FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3-D

Directed by Steve Miner
Written by Martin Kitrosser, Ron Kurz
Cinematography by Gerald Feil
Music by Harry Manfredini 
Cast: Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Richard Brooker, Nick Savage, Rachel Howard, David Katims

1982/95 Mins/Color/Dolby Digital 5.1
1:85:1 anamorphic/English/US/NTSC Region 1

Review from Paramount DVD

Taking place right after the last installment in the series (also directed by Steve Miner), this one starts out with Jason (Richard Brooker) dispatching a married couple. Soon thereafter, pretty Chris (Dana Kimmell) and her friends go to her family cabin, called Higgins Haven, in Camp Crystal Lake. Chris has returned after being traumatized by an attack by a hideous man (take a wild guess who he was) a few years back. Soon, Jason begins to take out these kids, as well as a biker gang that has followed them, one by one. This is also the movie in which our “hero” gets his famed hokey mask, for the first time.

I was never really a fan of this installment in the series, until now, that Paramount has finally released it in 3D. Made during a time period where a couple of horror franchises were doing their third installments in 3D, AMITYVILLE HORROR and JAWS being the other two, this one is definitely the best of those movies. The movie does suffer from clichés and a predictable plotline. It is also slow to start and, due to the 3D nature of it, highly gimmicky. The lead actress, Dana Kimmell, though very attractive, is pretty flat in the acting department. Her now infamous monologue is a highlight for all the wrong reason. There are also a few annoying characters in the form of the prankster, Chris’ uninteresting boyfriend, and the dumb hippie, pothead.

But, despite all of that, in 3D, the movie is a hoot and a lot of fun. Either way this movie has one of the best climaxes in the entire series as Chris takes on Jason all by herself. He does not die and keeps coming at her in deftly directed action scenes. There is also some good gore FX and inventive kills. The best of which has to be the dude walking on his hands, who gets hacked through his crotch with a machete and the awesome eyeball pops-out, when head is crushed scene that just rocks in 3D. Also, rocking is the groovy disco version of the FRIDAY THE 13TH soundtrack. While the acting is not that great the girls are pretty, with the hottest of them getting topless in a shower scene. She has nice perky boobs.

As I said, this movie can only be recommended in the 3D version. While not all the effects transfer well on to the TV screen, most do. But, your eyes will hurt after a while, just be forewarned. It is interesting to note that surroundings, in particular, look really cool in this manner of viewing. The movie always felt gimmicky in 2D, but that is remedied, by seeing it in 3D. Sadly this is not the unrated cut of this film, and I at this point, I doubt we will ever see one. But, with the fun that this version provides, I find this release to be solid choice for slasher fans. In this version, and this version alone, it ranks as one of the stronger entries in the franchise.

Hacking its way into DVD, courtesy of Paramount, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 3D features a pretty good transfer. The 2D version suffers from some minor grain, but most of the colors are bright and lively with some rich blacks. The 3D version is the old school blue and red version, so it looks about as good as it will get, for this type of film. The real highlight is the sound which is very alive and pumping, especially for the sound effects and the score.

Sadly, the running commentary from the box set is not featured here and the only extra we get is the trailer which, nonetheless, is way cool. The single disc comes in a keep-case with a really cool lenticular, 3D slipcase. Inside, there is no inlet card, but there are two pairs of cool looking FRIDAY THE 13TH 3D glasses.

Image:

Audio:

Extras:

Packaging:

This Film Features:

Review by Giovanni Deldio. All Right Reserved. 2009. ©

You can purchase this DVD at our official sponser by clicking on the image above.