Vendredi 13: Le chapitre final

I've seen every Friday the 13th movie more than once. I'm a horror completist, what can I say, and Friday the 13th happens to be one of the more campy and fun horror franchises out there. The first three were fine - all had great ideas, great kills, and great atmosphere. Unfortunately, there was at least one thing off in each of those movies. The original's climactic ending hasn't aged well and some shots linger for way too long, and some parts of Part III felt clunky and poorly paced. Part IV isn't perfect either, but it's a step above its predecessors for a number of reasons.

1. The acting - No one watches horror for the acting, I understand that, but when a horror movie has a likable cast and characters you can relate to and root for, it makes the experience all the more enjoyable. Crispin Glover is great as a nerdy, horny white boy and his dancing skills are unmatched. The lead girl and the rest of the supporting cast are all convincing as well, and the boy Tommy Jarvis actually isn't annoying for a child actor. In fact, he's pretty darn good.

2. The nudity - No one watches horror for the- okay, some people watch horror for the nudity, and boy is there nudity in this one. For the "final" chapter the crew went all out, throwing two gorgeous sisters and numerous blondes into the mix and having all of them show their tits and ass. Yeah, both, and although its gratuitous and adds nothing to the plot, it's a nice break from the bloodbaths and I'd take a little eye candy over forced dialogue in a horror movie any day of the week.

3. The pacing - The movie begins with Jason's "dead" body being sent to the morgue, and it isn't long before the body count ensues. The hospital scene is excellent for a few reasons. One, it has two characters that have less than five minutes of screen time but more personality than anyone from the first two F13s, and two, their deaths are awesome. It's a briskly paced movie and surprisingly keeps a large amount of its cast alive for a majority of the film, yet there are enough disposable characters to keep the body count going. It's a great balance.

Everything else comes down to good writing and good directing. I like the addition of a family, I like the group of teenage Jason fodder this time around, and there really aren't many dull moments. The inclusion of a seasoned backpacker was a nice touch, and Jason finally getting the sh*t kicked out of him was no doubt satisfying. Although the whole Tommy arc didn't work out in the next installment, he was a nice addition in this one and actually contributed a lot to the story.

Not only is this the best Friday the 13th film, but it's a damn good slasher in its own right. The characters are likable, the third act is plenty suspenseful, it's an entertaining ride from beginning to end. If you like '80s slashers and want to see some good looking people get terrorized by Jason Voorhees then there's no reason not to check this one out. And check out the others too because, why not?

'Friday the 13th' may have been panned by critics when first released but since then it is one of the most famous and influential horror films, the franchise containing one of horror's most iconic villains. The film is popular enough to become a franchise and spawn several sequels of varying quality and generally inferior to the one that started it all of.

Liked the first two 'Friday the 13th' films, despite not exactly considering them great. Had mixed feelings on the third film, but it is one of the more watchable follow-ups. This fourth instalment for me is the second best of the sequels, and although one knows that it was not the 'Final Chapter', the general consensus is that it should have been and that there was no need for the rest. Have to completely agree with this, to me 'Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter' was the last average and above of the series.

It may not be a great film, neither were the previous three. The story is paper thin and there is not much new. Again, while actually the best acted film of the whole series, some of the acting is far from what one would call good.

The dialogue, as can be expected (the 'Friday the 13th' films are not to be seen for the script), is awfully crude, cheesy and simplistic, and most of the characters are as dim-witted and underdeveloped as ever (though other sequels did this aspect far worse). There is some unintentional humour here and there that dissipates at times the generally very well done atmosphere.

However, there are three performances that are actually the best of the whole series. Corey Feldman in his prime is appealing, showing that it was a shame that his personal life went as down the toilet in the way that it did since. Crispin Glover is lots of fun in his role and Ted White is one of the scariest Jasons.

Visually, 'Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter' has grit and professionalism and the effects and make-up are simply terrific and steal the show even more than Jason. There is plenty of suspense and tension that was missing in the third film, with a return to deaths and moments that are creative and unsettling. The film contains the best ending of the series, certainly of the sequels, truly nightmarish. There is far less padding too.

Overall, decent, one of the series' best and the last one to be average or above. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The first four Friday the 13th movies are the best, by far. The next 7 films were half-baked money makers. And if you ask me, Paramount should have left it at this film.

Part 4 combines action, horror, thriller, suspense, and even mystery. And the opening sequence is a combined amount of clips from the previous 3 films. The opening sequence explains the series quickly, so Part 4 is a great Friday the 13th film to start with.

The film will have less appeal to fans of the similar series, Halloween. The Final Chpater may combine elements from the previous 3 films, but seems to steal ideas and share ideas with Halloween. Friday the 13th was inspired by Halloween, but at times it seems as too much.

Overall, the film is the last Friday the 13th film you should watch.

Savini's death make-up and Jason effects are at their peak. worth watching for tommy's freak out at the end. Crispen Glover is in it, and performs the ultimate BAD 1980's dance scene, worse than anything in footloose. The body count reaches a great height and the nudity and sex is as gratuitous as ever. I personally feel that this is the best of the original 4 Friday movies, coming in a close race with the third Jason. I've seen all the movies more times than i can count and this one holds up surprisingly strong among all eleven films. For those of you who are Friday fans, if you haven't seen this one, you are missing out on a key moment in Jason's history, so go pick this one up today.

How many times do you have to stab Jason Voorhees before he dies? Apparently many times, because he returns yet again. This time a family (mother, son, daughter), a house full of teenagers, and a hunter (who happens to be the brother of a prior Jason victim) are the unfortunate ones to be in Jason's path. Is this, as the title suggests, the "final chapter"?

Many people give this film a low rating, and maybe they're looking at it differently than I do. To me, you can make only so many movies of a guy hacking up teenagers before the idea gets a little stale. Part four (this film) is when the crew realized you could break up the monotony with a little humor. So now in part four you have a fair amount of laughs, some improved gore (compared to the first few films) and the same old formula of killing kids.

You also have two key guest stars: Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover. You cannot play down the Feldman power here. Sure, he's young. But he really steals the show and watch his expressions when he finds some neighbors doing something naughty. Feldman's absence from this film would likely have lead to dullness and the premature death of the series.

Glover, meanwhile, is the humorous aspect. Well, okay, not just Glover -- the whole opening scene with Axel the Coroner is morbidly amusing (and really anticipates part nine's coroner). But Crispin Glover is fun to watch, and his "white boy dance" is pretty amusing.

The inclusion of character Rob Dier (brother of part two's Sandra Dier) is a good move, adding some continuity to the movie, further connecting it to the previous films. And for horror fanboys who like nudity (and you know you do), this is the episode that contains by far the most nudity in the series. For some people, that's all it takes to sell a picture.

So I understand if people rank this film lower because they think it's getting stale or if the humor makes them think the creators aren't taking the series seriously anymore. As for me, that's what makes this one of my favorite episodes in the series (probably in my top three out of eleven films). We have a crew that just wants to have fun, and if we go along for the ride we have a little fun ourselves. Seems fair.