Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: Jason is back as he dons the infamous hockey mask and kills people in eye-popping 3-D!
Review: After establishing Jason as the permanent antagonist of the series, this is the entry that instilled the "true" form of Jason as pop culture would perceive him. I think this is also the film casual viewers imagine as the first film or, if they watched "Scream" and know Jason wasn't in part 1, they typically believe this film is part 2. It's funny because the only reason they used the hockey mask to begin with was because they didn't want to have makeup on the actor playing Jason during a production test, and the rest is history; it also helped that Jason appeared much more intimidating than the previous film. Another reason why this entry in particular is the one a lot of people remember more is due to the cheesy 3-D gimmick. It has its moments, I suppose, but the shots are so spread out and pointless; it's no "Avatar" that's for sure!
The story sort of picks up where the last film ended but not really. Like I said in the review for part 2, Paul is written out of the script since his whereabouts go unexplained. Ginny is taken away and Jason is shown limping away in his cabin, which would imply that Ginny perhaps imagined it all. However, if it were all a dream, what the hell happened to Paul? Likewise, if it weren't a dream, how the fuck did Ginny survive? So Paul, what, fought Jason off, disappeared off the face of the planet, and then Jason just gave up on Ginny?! Oh forget it, we already know continuity is almost meaningless to this franchise. Jason decides to pick off some townies because he wants a new set of clothes, and he's a fashionable kind of guy. We are then introduced to our new set of fodder and our lead, Chris, who is female by the way, as they head to some farmhouse near Crystal Lake. You know what, why do all the characters have the most fucking generic of American names in these movies and repeat all the time?! Anyway, the characters are as personable as the last batch but, surprisingly, more likable. Once again, we have '80s hot chicks which helps (me) a lot, and the banter is funny like the Deb character saying, "I'm taking a shower. You should try it sometime." Although, how the hell would this group be friends since they have almost nothing in common? Even Chris' boyfriend-ish guy, Rick, says something along the lines about why does she hang out with these people.
So the group runs into some guy who is supposed to take the place of Crazy Ralph--I'm going to call him Crazy Randy since I have no clue who the fuck he is. Later the more annoying character, Shelly, insights the anger of random gang members who simply exist to bolster Jason's bodycount during the slower periods of the film. We learn that Chris has been on edge, because she was afraid to come back to this farmhouse because she was attacked, unknowingly, by Jason two years earlier; through this visit, she hopes to alleviate the fear. Chris describes the attack by Jason as almost dreamlike, and, idiotically, Jason is wearing the same clothes he's wearing in this film during the flashback. I don't know what to make of this nonsense since Jason should have killed her if it really happened, but if it were a dream...eh, I think I'm trying too hard to give meaning to these movies. While Chris regales us with this whimsical tale, all the other characters are being shredded by Jason. Now, I said Jason would top the lowly killing of a guy in a wheelchair--well, Deb was pregnant and she dies with the best of 'em. To be fair, Jason didn't know this nor was she physically showing it, but would he have given a shit anyway? All the deaths are pretty good here except the one hippy who was electrocuted since he got off easy. In fact, the gore had to be toned down for this entry since everyone was brutally butchered compared to the last two installments. Eventually everyone is dead except Chris who faces off against Jason; hmm, one lone girl fighting Jason...sound familiar? To Chris' credit, she does fuck Jason up a lot as he relentlessly pursues her and realizes he was the man from her nightmare. After hanging him and plunging an ax into his skull, Jason appears to be dead as Chris takes a little canoe ride for some inexplicable reason. She has a crazy vision of Jason still being alive followed by the hallucination that the ghost of Mrs. Voorhees comes out of the water and pulls her in. The film ends with Chris, raving and screaming, taken away by the police as we zoom in on Jason's seemingly dead body.
For the most part, this is one of the best Jason movies in the series and easily on par with the original; this film and part 6 are definitely the highlight entries besides the original. Even though it had no awesome twist, there was a general sense of improvement in almost every avenue including solidifying the Jason character as a pop culture icon. The deaths are better and more imaginative, the characters are more interesting, the 3-D gimmick didn't hurt, and the tone and feel were more concise as this film knew what it was trying to accomplish. I understand these films are just about Jason killing people, so it's not 10/10 worthy material by any means, but this film successfully created an entertaining experience.
Notable Moment: Obviously when Jason first puts on the hockey mask. I know there isn't a dramatic scene or anything, but you can easily tell why they decided to make that his permanent appearance. Plus, he opens with a harpoon shot to Vera's eye!
Final Rating: 6.5/10
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