‘Hey, Ted, where’s… where’s that, uh, that corkscrew?’
For most people the Friday films are very similar to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and the Halloween movies. The first one is good but after that they all become a bit of a blur. For connoisseur’s such as myself (in this instance a connoisseur being someone who hasn’t figured out how to freakin’ go outside and live his life) there is much joy to be discovered in crappy horror film sequels. Experts (again, experts in the loosest sense) would probably agree that Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is the best Freddy film. And as with those movies, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is also considered a fan favourite. I have been watching the Friday films on a loop on every Friday the 13th since I was a teenager because sometimes it’s nice to be ridiculous.
And so, to Friday the 13th of September 2019 and The Final Chapter.
The first thing to address is that this isn’t the final chapter. It isn’t even the penultimate chapter. As it turns out, there was to be eight more chapters in this series before it ended prematurely with the remake back in 2009. Aside from the inaccurate title, this is also the Friday movie that brings with it the gift of not just Corey Feldman but also Crispin Glover. Two ’80s icons and absolute maniacs for the price of one. Feldman is the same endearing kid that would go on to star in Stand By Me and The Goonies and Glover is, quite simply, clearly insane, even at this fledgling stage of his illustrious career. His character is written as just another teenage murder victim but Glover plays him as a young man shrouded in inner turmoil. A man who can only release his many demons through the medium of interpretive dance. Wonderful.
Elsewhere, there are twin teenage girls speaking in a thousand accents, one of the most arresting incarnations of our man Jason Vorhees (shout out to Ted White in his only stint inside the hockey mask) and a chubby hitchhiker eating a banana. There is a lot to unpack here.
The Final Chapter is everything that you want from a horror sequel. Weird, unintentionally funny but also genuinely creepy and unsettling in places. This franchise will always be in the shadow of Michael Myers but The Final Chapter is perhaps the moment when Jason Vorhees wins the day. Sadly, I have to watch part five next and that one really is dog shit.