Written by Luke Barnes
Friday The 13th The Final Chapter is a horror slasher film directed by Joseph Zito. Originally billed as the last entry in the Friday The 13th series, this film sees Jason (Ted White), finally die.
This along with Part 2, which in my mind are tied, are the best entries into the Friday the 13th series (of the first 5, as I haven’t seen past that yet). However, both films fall just short of glory with one thing disrupting each. In this film’s case it is the ending tease of Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman), becoming the new Jason. I did not like this tease and I thought it spoilt the film somewhat, I would have preferred if the film had been left open ended, with the effects of the brutal killing on Tommy’s psyche being left up to our interpretation. Even if they do end up going into it in detail in the next film.
I think this film has some of the best teens in the series with Trish (Kimberly Beck), Rob (E. Erich Anderson) and Jimmy (Crispen Glover), all being standouts. Of course Feldman is very serviceable as the lead and is fine as far as child actors go. I would have preferred for Rob to get a wider focus as his storyline, of coming to kill Jason after he attacked his sister years prior would have been very interesting to explore- sadly we didn’t get that. However, the small amount of time we get with Rob and his plotline is enjoyable.
I think the final showdown and what would have been the death of Jason Voorhees, if he wasn’t brought back 2 films later, feels satisfying and well-paced. Much like a lot of the series kills, the death of Jason is suitably bloody and over the top, reveling in the deranged spectacle.
Overall, a nice ending for the series, sadly the final few minutes taint the film somewhat but can be ignored.
Pros.
The showdown
The ‘death’ of Jason
The teens are likeable and have personality
Rob and his storyline
Cons.
Teasing Tommy as the next Jason
4.5/5
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Another Millennial Reviewer 