Friday the 13th: To Be Human and Monster

 Recently, I have been going through my somewhat frequent rewatches of the Friday the 13th franchise. This was not intentional, but it is funny that I happened to do it during an actual Friday the 13th. And my current run has stopped at the death of Jason Voorhees, otherwise known as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. And so I initially wanted to focus on Part III because of how much the formula felt phoned in and lacking. But thinking more on it, there are some aspects that I wanted to discuss in regards to the first four films. 

These ideas stem from how the characters feel and just how much this franchise tends to get bashed on because they are not the pinnacle of horror. Like, there is a reason I can rewatch the original Friday the 13th, and why I don't want to rewatch most modern horror films. It has more to do with that human factor. The on-location settings, the creativity behind the deaths of the characters, and especially the deception in the shot choice that throws off the audience. 

Making you look all around the room because the music has started playing. Building up that tension and then releasing it through well-timed fake-outs, or simply going for the kill. There are many things that are being done in ways that play to the audience. While Friday the 13th has an identity built around these things, I think that the Human Killers, aside from Roy Burns, are much more interesting because they are human. 

Zombie Jason is not running people down, he walks them down. Which is still scary in its own right, yet it is missing that frantic nature. Look at Pamela in the first film and Jason in The Final Chapter. They are so angry and desperate by the end of the film that it ends up being their demise. This is also notable in Part 2 and Part III, however it is their brutal deaths by people acting on instinct and adrenaline that drive it home. These are monsters on a rampage, yet they are still human.

Humans that are desperate to achieve their goals in the face of people who want to live. But funnily enough, that is not completely the case for the Final Girl of The Final Chapter, Trish Jarvis. A character that deserves more time to be delved into. And I say this because Trish is the pinnacle of this franchise. Even with Corey Feldman's Tommy Jarvis or Amy Steel's Ginny Field, I feel that Kimberly Beck's portrayal of Trish is something that is not talked about enough. 

A well-crafted blend of delivery and writing on behalf of the crew behind The Final Chapter. She makes decisions not based upon her safety, but upon the safety of her brother, Tommy. Her goal during the climax of the third act was to lead Jason away from Tommy. As long as Tommy lived, that was all that mattered. This idea is cemented by her distaste for Tommy's decision to stay in the house instead of running away like she had told him earlier. 

Trish was willing to die for her brother, and it baffles me that people misconstrue these sentiments with bad writing. The character is established throughout the film to be close to her family and overprotective of her brother. So, why would she take her eyes off Jason? Because she was told to leave? But if she just leaves, Jason may find Tommy. And that is counter-intuitive towards her goal. 

To get back on track, to understand why the formula works so well, is to understand how it can falter. And the best example is to look at Part III. A movie that lacked so much substance, that it is barely noticed in the following sequel. While there are some scenes and characters that I enjoy, it is just a bump in the road compared to the other three Human films. 

First, the cast is pretty distant from each other despite the movie establishing that they are friends. All the other movies establish comradery and make sure that people remember others. Like, Shelly is present in quite a bit of this movie, and even has a character arc that gets reset by the time that he exits the film. There doesn't have to be much substance for the characters to work, yet I didn't really feel much effort was given for Part III. 

And that goes into my next point. Why is Chris the main character over Vera? Vera is involved in the main subplot with the biker gang as well as Shelly's character arc. While Chris is given a half-baked assault storyline that simply connects her to Jason. Most characters have nothing to do with Jason, not to mention that they really didn't give Dana Kimmell, the actress who plays Chris, much to work with in regards to interesting or defining dialogue, or even character traits for that matter. So, I just find it annoying that you have a character that is much more involved in the movie being relegated to chopping block. 

Alas, my final whack at this film comes in the form of the shot-choice. You not only have these uninspired 3-D shots that just look stupid, aside from a a couple kills, but you have Jason in so much of the movie. Cut that shit out, I don't need to see him standing there. That is what the air of mystery is for. Imagining him there is way better than knowing that he's there. It just creates more tension in my opinion.

It is the usage of that Stalker Vision or Killer Cam that Halloween was known for. Peeking on people in moments where they feel safe eventually leads to someone getting upended. It's why The Final Chapter is such a standout. A lot of quick dispatching without much room for struggle or corny line delivery. 

Ultimately, the Friday the 13th franchise has garnered worldwide success with its formula and I just wanted to highlight some aspects and my thoughts behind. This is my favorite movie franchise and I think that people don't give these films enough credit for being as palatable as they are. Even with some of the gaffes and missteps, there are still things to be liked about each of them. And that is especially true for the Human Killer movies (1, 2, III, and The Final Chapter). There's a reason why I rank 1, 2, and 4 in my top 5 for the franchise. Well crafted horror with incredible music to boot. Just a bloody good time. 

And remember to Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Venezuela. Never stop talking about them.