Gabe’s Haunted Double-Features: October 2nd

Friday the 13th, Part 3 (1982)

Most people would want to offer an initial film of a franchise as a suggestion but in this case, I’m going to recommend you skip the first two entries. I’ll save you time and sum them up here 

::SPOILER ALERT:: In Friday The 13th, Jason’s MOTHER is the killer and in Friday part 2, Jason wears a sack over his head.

This is why part 3 is a pivotal point in the franchise. Not only did it mark the one and only 3-D entry of the series, it’s the first time I get scared poopless by Jason Vorhees wearing his iconic hockey mask.

It’s a pretty standard 80’s slasher with gratuitous, albeit creative, kills but it is recognized more so for it’s two remarkable qualities. The aforementioned 3-D filming, which was so badly implemented it was abandoned and never used in the series again, but also, it marked the first truly memorable final girl of the franchise. She is a survivor of an original Jason massacre and manages to defeat him when she finally has another opportunity. 

It’s not the strongest entry into the franchise but considering sequels where Jason goes to Manhattan, hell and even space in the future, it holds together with only part 4 really outpacing it.

Spooky Fact: Friday the 13th part 3 was the first film to knock Spielberg’s family classic E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial out of the number one position at the box office in the summer of 1982.

 

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

I know. A crossover of two of fthe 1980’s most notable horror franchises is happening well over two decades late. Of course it’s going to be awful, right? WRONG! Freddy vs. Jason is a film that deserves a viewing whether you are a fan of both, either or neither film universe.

There is a tease at the end of ‘Jason Goes To Hell’ where the iconic bladed glove of Fred Keuger emerges from the ground to pull down Jason’s mask. That set a lot of fans into fits, expecting news of an immediate crossover film. Well, that didn’t happen. Predator and Alien got a crossover before these two. Eventually, it did get done and it was one of New Line Cinema’s least mistake-ridden final efforts. 

The premise is simple. Freddy is in hell and wants to return but can’t because the Springwood families have forced, aka drugged, their kids into sleeping without dreaming. In order to build fear, Freddy sets Jason loose in the real world to drum up screams and body counts. 

Of course, there is a typical cast of teens who get killed in slightly original ways but the real star of the show is the third act’s battle between a lumbering machete-wielding psychopath and a smart-ass demon who has an ironic fashion sense. I won’t spoil anything because it really is worth the watch.

Spoopy fact: The film is one of the only successful film roles for former Destiny’s Child second-tier member, Kelly Rowland. I only say second-tier because let’s be real, if you aren’t Beyonce…amirite?

Spoopier Fact: There is a fifteen second clip of a rock song that is played during the film’s title card. At the time this movie was released I happened to be dating a girl whose cousin was the frontman for the band that recorded that song. So now, every time I watch, I’m reminded of that awful decision.