Back again we go to the Friday the 13th series. Part 3 is notable for several things in the franchise. Foremost among them is that now, 3 movies in, Jason finally gets his iconic hockey mask look. He would also receive an axe wound to said mask that would remain throughout the franchise history. Also of note is that, even though Part 1 and 2 both did great numbers and made their money back easily; this entry to the series would include the gimmick of being IN 3D! Though what that means for watching it today in 2d is that the movie will occasionally come to a screeching halt so they can repeatedly drop a yo-yo or juggle fruit at the camera.

We start with 5 minutes of “Previously On” with footage from the last film before we get to the movie proper. Part 3 takes place immediately following the events of Part 2, as we hear from a news broadcast, meaning that this movie is actually Saturday the 14th. Also the news cast calls Jason an “axe wielding maniac” even though, as I mentioned in the last review, Jason never touches an axe in that entire movie. The plot of the film follows a brand new set of horny teens but these ones aren’t associated with camping or counseling. Instead, they are going to a friend’s family cabin on Crystal Lake and have no idea that the previous murders have occurred.

The characters in this are mostly just Jason-fodder aside from our new Final Girl, Chris. She apparently had a run in with Jason 2 years ago where he caught her and then she blacked out and came-to in her bed the next day and it is maybe implied that he raped her? Either way, it seems real out of character for the big guy to get a hold of a teen and then leave her alive. This does mean that our climactic battle between Chris and Jason feels more personal and Chris ends up being the most badass final girl so far. She manages to stab him twice, hit him over the head twice, hang him, and ultimately put an axe in his head. By the way, in case you were wondering, while an axe does appear in this movie, Jason still doesn’t kill anyone with it.

The quality of effects and kills in this are definitely in-between parts 1 and 2. We do get more gore and kills shown on screen than Part 2 but the 3D aspect means that a lot of atmosphere and effects get sacrificed on the altar of making sure stuff goes toward a camera lens. The worst part about this movie, for me, was the character of Shelly. The prototypical incel “nice guy” that is an asshole to everyone and then complains that girls don’t like him, blaming it on his looks instead of the fact he is a shit-weasel. The second he tells a girl he likes her and she doesn’t immediately reciprocate, he calls her a bitch and then goes out of his way to scare her to “teach her a lesson”. Jesus, what a fuckin jagoff.

I definitely liked this one more than Part 2 but it still has its faults. The plot is almost entirely a rehash of Part 1, including having our final girl end up in a boat and having a dead person (this time Mrs. Voorhees) jump out of the lake in a dream sequence jump scare. That said, the pacing felt better this time around and the final girl circuit at the end felt much more satisfying.

Score: 2.5 out of 5