Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter (1984)

Director: Joseph Zito

Starring: Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton, Corey Feldman

After being mortally wounded and taken to the morgue, murderer Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives and embarks on a killing spree as he makes his way back to his home at Camp Crystal Lake.

So, the final chapter, they say…well, we all know this not to be true. They must have thought it to be the end back then…

Through clips from the first three films, the opening scene tells us the story so far. By now we all know Jason’s mother was the actual killer in the first film, and the reason she killed the youngsters, is because her son, Jason, drowned when they were supposed to be watching him. The first film was essentially a vengeance movie.

From the time Jason started killing campers from the second installment, it was no more about vengeance. Instead, it simply became a killing spree for the sake of a body count. The reason for Jason killing people, I suppose, is to avenge his mother’s death, having been killed by campers.

‘Part 4’ follows directly on ‘Part 3’, in the aftermath of the killings. I keep asking myself “Just why?” Why all the unnecessary killings? Why are these films hits? Why do we keep watching them? There is no substance to these sequels. It is just a bunch of two-dimensional characters for the kill. ‘Part 4’ has a bit more flesh to the bone than the previous two films, but boy, did they also have some silly ideas for this movie!

‘Part 4’ has more gross effects than the previous films, and added a more sinister element as well, thanks to Corey Feldman’s character, Tommy. Before Feldman gained fame in ‘The Goonies’ he starred as 12-year old Tommy – in his first feature film. There’s an interesting climax and the film has an unusual, psychopathic ending for the franchise. It was clearly never meant to be the final…

These films keep making money at the box office. ‘Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter’ earned nearly $33 million on a $2.6 million budget.

Would I watch it again? No.