Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

“An immoral and reprehensible piece of trash.” – Roger Ebert

“The film is, literally, about stabbing.” – Gene Siskel

Sure, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter follows the same beats as every movie previous (and most after): “teenagers” go to a dilapidated Camp Crystal Lake, some do drugs, some have sex, and almost all of them die in brutal fashion at the hands of Jason Voorhees. And sure, Jason doesn’t grow as a character, never reveals an inner life and sheds a tear à la Michael Myers in Halloween 5. I’ll also acknowledge that it makes no sense for our characters to want to travel to Crystal Lake for a weekend getaway, given the multiple killing sprees there in the days previous. 

But! This film distinguishes itself from the others in the series in a major way: this entry follows characters we actually care about. Jimmy (Crispin Glover) steals every scene he’s in and provides the most memorable dance in a horror film since Carrie. Doug and Sara’s budding relationship adds an element of wholesomeness that’s often absent in the slasher genre. Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis plays one of the most convincing (and non-annoying) kids in cinema. The dog lives! Behind the camera, the legendary Tom Savini is back doing special makeup effects for the first time since the original film, giving Jason one of his most gory “deaths” in the series. The ending does set up a sequel that was never followed up on, but a Friday movie can only do so much. 5 out of 5 sacs of blood.

—Nate Logan