Grade: D-
Synopsis: Jason returns to stalk more unsuspecting teens.
Friday the 13th Part III is a stale, gimmicky slasher notable chiefly as the first time series villain Jason dons his iconic hockey mask.
Shot in 3-D, the film goes out of its way to showcase various items poking at the camera, a gimmick that gets old fast, especially when there’s nothing in the way of story to back it up. While the first film had a descent plot revolving around the identity of the killer that echoed the Italian giallo genre, this sequel offers next to nothing in the way of story or plot. Picking up a day after the events of the second film, Jason gets up and murders a dozen people before a resourceful teen eventually stops him. That’s it. No mystery, no sub-plots, nothing. Granted, there are some creative murders, but that’s being generous.
Even Jason feels wrong. Despite sporting the now signature hockey mask, actor Richard Brooker has him smoothly strolling around in a manner that’s far less terrifying than the lumbering monster that Kane Hodder would immortalize in the series’ later films. Here, Jason seems more like a creepy guy in the park than a supernatural killing machine.
And yes, Friday the 13th is even lacking in the nudity department, and for a slasher film with no plot, a reasonably low body count, and a less-than-perfect villain, that’s just inexcusable.
