Friday the 13th Part 3 was a hard film to review. As a fan of the entire Voorhees saga, I of course love the movie, but find it to be my least favorite of the first four. I think that's mainly due to the fact that I’ve never seen it in its intended format...in totally awesome 80s 3D! At the gates of hell that I manage at...aka the movie theater...we play cult films every Friday and Saturday night. I got to see a fucked to hell print of Friday the 13th Part 2 there last year and it gave me an erection with its sexiness. So of course I attempted to get a print of Part 3-D...but to no avail. Apparently they're extremely rare and it's almost impossible to get the correct projector lens. My dreams were smashed. I guess the good news is that even in 2-D, the movie is still well worth a watch.

The story backtracks a few minutes into the finale of Part 2 where we get to see the love of my life, Amy Steel, machete the shit out of Baghead Jason's shoulder. From there we cut into the flying-at-the-screen opening credits set to probably the SWEETEST effing theme song to ever grace a slasher film...EVER! After Jason stops by a local trashy couple's shop for a late night kill we get to meet our sexy teens. Because, let’s face it, it's not Friday the 13th without some sexy teens.

The beautiful Dana Kimmell plays final girl Chris. Anyone who is familiar with this particular movie can probably tell you that Ms. Kimmell's acting is top notch and she puts more into the material than it probably deserved. A year later she was featured in the uneven, yet underrated Sweet 16, still looking sexy as ever. Anywho, Chris and her friends head up to her family's cabin on Crystal Lake and our homeboy Big J (now sans baghead) has coincidentally decided to take up residents in her barn. Through flashbacks we learn that Chris has encountered J years before where he attacked (and possibly raped, depending on who you talk to) her in the woods. For the rest of the film we get some pretty creative deaths jammed between random things being tossed at the screen for the 3D audiences.

With less main characters than Parts 2 and 4, Part 3 has some of the most well established characters in the series. They're flawed characters, much like Ginny (and only her) in Part 2, so they're much more likable and believable. Where-as the first two movies, and the fourth, featured exclusively white casts, Part 3 shows us that the slasher world can be multi-cultural...albeit with minor characters. This entry is infamous for being the first one to feature the hockey mask.

While I did love the burlap bag, the hockey mask is iconic. It IS Jason. I mean, if the series never switched to the hockey mask, how flippin corny would it have been for Jason to be roaming around Manhattan, or chillin out in space, or fighting Mr. Krueger with a sack on his face? It worked for Part 2, but I'm glad he traded it in for an upgrade. The reason why I want to see the movie in 3-D so badly is because of the deaths. The filmmakers crafted some of them so they would literally jump out at you. From the harpoon spear, to the eyeball pop...oh how glorious it must have been to be sitting in that theater when the movie first came out.

As I mentioned, some of the main characters were likable. SOME. The pot head couple was not only underwritten, but badly written. They have nothing to do and their purpose seems to be comic relief, but I don't find them funny. I have no problem whatsoever with burning the cannabis, but I just can't stand forced pot humor, which still pops up in movies today. My biggest problem with this movie was the look of it. The previous two movies were shot low budget, on location in New England.

Okay, I am a little biased because I live just over a half hour away from where they filmed Part 2, but I felt that shooting this movie on a studio back lot in California caused it to lose its "look". The fourth one attempted to recapture it, and succeeded for the most part. Clearly the third one was shot on a man-made set in order to control the technical aspects of the 3-D. Ending on a plus note, the entire finale between Big J and hottie Dana through the house and into the barn is extremely tense and very well done. The ending was also a welcomed homage to the original.

While my least favorite of the first four, Friday the 13th Part 3 still delivers all the goods needed to make a slasher fan happy. A technical achievement at the time that outgrossed Jaws 3-D and Amityville 3-D, me thinks, no wait, me knows I would like the film even more if I'm one day lucky enough to view it in its intended format.