2020 October Horror Challenge #25: "Friday the 13th Part III"

 

This movie was originally released in 3D, which was all the rage for awhile there in the 80s, and they definitely capitalized of the 3D gimmick throughout the movie by throwing a bunch of stuff at the screen throughout the movie so it could pop out if the screen at viewers who were wearing 3D glasses. The fun is sorta lost for those of us not watching the movie in 3D though. This used to be my least favorite of all the Friday the 13th movies, but I've come to appreciate it over the years for its good points.

This movie takes place in the days following the events of the second movie. Jason has escaped and is still lurking in the woods, killing anyone he finds trespassing on what he thinks of as his land. There are a bunch of unsuspecting younguns partying nearby who don't know of the danger until Jason starts picking them off one by one. I hate it when that happens. 

Like the second movie, this movie opens with a bunch of footage from the end of the previous movie. I'm sure that helped tie them together for people watching in the theater a year after the last movie came out, but it's kind of annoying to keep seeing recaps when I just watched the last movie. Poor, long-suffering me.

Everything about this movie is very 80s, including the opening credits sequence. Very cheesy. I still think this is the weakest of the Friday the 13th sequels (well, the weakest of the first 7 anyway). I don't really like most of the characters. They're annoying jerks that always seem to be pissed off at each other, which makes me wonder why they decided to take a camping trip together where they'll be trapped alone in the woods together for three days.

There are some good kills in this movie. Another good killing with a Spear that is my favorite. And since I don't really like the characters, I don't mind them getting picked off one by one. I guess the main character is ok, the "final girl" that survives to fight Jason in the end. She seems to be the only one who realizes the woods are scary, which makes her the smartest character out of all of them, as per usual. This is also the first movie where Jason gets his trademark hockey mask. I admit, it looks pretty cool seeing him stalking around wearing his hockey mask. I like the secluded cabin setting too, which is pretty creepy itself. Overall this movie isn't too terrible, though it's still not the best either.