FRIDAY THE 13TH-THE FINAL CHAPTER
By Raymond Knowby
They took a year off between sequels, but the plan was to go out with a bang. What works most for this initially-intended-as-the-end chapter is the relentless set-up to destroy its killer–and man, does it!
A quick cool montage recapping the legend of Jason, using footage from all films to date in the series, gives way to opening credits before the terror starts again. Thought dead, Jason Voorhees is taken to the county morgue and placed into a freezer, where he awakens to slaughter two medical workers before escaping back to Crystal Lake. It’s business as usual wreaking havoc on more vacationing youths, but has he finally met his match in another local resident? A young mask maker extroadinare (Corey Feldman), obsessed with horror and the macabre, just might be the one person that brings the seemingly unstoppable psycho down for keeps.
Tom Savini was called back in to decimate his creation, and he accomplishes this in spectacular detail. Showy effects mark the copious death sequences on the hapless teens, but it ends up being Jason that gets the coup-de-grace of wet ends. Even more paper-thin plot than before, Joseph Zito’s (THE PROWLER) slick direction and Savini’s high caliber work make it a slightly more enjoyable ride than the last installment.
Even if you got this far into the tale, however, quit while you’re ahead and end the journey here as the title suggests.
Just one of many graphic demises on display in FRIDAY THE 13TH-THE FINAL CHAPTER.