There are very few horror films that are like Halloween ( the first one ) and Nightmare on Elm Street ( the first one ). That is, horror films that not only scare, but have a good story and great direction. Steve Miner is obviously not in the same league as Carpenter and Craven, but what he does manage to do is make an effective sequel that is much scarier than the first and next to the final chapter, it is the best and scariest among all the Fridays.
This film is laughable in parts, especially in terms of continuity with some of the stories that are told by Chris, but having said that, Steve Miner makes a very atmospheric and very tense film.
The film starts off the day after part two ended. We know Jason is still alive because he kills two disgusting people at the beginning that at least establishes Miner's style to come for the rest of the movie. The false scares, the open doors with no one there, the strange noises, the missing props that the character knows she had just a few seconds ago. The beginning is very well done. But again, the continuity and stupidity of movie characters is at all an all time high here. ( A quick example: Harold is about 5'6, rotund and clumsy. His wife calls out his name when she sees a well built figure standing behind her sheets at night. This figure is at least 6 feet or more in height and he looks squared, not pear shaped like her husband Harold. Plus, on the television is the news about the massacre the night before saying that the killer has not been caught. DUUUHHH!! Should this not click into her brain that who she is seeing may be Jason? )
But what is excellent about this film are some of the same elements that made Halloween good. And that is the use of foreground for false scares. There are numerous times when the camera scans the for-ground and you are so sure that Jason is going to show up, and then he doesn't until whammo, someone loses an eye or their life. It is very effective. There are also numerous shots of Jason in the background waiting for his next victim to turn around to see him. And when we see him standing behind one stoner guy, his pure size really makes him menacing. And that mask....
How he gets the mask is one of the great trivia questions in Friday the 13th folklore.
Steve Miner did a masterful job of directing and why he decided to hand the reins over to Joseph Zito for the final chapter is a mystery
As Fridays go, this is one that you can't go wrong with. It also has ( I believe ) one of the five most gruesome and painful deaths in the series. Watch for Andy walking on his hands, it will make you cringe for quite a while.
Edit: The new remastered edition in 3-D is worth seeing. I found the 3-D to be entertaining in some parts and lacklustre in others, but there is some added footage in the deluxe edition. You get to see more of Fox hanging from the barn and in a truly jaw dropping moment, you get to see all of Andy, chopped up after he gets split in two walking on his hands. In the original version, you just see a glimpse of him as his blood drips onto the magazine, but now, you see his blood, his legs severed, and much more. I would say this alone makes the purchase worth it.
Answer to the question: Shelly
This film is laughable in parts, especially in terms of continuity with some of the stories that are told by Chris, but having said that, Steve Miner makes a very atmospheric and very tense film.
The film starts off the day after part two ended. We know Jason is still alive because he kills two disgusting people at the beginning that at least establishes Miner's style to come for the rest of the movie. The false scares, the open doors with no one there, the strange noises, the missing props that the character knows she had just a few seconds ago. The beginning is very well done. But again, the continuity and stupidity of movie characters is at all an all time high here. ( A quick example: Harold is about 5'6, rotund and clumsy. His wife calls out his name when she sees a well built figure standing behind her sheets at night. This figure is at least 6 feet or more in height and he looks squared, not pear shaped like her husband Harold. Plus, on the television is the news about the massacre the night before saying that the killer has not been caught. DUUUHHH!! Should this not click into her brain that who she is seeing may be Jason? )
But what is excellent about this film are some of the same elements that made Halloween good. And that is the use of foreground for false scares. There are numerous times when the camera scans the for-ground and you are so sure that Jason is going to show up, and then he doesn't until whammo, someone loses an eye or their life. It is very effective. There are also numerous shots of Jason in the background waiting for his next victim to turn around to see him. And when we see him standing behind one stoner guy, his pure size really makes him menacing. And that mask....
How he gets the mask is one of the great trivia questions in Friday the 13th folklore.
Steve Miner did a masterful job of directing and why he decided to hand the reins over to Joseph Zito for the final chapter is a mystery
As Fridays go, this is one that you can't go wrong with. It also has ( I believe ) one of the five most gruesome and painful deaths in the series. Watch for Andy walking on his hands, it will make you cringe for quite a while.
Edit: The new remastered edition in 3-D is worth seeing. I found the 3-D to be entertaining in some parts and lacklustre in others, but there is some added footage in the deluxe edition. You get to see more of Fox hanging from the barn and in a truly jaw dropping moment, you get to see all of Andy, chopped up after he gets split in two walking on his hands. In the original version, you just see a glimpse of him as his blood drips onto the magazine, but now, you see his blood, his legs severed, and much more. I would say this alone makes the purchase worth it.
Answer to the question: Shelly