The horror genre has readily embraced sequels since the heyday of Universal’s monsters, but now it appears ghoul moguls are resorting to cryogenics to keep the money train chugging. Word is malcontent Jason Voorhees gets deep-frozen and somehow blasted into outer space for the TENTH installment of the Friday the 13th dynasty, which is both a testament to machete boy’s fan base and the screenwriter’s "Star Trek" mania.
In Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984, 91 minutes) an ambulance arrives to deliver Jason to the morgue, as he’s assumed exceedingly dead at the end of Part 3. But the healing-power of young lovers is in the air, so he predictably clamors off his slab and punishes the dirty diddlers. Then it’s back to Crystal Lake to butcher more camper meat. A prepubescent Corey Feldman has a cabin with his mom and hottie sister, where he spends his time making rubber monster masks. Thank gore guru Tom Savini for those, as he returns after his brilliant work on the original flick. Back to the Future‘s "McFly" is in the next cabin over among a gaggle of horny babes, but has a devil of a time closing a deal with any of them. They’re all too busy stripping nekkid and splashing around the lake. Which that just means one thing — there’ll be lots of silence eerily broken by "Ki. Ki. Ki. Ma. Ma. Ma." Speaking of Harry Manfredini‘s famous score, few realize it’s meant to reference Mrs. Voorhees’ psychotic mutterance, "Kill her, Mommy! Kill her."
Notables: Six breasts. 13 dead bodies. Corkscrew to the hand. Skinny-dipping twins. Hammer to the noggin. Gratuitous shower scene.
Quotable: Nurse Morgan zings her frisky co-worker, "Axel, I’m NOT going to fake any more orgasms for you!"
Time codes: Crispin Glover suffers twitchy fit while dancing (35:35). Vintage stag film featuring 10 additional breasts (50:00). Jason unmasked (1:24:45).
Conclusion: Hello? McFly?! Crispin steals the show. He even dies like a spazz. Comedy elements, intentional and otherwise, eek this flick ahead of its 3-D predecessor. And Savini’s inventive carnage never disappoints.