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Monthly Archives: May 2025
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)
I have suddenly realised how hard it is to continue to discuss a series of films that has gone on as long as the Friday films did without repeating oneself. I will endeavour to do so.
The Friday the 13th films are staples of the horror diet, along with Halloweens, A Nightmare on Elm Sts and even Saws and The Conjurings (even though I don’t rate any of the films in The Conjuring universe, I appreciate how important they are in the horror genre) and you can almost guarantee that any horror fan with have seen one of each of the franchise, and even may like at least one as well.
Friday the 13th Part 3 was a victim of the success of the first two films though they needed a gimmick. Unfortunately, it was decided to make a 3D film rather than to make a film with a good story. For me this is an immediate drawback as I detest 3D films, mainly due to my eyesight not being fantastic and preferring not to wearing the stupid glasses, and in that preference, having to watch a film in 2D where the actors spend the whole time stick things into the camera lens to give the 3D fans something to gawk at.
Friday the 13th Part 3 was written by Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson and was directed by Steve Miner, who also directed Part 2, and takes place the day after the events from Friday Part 2… so I guess this is ACTUALLY a Saturday the 14th film…
Anyway, the story tells of Chris (Dana Kimmell) who is returning to her family’s country home after an absence of two years due to some trauma she encountered… which will get revealed later!
She is joined by a bunch of friends as support, but they are also secretly joined on her property by a biker gang that friends Shelley (Larry Zerner) and Vera (Catherine Parks) accidentally cross when getting some groceries for the weekend. Her country love interest, Rick (Paul Kratka) also meets up with them.
The problem is, though, that Jason Voorhees, fresh off the massacre at Camp Crystal Lake, is still hunting through the woods for more prey, and when he comes across the farmhouse, he’s ready to create more carnage.
The story is so generic it’s almost parody, but this film does have the honour of being the film that gave Jason his iconic hockey mask look, which no doubt has made the owners of the licence millions of merchandising cash over the years, not to mention the NHL-affiliated companies probably scored some extra sales as well with sports gear.
Unfortunately I actually don’t rate this Friday very high because of all the distracting 3D rubbish. I means it’s an 80s slasher so high production values and academy award winning acting are less a priority over boobies and blood, and the story really isn’t any worse or better than any other slasher, but the fact the film almost comes to a complete halt every time someone wants to poke something at the camera. What makes it worse is that this Bluray doesn’t have a 3D option so it’s literally just a 2D version of a 3D film.
I still rewatch it regularly, but only as the pathway to part 4.
Extras:
Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror looks at the reasons why they decided to go 3D with this film, with various comments from Peter Bracke, the author of Crystal Lake Memories and people who worked on the film. With the Crystal Lake Memories doco and book being such a definitive guide to the series, a twelve minute peek is barely scratching the surface.
Legacy of the Mask is about the look of Jason Voorhees, and how it evolved over the film series, including the origins of the infamous hockey mask.
Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular has a bunch of movie industry people discussing the key ingredients for a slasher film.
Lost Tales of Camp Blood Parts 2 and 3 is a couple of amateurish ‘further tales’ of Jason. Skip this junk.
There is also the trailer for the film.
Film: 3/10
Extras: 5/10
Rewatchability: 5/10
This Bluray was purchased from JB Hifi
THE HUNT (2020)
THE HUNT (2020)
If there’s one thing that horror movies have taught me, it’s that hunting humans, ain’t nothing but nothin’. Seriously though, there’s not much I love more than a film that is all about some kind of human hunt… that is after giallo, and slashers… from Turkey Shoot to Battle Royale, and from Countess Perverse to Condemned, I love me a popcorn flick that throws a bunch of perceived lower-caste people being hunted by the upper class, and then seeing them raining down pain and revenge onto the hunters. It’s a blast, usually with a touch of social commentary and always a big pile of tasty tasty violence.
Weirdly, this film didn’t slip by me when it was release on home video in Australia, as I found I had a copy in my possession, but what did happen is it just slipped into my collection without a watch. The Hunt recently appeared on Netflix and I realised that not only did I own but had not watched it, the trailer I saw blew my socks off.
What’s happened next? I dug that disc out and threw it on to enjoy the carnage!
The Hunt was directed by Craig Zobel whose work I previously enjoyed in his quiet post-apocalyptic flick Z for Zachariah which starred a pre-Harley Quinn Margot Robbie and written by Damon Lindelof, co-creator of the Lost TV series, and Nick Cuse who previously has written episodes of Watchmen and the TV series Maniac.
The Hunt find 12 people waking up in a field, gags in their mouths and a large crate in front of them. Upon opening the crate, they find a pig, and weapons…
… HEAPS of weapons…
…and almost immediately, someone from somewhere starts firing at them and very quickly they realise they they are being hunted, but by who? Was their capture random or were they specifically targeted?
Soon we are introduced to our heroine, Crystal (Betty Gilpin from Glow) who doesn’t appear to be like the rest of the prey. She’s gun-smart, aggressive, attentive to detail and prepared to take out anyone and everyone who gets in her way… but can she trust the others who are being hunted… can she trust anyone at all? And what will she do when she finds out who organised this whole hunt?
This film easily had one of my favourite movie posters of all time. It had a bunch of negative, political-charged quotes all over it with, ‘THE MOST TALKED ABOUT FILM OF THE YEAR IS ONE THAT NO ONE’S ACTUALLY SEEN’, reflecting the knee-jerk reaction people have to clickbait internet crap that sometimes reacted to without discovering the full story.
This is where part of the fun is in this film: it’s not putting either the red or the blue in front of each other, but it is presenting extremism at its very worst.
Actually, no. That’s no really true. This film is a fun battle Royale romp that exercises some very subtle choices in regards to whether it’s political or not, and I see it as quite anti-political. Actually, anti-people-who-see-politics in everything. As usual, cinema can be a fun reflection on the real world.
That may be a conscious decision on my part because I preferred to enjoy the film as a black comedy and a violence drenched action film, or it could be that I’m just ignorant.
The lead played by Gilpin is an amazing example of the modern version of an 80s/ 90s action hero. Few words, uncannily superb at various acts of violence, has an understanding of the military and its procedures. Barely speaks, and when she does, it’s an insult laced with swearing – just the way we like our action heroes.
One thing I found really surprising was the amount of named actors in cameo/ bit parts: Emma Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Sturgill Simpson, Amy Madigan, Justin Hartley, just to name a few. So many small parts that all have memorable scenes even though some of them don’t even have names like Emma Roberts’ ‘Yoga Pants’, or Suplee’s ‘Shut the Fuck Up Gary’.
All in all, The Hunt is a roller coaster of violence and comedy, with a slight nod to the current political climate and a touch of Animal Farm by George Orwell, and all this makes for an extraordinarily fun time.
Extras: Only three extras on this disc:
Crafting the Hunt is a little mini-making of where the cast and crew discuss the film with some amusing anecdotes, especially from Gilpin talking about how her and her husband, after reading the script, said it was going to aggravate political-charged people, but they came to the conclusion that they weren’t sure which side.
Death Scene Breakdowns looks at the violence and the gore… the fantastic amounts of violence and gore.
Athena vs Crystal: Hunter or Hunted is a fun exploration of the final fight.
Film: 8/10
Extras: 2/10
Rewatchability: 10/10
This film was purchased from JB Hifi
Digital Retribution 