Post by slayrrr666 on Dec 14, 2005 13:56:34 GMT -5
`Friday the 13th: Part 3' has the novel gimmick of being in 3-D, but a new gimmick does not a good horror film make.
**SPOILERS**
Jason has survived the massacre from part 2 and continues on his way, butchering two more people in a truck stop diner. This doesn't stop a new group of friends from going to the lake for a good ol' weekend of sex and relation. While their, two of them, Shelly (Larry Zerner) and Chris (Dana Kimmell) leave the lake to go buy supplies, and run afoul of a local biker gang. Shelly nearly destroys the leader's (Nick Savage) bike, and they vow payback on the kids. While sabotaging their van, two of them get killed by Jason, who the kids don't know is there. With Chris and boyfriend Rick (Paul Kratka) enjoying a talk in the woods, they begin to suspect foul play when their car dies out. Shelly ends up scaring a girl he likes, Vera (Catherine Parks) who sends him away. He goes into the barn, where he thinks Chuck (David Katims) and Chili (Rachel Howard) are, but runs into Jason. Jason goes back and kills Vera, then goes into the cabin were the kids are 'sleeping' and kills two more, leaving only Chuck, Chili, Chris and Rick; no one aware of Jason's presence. Jason now launches an all-out assault on the camp, leaving only Chris and Rick, leading to a solo fight against the killer.
The Good News: Finally, a really gory horror film from the early 80's. No way this should've been as gory as it is, and I really want to thank Miner for delivering the bloody goods. Impaling people on staffs, knifes, and many other sharp objects is the essential part of a `Friday' film, but there are two of my all-time favorites in this film. The spear gun in the eye is a simply fantastic kill, as the effect is not cheesy, it looks very realistic, and is pretty chilling. The other one that comes to mind is the infamous handstand kill. I won't describe it here, as you really need to see it to understand how brilliant it is. In actuality, all the killings are great to a degree, as the 3-D element forced the creators to make every death unique and special. Jason never kills two people the same way. That is an ingenious, something the other films never quite got the idea to use. This is also the second movie to have a good idea what suspense is, setting up a scare and delivering, which only the original can claim to have as well. This is intensely suspenseful, as the camera or the music set up a shot and it just makes a uniquely suspenseful entry. It isn't as nerve jangling as the first one, but is the only other entry to be suspenseful. I can also say that the music in the film is really good too. It more than capably accompanies the scene it plays in, helping to add scares or to make the action more frantic. The theme is still here for fans, but the music really helps the film.
The Bad News: The beginning was almost unbearably annoying. Concentrating on these two people who are completely unworthy of being focused upon should not be an opening to a film. The kills were cool, but it took way too long to do them in. that brings up another important quality in the film; Miner's timing is way off. He lets too many scenes go on for too long when they should've been cut up. Yeah, the time must've been a factor, but that still was no excuse for letting parts like the beginning and Fox's exploration of the barn are simply scenes that should've been cut down due to their just plain boring-ness. They simply don't provide the scares that would've justified their existence in the movie that they should've had. Chris' flashback to Jason, which was an important part of the movie, was handled very weirdly. Instead of the usual flashback where the character narrates over the action that is happening on screen, we see a silhouette of her face over the action, completely blurring the scene. Several of the gags in the film were just plain stupid. The yo-yo, the flying eyeball and the popcorn gags come to mind especially, being simply unnecessary effects that did little to help the film, coming across as cheesy, even for the time.
The Final Verdict: The negative reviews about this film are all wrong; this is a great entry in Jason's saga that really got overlooked due to it's cheesy 3-D gimmick. It is highly recommended to all `Friday' fans, those looking for a little cheese in unusual places, all to 3-D fans, as the effects aren't all that bad.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Language, tons of drug use, and a sex scene done under-covers
