Friday the 13th, Part 3

Buy This Item Friday the 13th, Part 3  List Price: $9.98  Available from Amazon  $8.49  on 12-7-2008     Features Actors: Terry Ballard, Richard Brooker, Gloria Charles, Rachel Howard, David Katims Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Language: English Subtitles: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Number of discs: 1 Rating: Studio: Paramount DVD Release Date: October 17, 2000 Run Time: 95 minutes Average Customer Review:   241 Reviews 5 star:  (87) 4 star:  (61) 3 star:  (50) 2 star:  (28) 1 star:  (15) See all 241 customer reviews...   (241 customer reviews) Reader Reviews Of all the Friday the 13th movies this one is my favorite of the series and would possibly make my top 50 favorite horror films. You know those movies you like a lot more than you should? Well Friday the 13th Part 3 is that movie for me. Sure this is your typical slasher flick with the typical horror movie characters, but there is just something about this movie I love. By this time a formula for what worked well with this franchise was found and the makers were sticking to it. Even with the knockoff films that were being released around the same time the early Friday the 13th movies were able to edge them out and be a lot better. The biggest thing this movie has going for it is; this is the first time Jason wore the famous hockey mask. Screenwriters Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson actually try and elevate the screenplay to be more than the typical stalk and slash movie. They seemed to have a few ideas, but it just wasn't quite there yet. I think this is one of the better written ones of the series, which granted isn't saying much, but Kitrosser and Watson do try and make more of the movie. There really isn't much in the way of plot, but than again this series isn't known for that. This one probably has the least amount of plot, but with that said is also has a little more than some of the others. The characters mostly lack any depth, but they do come across as real people and that helps make up for the lack of character development. There were some interesting ideas presented, but weren't explored enough. There was a back-story with the character Chris and how she encountered Jason a couple of years back. The concept seems like it's going to lead to something, but it never comes about. I did hear that an original idea was a sexual assault and if you pay close attention to the dialog early it does seem like that was a direction the movie was heading. But come a certain point the idea is dropped, which isn't a bad thing and we find out how Jason attacked her. Despite not really going anywhere it actually works in the favor of the movie and helped give Chris more depth. There was also a back-story with Rick and Chris, which normally in these movies feels very out of place, but it works rather well and adds some more depth to Chris and even a little bit for Rick that subplot could have been a disaster, but works well as does the story with Shelly and Vera; another one that could have been a disaster worked well. That is why I go back to the script having some decent ideas. Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson had some good ideas with the Chris character and overall they had a good idea with the movie. It seems like they had some interesting ideas, but never fully developed it. The script though is simple and that is what helps it work. Director Steve Miner is able to create plenty of atmosphere and looming dread; he manages to use his setting to his full advantage. In Friday the 13th Part II, Steve Miner very much followed what Sean Cunningham did with the original. In Friday the 13th Part III it seems he took some influence from John Carpenter. The shots of Jason watching and waiting to strike remind me a lot of Halloween; instead of being a carbon copy, Miner is also able to add his own style. While I liked what he did with Friday the 13th Part II, I felt he did much better here. Steve Miner has made some enjoyable movies, but the problem with him is he doesn't really have an original idea he mostly follows what other filmmakers do, and this time around I do think he owes a bit to John Carpenter, but he is able to at times inject a little bit of his own style. Steve Miner has done some fairly good work in his career and while he isn't an Icon of the genre he has done a little more than people might realize. Horror flicks work best when the characters are isolated and Miner gets the job done there. The pacing of the movie was done quite well. Once things slow down too much there is a shot of Jason, which helps keep the tension going strong. The kill scenes were effective and set up quite well done as well. As stated before the characters come across as real people and I think are all quite likable. Friday the 13th Part III features my favorite characters of the series and some of my favorites in a horror flick. To be honest this is one of the few horror movies where I liked all the characters. The acting wasn't bad either; what people seem to forget is this is a slasher movie Oscar worthy performances really wouldn't fit. The actors all do a fine job with their characters and come across as real people and that for me made me like the movie even more since when they died I felt bad for them. Dana Kimmell who played Chris was by far my favorite character of the series and quite honestly might be my favorite character in a horror movie. I really just loved her character. Chris made a very strong and likeable heroine, while vulnerable also stepped up and fought back with everything she had in her. Richard Brooker made an excellent Jason; he was big and strong but still had some human qualities to him. Richard Brooker is by far my favorite Jason. In my personal opinion Richard Brooker was by far the scariest Jason. I loved his movements and even at times his fun in killing and his frustration. The scene with the spear gun was a classic moment. There are two reasons for that. For starters it's the first time Jason appears with the mask on and 2nd after he kills Vera he just walks away like it was nothing. I found Richard Brooker very creepy at times. When it comes to horror movies the final act is so very important. A great horror movie could be ruined by it and an average horror movie could suddenly become much better cause of it. In my opinion the final act of Friday the 13th Part 3 just might be the most solid of the whole series. The first sequel had a good chase scene, but it was pretty much shot for shot the same thing as the first, even the way it was edited was the same. The overall atmosphere for the final chase between Chris and Jason can be quite creepy. We all know horror flicks work at their best when the characters are isolated in a certain area and when you only have the killer and the intended victim in the isolated area it's even better. What made it work so well wasn't just Steve Miner's directing, but Chris being vulnerable, but not too scared to fight back, and Jason was quite creepy. The barn scene when Jason can't find Chris and he starts getting frustrated was a great scene, which now might look out of place cause of what Jason has become. But back in 1982 this was only Jason's 2nd outing so it wasn't out of character. Friday the 13th Part 3 is far from perfect; make no mistake it does have its flaws. But it's also a well made slasher flick with a creepy villain and likable characters. Something some of the later installments didn't have.  Comments (20) | Permalink |  function showYesNoCommunityResponse(uId,result,value) { var msgLayer = getElement("thanks" + uId); if ( result == "SUCCESS" ) { msgLayer.innerHTML = "Thanks for the valuable feedback you provided to other Amazon.com readers and reviewers. Your vote will be counted and will appear on the product page within 24 hours."; } else { showVoteErrorResponse(msgLayer,result,value); } } (Report this)

Friday the 13th, Part 3 List Price: $9.98 Available from Amazon Price: $8.49 Updated on 12-7-2008.

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