Friday the 13th, Part 3 DVD: Review By Soylent Green:The Devil's Eyes

Jan 4th, 2009 by Soylent Green:The Devil's Eyes
Give me something to scream about.
  • OVERALL
    4.0
    GREAT
  • Feature
  • Picture
  • Sound
  • Extras
  • Replay Value
This is NOT a dvd review. Just a return to my Friday reviews.

In 1982, the slasher genre was still fairly fresh, having had its defining (and now cliché) characteristics formed most notably in 1980 with the original Friday the 13th. After a successful re-hash with Part II, it was obvious that it had to be re-hashed again.

Back in the early '80s there was a 3-D craze (ala Amityville 3-D or Jaws 3-D). And as we all know, those films were sh*t. No. Not just sh*t. F*cking sh*t. I mean, remember in Jaws 3-D when the shark is heading for the glass and makes NO movement at all except for a forward push toward the audience?!?!? Damn they sucked. But there was more to this film than just retelling what was told in the last two films. It's in this film where everything fell into place not only for the Friday the 13th franchise, but for the slasher genre as well.

For those familiar with the series, you'll know that Jason was introduced in Part II, but not as the hockey mask killer everyone envisions him as. In Friday the 13th Part 3, his character really comes into his own, and isn't simply a silent, invulnerable slasher as he would be portrayed as in later installments; This Jason is filled with angst, hatred, and lust: easily his most lively portrayal. Even more so than in Part II, this is the film that created the legend that is Jason Voorhees.

The plot is as simple as a group of teenagers going into a secluded cabin for a retreat, only to be picked off one-by-one, but there's also a bit of back-story that adds even more mystique to the character of Jason Voorhees. The characters are likable, despite being a bit stereotypical (at least by today's standards) and the film features some of my favorite characters in the series: Chris Higgins and Shelly. As the suspense builds, I still find the climax to be creepy, thrilling, and kick ass.

Compared to other films deemed as "slasher" films, I consider this to be incredibly overlooked. Obviously, a film like "Halloween" would arguably steal the title of "greatest slasher film", but I view Halloween in a different light. Halloween is a great film, but categorizing it as a slasher isn't entirely accurate in regards to what the slasher genre evolved into because it was a genuinely scary horror film. What the slasher genre became in the 80s was about body counts, kills, and guilty pleasure, and that comes across perfectly in Friday the 13th Part 3, which ultimately makes Friday the 13th Part 3 the epitome of a great slasher film.

Okay, so my reviewing of the Friday flicks are back and I am very close to being done.

Body Count = 12

Next up is Part X: Friday the 13th Part 2

Nawwwwww...

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Comments (17)

  1. Soylent Green:The Devil's Eyes

    Gein.

    Yeah, okay. I guess I can agree with you on that.

    3 years agoby @jcisawesomeFlag

  2. BlizZzario, Bizniches

    The original slasher is Psycho, it's just a primitive slasher meaning, it didn't have all the parameters established, the classical (established rules are set and followed) slasher movies like Halloween, Friday and Nightmare, yes Texas Chainsaw was the first to revise and start to establish the rules of a slasher, but like I said Halloween, Friday, Nightmare not only established the rules but popularized the sub genre

    on a side note Norman Bates, Leatherface, and Buffalo Bill(silence of the lambs) are all based off of the serial killer Ed Giens

    BlizZzard

    3 years agoby @blizzzardFlag

  3. GK

    Great review.

    3 years agoby @indianajonesFlag

  4. GK

    Great review.

    3 years agoby @indianajonesFlag

  5. RavenX5 God of Light

    i thought Halloween was the original slasher.

    3 years agoby @hackx9Flag

  6. Soylent Green:The Devil's Eyes

    And Blizz, I have to disagree about Psycho being a slasher. Granted, it is one of the best films ever, it is not a slasher. There are only two deaths in the film and not really much else that are slasher flick standards.

    I believe that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the originalslasher.

    3 years agoby @jcisawesomeFlag

  7. Soylent Green:The Devil's Eyes

    I MIGHT see the reamke. But I can't be sure at this point

    3 years agoby @jcisawesomeFlag

  8. RavenX5 God of Light

    Great review,are you gonna see the remake?btw,Vamp THERE WAS ACTUALLY A JAWS 3-D?!?!?!?!?i could strangle you right now..LOLZ!.

    3 years agoby @hackx9Flag

  9. BlizZzario, Bizniches

    I here you

    3 years agoby @blizzzardFlag

  10. Vamp

    You were right. I remembered it being blue in one of them, it just wasn't in this one. I haven't seen the fifth one in forever. lolz. I need to rewatch all pf them.

    3 years agoby @vampire2000Flag

  11. BlizZzario, Bizniches

    Never mind, you're right, I just check online it was in part 5, I can't think why I thought it was part 3, but it has been 4 or 5 years since I seen any of the movies

    BlizZzard

    3 years agoby @blizzzardFlag

  12. BlizZzario, Bizniches

    Nah, I watched the preview, it looked blue, dosen't matter, I can't double check because my movie collection is in storage, but this is the one with chubby guy with curly hair, who dosent have girlfriend and is doing magic tricks and playing pranks, and then he gets killed and Jason takes his mask, right? and in that movie his mask has blue markings, I remeber it being part 3, not part 4, damn I need to get my sh*t out of storage

    BlizZzard

    3 years agoby @blizzzardFlag

  13. Vamp

    Actually BlizZz, it IS red in this movie. I watched it the other day, and didn't pay attention, but I don't remember it being blue, so I went and found the original trailer:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt2qs1HKmYc

    Red as ever.

    3 years agoby @vampire2000Flag

  14. BlizZzario, Bizniches

    That part in jaws is very sh*tty, I remember watching that part and saying what the hell is that, it's just a picture of a shark coming towards you, where's the movement, anyways enough on that

    I going to have to school you guys a little, sorry, Psycho is the original and first slasher movie, I consider it the grandfather of slashers movies, then we go to the father of slashers movies Halloween, which is actually a revision/remake of Psycho (I'll explain more if you want me to), Friday The 13th franchise and Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, along with the Halloween sequels, popularized the slasher sub-genre and established what the rules and procedures to flowing to have a movie be a slasher horror,

    On this movie, I really liked it, especially the 3-D parts, they weren't that cheesy as the other movies mention, plus it blends nicely with the gore and kills, seen in the part where the girl gets shot in the eye with a harpoon gun I also like this one because it's the one were Jason gets his trademarked masks like you have stated,

    On a side note or fun fact in this movie Jason mask has blue markings on it, this is the only masks/movie that has this, the rest have his traditional mask with the red markings

    I agree with you and this review

    BlizZzard

    3 years agoby @blizzzardFlag

  15. The CryptKeeper

    awesome review. your best Friday review yet! lol, i like how you talk of the sh*tty 3-D movies.

    3 years agoby @catwomanFlag

  16. Soylent Green:The Devil's Eyes

    Thanks. And ofcourse the first one is the best.

    3 years agoby @jcisawesomeFlag

  17. Vamp

    Great review, though "Halloween" is the original Slasher Flick, though I see at the end you explained your reasoning for saying that "Friday the 13th" is the original one. I didn't care for this one as much as the first one, which was the best, but it was still a good one, and one that you could still take relatively seriously. LOLZ!

    Again, great review, man! LOLZ!

    3 years agoby @vampire2000Flag