Friday the 13th Part III: This Bad Boy Can Fit So Many Dimensions

Friday the 13th Part III slashed its way into theaters in August of 1982, just a little over a year after part 2. It originally was going to be about Genny, the survivor girl from the previous flick, getting admitted to a psychiatric hospital where Jason would track her, kill the staff and try to off her similar to Halloween II. 

However, for one reason or another The actress didn’t return to reprise her role. Instead, this film killed the consistency of numeral titles. Why the hell did they go with Roman numerals for this one? Was 3 too pedestrian for this film?

Anywho, the screenwriter for part 2 also declined to return so he was replaced by Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson. The husband and wife writing duo penned the script with Petru Popescu brought later to make the script more “Sinister and menacing”. 

Yes, sir (Or ma’am). This movie has three screenwriters and yet its plot is wafer thin. Not much happens in Part III for long stretches of time and characterization is slim to non-existent. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Let’s take a look at the intro for Friday the 13th Part III in…3D? Oh god, no! I should’ve picked any of the other 11 films that are in the second dimension. I already wrote four paragraphs for this review so let’s just keep going. 

Part II opens with a recap of part II. By recap I mean that they just showed the ending of Part II in almost its entirety. I get wanting to catch up the audience but this intro is confusing if you haven’t seen part 2 and does a poor job of connecting the two films. 

Anyway, the intro concludes with a zoom into Mrs. Vorhees’ head and then the title of the film pops out of each of her eyes with a ridiculous and hokey looking effect. But wait, what’s that? Do I hear Disco? 

One of the standout parts of Part III is its main theme that remixes Jason’s theme (Cha cha) with a funky as hell Disco beat. The tune was co-written by series regular composer Henry Manfredini and Michael Zager. 

This song really slaps and you bet your sweet machete it’s on my mixtape. According to Manfredini the song became really popular in clubs and gay bars. I have no doubt about that. Jason kills more people on the dancefloor than in the woods. 

The movie opens on a store in a secluded area by the woods. We’re introduced to a couple: Harold and Edna. Harold straightens up a pole to keep their laundry from touching the floor. But first he points the pole straight into our faces. 

This is the main gimmick of Part III: the 3D. This was probably thought of by the producers while on cocaine when someone said “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if the third film is in the third dimension? That ought to sell tickets.” 

Jaws 3D did this, too. However, we don’t talk about Jaws 3D on this blog. So let’s talk about the 3D in Friday the 13th Part III. 

The 3D effects in Part III do nothing to improve the quality of the film. I’m sure you’re shocked and amazed to read that. It doesn’t go past a wooden pole coming at you, a baseball bat coming at you, an eyeball coming at you, a yoyo coming at you (and I don’t mean Andy), or Jason with an ax stuck to his face coming at you. Wait, that’s kinda cool actually. 

Other than that, the effect feels like more of a hindrance to the movie than a benefit. It seems to also affect the movie’s visual quality. Even in its recent Blu-Ray releases some scenes just look weird and kinda smudgy on the edges of the frame. 

I didn’t notice any such effects in other films in the series, so I’m going to blame the 3D. I hope it was worth it, though, for an effect we can’t even see anymore. Who even owns a 3D TV? If you do, you got played by the salesman at Best Buy, I’m sorry. 

With the 3D effects out of the way, we can get back to the thrilling adventures of Harold. He kinda just screws around for a bit around the store, finds a bunny, takes him back to his cage and gets scared by a snake on an obvious wire. 

Hell, the scariest thing to happen to him is getting caught by his wife sneaking a bite out of the merch in his store. That must conjure up memories of your mom catching you in the kitchen at night stuffing your face with cookies. That gives me shivers. 

Having mixed the whole snack aisle in his stomach, Harold runs to the bathroom and we’re treated to a full scene of him in the crapper. Three people wrote this movie by the way. Anywho, he drinks a soda while on the stall. For god’s sake, man. Your wife has a point. Just ease up on that poor stomach. He notices something funky and gets up to investigate without wiping. If Jason doesn’t kill this guy, surely an infection will.

Harold goes out and finds Jason who greets him with a cleaver to the stomach. That’s honestly less brutal than the abuse Harold subjects it to on a daily basis. 

Edna is next. She has a migraine so Jason helps her out by sticking one of her sewing needles stuck in the back of her head. That sure beats going to the drug store for some Excedrin. 

All of this, of course, has nothing to do with the main plot and Jason is only here for a change of clothes. It feels like this whole thing is a prologue that should’ve been at the start of the film instead of the pointless recap. Maybe the title could pop out of Edna’s eyes. It would still be stupid but it would make more sense at least. 

So if this whole diversion isn’t the main focus of Part III, what is? Well, stop me if you heard this one before. Part III concerns a group of teenagers on a weekend getaway trip to a house in the woods where they are stalked and killed by a deranged killer. Original, I know. 

This is your second reminder that this film was written by three people. But slasher films aren’t known for their intricate plots. But Slashers don’t need complex plots if the characters are good. So let’s see if the characters fare any better. 

The main cast of Part III include Chris who is our survivor girl, more on her later. We also have Debby and Andy. They are a couple, Debby is pregnant but isn’t aversed to drinking. Mom of the year everybody. Andy…Likes to do handstands and walk. He also plays with his yoyo. I mean an actual yoyo, not what you think. 

We also have Vera who’s introduced fighting her mom in Spanish. If only she listened, she’d be alive, both eyes intact. She’s a bit better than Debby and Andy but that’s mostly due to Catherine Parks’ performance and not the writing. 

Next we have Shelly who is hands down the best character in this movie. For one, he looks like a younger Seth Rogan. He’s an overweight nerd who is into scary pranks. He also has self esteem issues which makes him relatable to the audience. Not me though, I have no esteem issues and if you say otherwise I will show up to your house with a spear gun.

Now where was I? Ah, yes. Shelly’s arc in the movie, if you could call it that, is the same as the boy who cried wolf. He constantly pranks people into thinking he’s killed and when Jason actually gives him a second mouth on his throat, no one believes him. So, he learns his lesson right before dying. 

Finally, we have Chuck and Chili. These two are what if Shaggy and Velma grew up together and got really into pot. There’s not much to them other than being stoners. Chuck is a bit of a coward which is adorable. In fact, I don’t even know how they are in the same friend group as the rest. They look 10 years older. 

Well, that’s it for the characters of Friday the 13th. I had to look up their names because I forgot them, except for Shelly. They range from unremarkable to somewhat memorable. Ironically, for a movie in 3D, it has no three dimensional characters. 

This may have something to do with the casting process. According to Popescu, one of the writers, the actors were hired based on their looks rather than how well they fit the characters. 

Shelly’s actor, Larry Zerner was cast by accident when casting directors spotted him on the street. Thank God he chose to go for a stroll that day. Otherwise, this movie would have even less personality.  

I’d say, if not for Shelly, this would be one of the worst cast of characters. Which is saying something for this series. God bless Shelly in all his caked up glory. 

So the gang get into Chris’s van and they head to what I assume is her family’s summer house which has a barn. On the way they are followed by cops and think they are stopping them so they have to get rid of Chuck’s stash of weed by eating it. Great plan, guys. 

Andy even tries to feed some to Debby who is pregnant and Chris, the driver. Andy must be a real smart guy. I’d wanna carry his baby, too. Anyway, this is why you don’t travel with a stoner in 1982. You’d serve more time in jail than Jason. 

It turns out to be a false alarm and the gang witness the bodies of Harold and Edna being taken out of the store in body bags. I don’t care how they died. If I see bodies anywhere near when I’m staying for the weekend, I’m doing a 180 and speeding the hell out of there. But these are Friday the 13th characters so they carry without the slightest concern.

As if that wasn’t enough of a warning, the gang meet Abel. This movie’s crazy Ralph. Why did they kill him off if they were just gonna write the same character? Chris nearly runs over the dude because she didn’t see him napping in the middle of the road. 

I’m really questioning the competence of these people and how they managed to live long enough to get killed by Jason. Anyway, he warns them of their impending doom and shows them an eyeball Jason gave him. 

They run away and finally make it to the summer house and settle in. Chris is jumped by a guy called Rick with a kiss to the mouth. I guess they say hi differently in that place. It’s revealed that Chris and Rick are in a…situationship. Wow! These Friday movies are ahead of their time. 

Rick looks to be in his 40s but other than that seems like a decent if unmemorable guy. Except of course for his dad bod. Vince Vaughn, eat your heart out. 

Chris shows Andy and Debby their room where the bed is just a hammock. She’s the worst host ever. Shelly pulls off one of his “i’m slaughtered” pranks which prompts everyone to trash him so he tags along with Vera to go shopping. 

It’s here that the two are harassed by a biker gang consisting of a trio: White dude with cigarettes, a black dude and chick (Nick Savage as Ali and Gloria Charles as Fox. I said this twice already, but this movie has three writers and they all decided that the only black characters in this movie should be criminals. 

Shelly, having contracted stupidity from the rest of his friends, accidentally drives in reverse and knocks the biker’s motorcycles over. Ali stops him and gives him this devious smile. I love that. Nick savage has more personality in his smile than 90% of the movie’s cast. 

He proceeds to trash the car which belongs to Rick by the way. Shelly escapes but not before a little payback where he runs over their bikes. This makes it seem like Vera is getting into him but I guess he’s not her type. I mean he has curly hair. That’s a turn off for a lot of women. 

Shelly gives Rick his keys and doesn’t even offer to pay for damages. I can see why he’s friends with Chris. Rick is pissed off naturally and is about to leave when Chris asks him to come with her so she could tell him her backstory. 

The bikers track Shelly somehow and they’re looking to have payback by siphoning gas from the mystery inc van and burning the barn. Bullies make no sense. You harassed them, they hit your bikes, you trashed their car, they ran over your bike. Sounds like an even score to me but what do I know? 

They are of course very conspicuous, Fox even swinging from the top of the barn in broad daylight. The bikers are unsuccessful in their sabotage because Jason is in the barn. He uses a pitchfork on Cigarettes and Fox then bashes Ali on the head.

These characters were just here to add to the kill count, weren’t they?  Otherwise, the middle of this movie would be uneventful and kinda boring. If you’re counting on Andy to provide any excitement you’re looking at a handstanding disappointment. 

Chris sits Rick and tells him about the time she ran from her parents and hid in the woods. She gets attacked by Jason and it’s implied he…assaulted her if you know what I mean. 

This is one of the most hotly debated scenes in the series. If you ask me, Jason definitely did what we all think he did. While it’s inconsistent with what we know about Jason who is all about murder. This was early in the series where they were still figuring out things. This also makes Chris an R word survivor which is heavy and makes me respect her for being brave enough to return here. 

This is also the scene that made me lose respect for Rick for not acknowledging anything she said. He also leaves his car’s lights on which kills his car. Very reliable guy, isn’t he? I’m sure he’ll come in handy during the climax. 

Jason realizes there’s only about 30 minutes left in this film so he starts killing the rest of the cast. Maybe he was waiting for his health to regenerate in the barn. My headcanon is that he didn’t wanna show his face. Jason is very shy about his looks yet Andy shows his stupid face to the whole world, disgusting. 

Jason starts with Shelly who provides him with the iconic hockey mask. Apparently the sack on the face was hard for the stuntman playing Jason to see through, so they used a hockey mask by accident and it stuck. If for nothing else, Part III gave us one of the most iconic masks in horror history. 

Jason dons the mask which complements his cheekbones so nicely. He pays Vera a visit. She is scooping Shelly’s wallet out of the lake when she sees him. Initially, she thinks it’s Shelly because of the mask and spear gun. But upon closer inspection she realizes the hulking six-foot man isn’t Shelly. But it’s too late, Jason takes aim and fires the spear straight into her left eye. This is the highlight kill of Part III for me. In the words of Fleetwood Mac it’s “Real savage like” 

Jason is played by British actor and stuntman Richard Brooker. He plays Jason as less of a redneck killer in the woods from Part 2 and more as a detached, stalking power of nature that effortlessly dispatches his victims. He relishes nothing, not even his machete. He just tosses his death instruments as soon as he achieves the kill. This is one of my favorite interpretations of Jason. 

Next on the chopping block are Andy and Debbie who are having sex on a hammock. How uncomfortable must that be? After the hanky and panky, Andy offers Debbie a beer. She irresponsibly accepts even though she’s pregnant. 

Andy decides to walk on his hands while doing a handstand. Jason must agree that it’s a very juvenile and stupid thing to do so he splits him in half. There’s a joke somewhere around here about Andy being half the man Jason is, but I just can’t put my finger on it. 

After a Psycho homage which is kinda neat, Debbie gets on the hammock and reads an issue of Fangoria. I assure you this woman is not a horror aficionado. That probably belongs to someone from the crew and was used as a prop because it just lay around the set, like the hockey mask. 

Blood drips on Debbie and she looks to see her lover’s two halves stashed on the ceiling. Jason is real quick and neat to hide a body so quick. He pays homage to his mom killing Kevin Bacon by driving a knife through Debbie’s chest from under the bed. 

Debbie’s unborn baby is also dead which is very cruel on the part of the screenwriters. They couldn’t make Debbie endearing through her personality so they made her pregnant. That way they can bypass the legwork needed to make her death tragic.

Chuck is making popcorn in 3D. Jason cuts off the lights so he goes down to the cellar to find the fuse box. He’s, of course, incompetent so Jason shows him the proper way to fix it by pushing him directly on the fuse box. 

Chilli finally realizes there are dead people in the house and attempts to escape in a really unexciting scene. She’s about to leave the house when Jason reminds her that she didn’t turn off the stove on the popcorn. He also penetrates her with his poker. If you thought of a ding dong instead of a regular fire poker, you need help. 

Chris and Rick return to the house to find a horrifying sight. The popcorn burning on the stove. Do you have any idea how hard it’ll be to clean the sticky corn stains off the pot? Also there are dead bodies. Chris and Rick split to look for clues. 

There’s an awesome shot of Jason subduing Rick just a few meters away from Chris. He Then squeezes his head so hard that his eye pops out. If I had a nickel for every time this movie threw an eyeball on me in 3D, I’d have two nickels. That’s not a lot but it’s still weird. 

Now it’s down to Chris and Jason. Honestly and without hyperbole, this is one of the best final confrontations I’ve seen in a slasher. I may have respected Chris earlier but this sequence made me admire her as a character. She is strong, smart and resourceful during her encounter with Jason which makes her triumph over him feel earned. 

Before she takes him down he reveals his face to her. This makes her realize he’s her attacker from before. For one of the few times in the series we have a survivor who has a past connection to Jason. It makes you root for her to overcome him and take back her agency. She drives an ax straight into his skull and he finally goes down. 

If the movie ended here I’d be concluding on a positive note. But of course, Part III has to drag itself a little with a pointless hallucination scene where Mrs. Voorhees drags Chris off a canoe. This is a reversal of the first film’s ending where it was young Jason doing the dragging. It worked in that movie because it was surprising. Here it’s just contrived and unnecessary. 

The actual final scene has the police escort Chris away from the property. The poor girl is in shock and seems to be losing her mind. I think this is a mistake. I liked the idea of a past victim of Jason confronting him again and coming out on top. The last shot zooms in on a seemingly dead Jason until Paramount greenlit part IV of course. 

That concludes my review for Friday the 13th Part III. I think this is a solid entry in the series with a couple of memorable characters and some good kills. It also gave Jason his iconic mask. However, the unnecessary 3D gimmick, forgettable majority of the cast and padded middle keep it from being in the upper echelon of the series. They just don’t make em like Part 6. 

I give this movie the top half of Andy out of the bottom half of Andy.