SPLATTERdrome

Release Date: April 13th, 1984

Director: Joseph Zito

Screenwriter: Barney Cohen

Genre: Horror

 

 

By the time 1983 rolled around Paramount Pictures had earned over $100M from the Friday the 13th trilogy and could not have been more ashamed of their success. Despite the proven earning power of these films Paramount decided that the madness must stop lest their reputation be tarnished further. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter was intended to conclude the series but, as history tells us, that didn't quite pan out. 

 

It's clear that more resources were put into The Final Chapter than the previous film. In the opening sequence there’s a crane shot, a fake helicopter, and extras, which, for these films, is a big deal. It’s nice to see an improved production effort and also more filming locations than just the camp, local bar, or general store. The script and casting are both improvements over Part 3 although the plotting is so formulaic at this point that it hardly matters. Jason survives, escapes a morgue, and heads back to camp where a new batch of youngsters are just settling in for a weekend of partying. Perfect timing wouldn’t you say?

 

This film makes amends for Part 3 by boosting the intensity of sex and violence to new levels. Almost every teenaged character spends the film either getting laid, talking about it constantly, or watching stag films in frustration. These films always contain horny kids but Friday 4 is truly a walking hard-on from beginning to end. Even the sliding machete penetration of Jason’s head at the end could be seen as innuendo.

 

The cast of The Final Chapter includes both Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover, the first time recognizable actors had appeared in the series since Kevin Bacon in the original film. Crispin Glover’s dancing is probably the best part of the movie and the young Feldman adds a touch of depth to an otherwise unremarkable group of characters. We’re also introduced to Rob, the brother of Sandra from Part 2, who is monitoring the camp in an effort to catch and kill Jason out of revenge. I like that the writer included a tie-in to an earlier film but Rob doesn’t put up any kind of a fight so it's rather pointless. I guess he was a red herring for the audience who came expecting someone to kill Jason and Rob became the most likely candidate.

 

I’ve always liked The Final Chapter, it’s a more solid effort than Part 3 but I can’t ignore how cliched and predictable these movies become. The film earns points for humor, brutal gore effects, and a more structured story in addition to bringing some suspense and atmosphere back into the series. Like most of the sequels it’s built on a foundation of recycled ideas and feels stiff as a result. Again underplayed is the fact that this takes place one day after the previous film so it’s Sunday the 15th. Pamela Voorhees seems like the kind of mother who would preach Sunday as the Lord’s Day but I guess Jason won’t even lay down his machete for the creator.

 

The murder of Jason at the conclusion of the film marks the end of what I consider the Classic Era of the series where Jason is considered only a mortal menace. After Corey Feldman goes bananas on Jason with a machete the Undead Era is set up and initiated with Jason Lives in 1986; but I’m getting ahead of myself now. I mean, I couldn’t possibly skip over Part 5: A New Beginning could I? Can I? Seriously, please?

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Stats

 

13 Dead bodies

21 Breasts

2 Power outages

1 Broken down vehicle

1 Dead fuck

- Dead phones

- Gratuitous flashbacks

- Camel toes

- Speargunnery

- Hammer toss

- Human toss