick up some supplies they need. When they get into town, a trio of bikers start to give them a hard time. Vera stands up to the biker woman "Fox" (Gloria Charles) who's messing with her. As Shelly and Vera leave, they back up and accidentally knock down the gang's bikes. Now they're in big trouble! The gang leader runs out and sees what they did, now he's pissed! He takes out his large metal chain and before Shelly can take off, he stands right in front of the car. As he walks closer to the car, he leans in close and then gives Shelly a big smile like he's just joking, but when Shelly smiles back, we see the gang leader punch through the window with his chain covered fist. Shelly guns the car to take off. He decides he's gonna show those bikers what for, so he turns around!! He rushes towards the gang and nails their bikes again!! Vera is impressed as Shelly takes off down the road, who's now proud of himself. As they dissapear into the distance, the bikers scream at them and promise theyll get them back.
When Vera and Shelly return to the cabin, the kids start to split up and do their own things. While some go swimming, the gang members show up and syphen the gas out of Kris' van to get revenge. Fox the female member of the gang sees the barn and is curious to see whats inside. She enters the barn and starts to look around. While she goes in, the other 2 gang members look for her, they don't know where she went. Then, they see Fox swinging on the rope thats used for hay on the top floor of the barn, she swings in and out, but when they look back she's gone. The white gang member decides to go get her, and he goes up into the top of the barn, when he turns around he sees Fox impaled by a pitchfork though her neck (3-D shot). Then, suddenly he sees Jason and he himself is impaled with a pitchfork through his stomach. The black dude follows suit and goes into the barn to look for the other two. When he screams for them to come out, we see Jason jump down from the loft and the gang leader runs into a stall to find him. As he looks around for Jason, Jason pops up behind him and knocks him out.
Kris and Rick decide to go off for a ride while the others hang out by the lake. When their car breaks down, Kris and Rick talk about what they've been doing since they last saw each other. Kris tells Rick about a strange, scary encounter she had one night a few months earlier. She had gone out with friends and came home late, her parents and her had a big fight and she took off and ran into the woods behind her house. She fell asleep under a tree, but she was awaken by footsteps nearby, when she looked to see what it was, she saw a terrifying sight. A deformed man was coming towards her and she tried to get away but was pulled down by the deformed mongoloid man. She didn't remember anything after that, but she woke up in her bed the next day, safe from harm. Paul is intrigued by the story but realizes they need to get back to the cabin.
Vera is sitting on the pier near the water spending some time alone. She is scared to death when she gets her leg hooked by something. Then a hockey masked figure pops out of the water! It's Shelly, trying to scare her out of her wits. Vera yells at Shelly for being such a jerk. Shelly tells Vera that being a jerk is better than being nothing, hes angry that she doesn't like him the way he likes her. Feeling frustrated, Shelly leaves Vera and goes to see where everyone else is. He walks towards the barn and goes inside. Vera is by herself outside and she finds Shelly has left his wallet, as she looks through it, she accidentally drops it into the water, she watches it float away. She has to get it, so she takes off her shoes and tries to walk into the lake. While she's going for the wallet, she sees a figure with the hockey mask walking out onto the pier. She thinks its Shelly at first, then realizes it's someone else. As she inquires who it is, the scary hockey masked figure points Shelly's harpoon at her. Vera doesn't think its funny and when she gets angry, Jason fires the harpoon and we see it shoot right at us! It hits Vera right in the eye! The newly masked Jason slowly turns towards the cabin and looks up. His next bunch of victims are inside.
On the top floor, two of the kids are having a good time. They make love then the girl decides to take a shower as her boyfriend goes to make something to eat, he tries to be cool by standing on his hands as he walks around the corner. She takes a shower. When he turns the corner he sees two feet in front of him, as he looks up we see JASON with his new hockey mask slice his body right in half! Meanwhile, the girl is still taking a shower, then she gets out and goes back to their room where they have a nice hammock set up. She grabs a horror movie magazine while she's waiting (A nice reference here) when some drops of red blood start to appear on the page. She doesn't know where its coming from, but when she looks up, we see her boyfriend's mutilated body laying on a beam. As she screams, a hand comes from below and her throat in stabbed with a sharp weapon. Jason is at it again!!
The two hippies downstairs are unaware of this and make some popcorn but the electricity goes out. The guy goes down into the basement to check things out while the chick waits upstairs. Down in the basement, the hippie dude tries to see whats up with the fuse box, when he shines the flashlight on the wall, he sees Jason standing there. Jason pushes him into the fuse box electrocuting him. Shelly the jokester, comes up to the door, but this time he's not kidding around, he tries to speak but his neck is slashed, he slumps over and dies. The hippie chick starts to scream for the other kids to come help, she runs upstairs and she finds the dead bodies, as she runs downstairs, we see a hand pick up a fire poker and the girl sees it come toward her, then it impales her!
Kris and Rick return and try to look for the others, but cant find them anywhere. Paul checks the barn while Kris looks around the cabin. Kris yells for Rick, but Rick is indisposed because Jason has him by the head, he crushes Rick's skull and Ricks eye pops right out at us! As Kris realizes things are really wrong she hides near the corner of the wall, thats when we see Ricks body come crashing through the window in that style only a Voorhees could pull off! Then JASON pops through the window and we know its ON! Kris runs upstairs and hides in one of the closets. She sees Jason coming towards the closet, but she tries to keep quiet.
Kris is up on a beam above Jason as he crazily looks around the barn throwing shit all over the place. Suddenly Kris loses her grip and she falls down right on Jason! As she tries to get away, Jason makes his way towards her, then incredibly, the black gang leader shows up! He's not dead! He wails Jason from behind, but Jason gets the upper hand (literally) as he slices the gang leaders hand right off and the blood spurts out like a geyser! While Jasons busy makin sure the gang leaders officially dead, Kris climbs up into the top of the barn where she sees all the dead bodies. Jason gives chase and follows her up there. Kris bashes Jason in the head and he's knocked out. She gets a great idea. She grabs the haybail rope and ties it around Jasons neck and pushes his mongloid body off the edge of the barn and he gets hung! Its finally over, Kris has won!
Tired from the fight, Kris goes down the ladder and opens the barn door, as the door opens we see Jason hanging there. Suddenly, Jason pulls himself up, he's not dead!! He pulls his mask up so Kris can see his face, and she recognizes it! Its him! the deformed mongoloid crazy psycho that attacked her in the woods that night a while ago! Jason gets himself off the rope and comes at Kris, but Kris grabs an axe off the floor and as Jason goes to grab her she wails it right into his deformed melon! Jason stops for a second, but his arms stick out right at Kris, hes still trying to get her. Then, finally Jason falls down dead. Kris really did it, she killed Jason Voorhees!
Part III is probably my favorite in the entire series. I love the fact that it was made in 3-D and that this is the film where Jason first gets his famous hockey mask from Shelly. Actor Richard Brooker gave Jason a new monstrous look in it. This film even has some slight cinematic likeness to Frankenstein in it, if you watch closely. The FX are really great in this one as well. A classic 3rd installment of the series! Highly recommended!!
Peter Roberts is the co-founder/editor-in-chief of the Grindhouse Cinema Database (GCDb) and contributor to the GCDb's sister site Furious Cinema. A Massachusetts native, he is an avid film fan that has been immersed in the world of entertainment and pop culture his entire life. He is a professional digital media designer and educator.
