{"id":7013,"date":"2022-06-10T19:29:17","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T19:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattshorroraddiction.com\/?p=7013"},"modified":"2022-06-10T19:29:17","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T19:29:17","slug":"return-to-camp-blood-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/?p=7013","title":{"rendered":"Return to Camp Blood: Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Frank Pittarese <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuing a month-long review of the Friday the 13th<\/em> film series, I dive into Parts 3 and 4 to discuss the ending that wasn\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 3D One<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third in the series comes with some controversy. It was also in 3D. Let\u2019s get to it\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a replay of the end of the previous movie, which inserts new footage of a very much alive Jason slipping away, we jump forward to\u2026the next day! Yep, Friday the 13th: Part 3<\/em> apparently takes place on Saturday the 14th. But that\u2019s okay; we’ll be on a consecutive run of calendar days through the next film, so what can you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After Jason murders a couple of sloppy-trashy store owners, a new crop of kids head up to Crystal Lake \u2014 specifically to a piece of land called Higgins Haven, home of soon-to-be Final Girl Chris Higgins. She\u2019s been away for awhile because of a particularly gruesome incident in her past, and just like the late, great Alice, Chris is trying to put her life together the only way she knows how. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this instance, that means dragging a motley crew of friends to a Crystal Lake getaway. There\u2019s Shelly, an overweight prankster, Chuck and Chili, two weed-obsessed potheads, the wonderfully spunky Vera, and annoyingly adorable couple Andy and Debbie\u2026who happen to be expecting a child. Chris\u2019s hunky boyfriend Rick is waiting at the house with the sole expectation of getting laid up to three hours a day (but, spoiler alert, he barely gets a kiss).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shelly fakes his own death a couple of times, and gets turned down by Vera, but on a trip to the grocery store, the pair encounter a scary (\u201cscary\u201d) biker gang who follow the teens back to the lake. Jason, already lurking in the barn, starts by killing the punks, then works his way through all of Chris\u2019s friends, until only she\u2019s left for a big showdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a twist! That gruesome incident I mentioned? A couple of years ago, Chris had a fight with her parents and ran into the woods, intending to hide out for the night. (She apparently never heard about The Boy That Drowned.) Jason came barreling out from the trees, literally chasing and dragging Chris hither and yon until she passed out. Chris woke up in her bed. Not a bit dead, like<\/em> everyone else Jason ever met<\/em>, and with no recollection of what happened.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here and now, Chris kills Jason with an axe to the head, and it\u2019s, like, totally<\/em> permanent until the next sequel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the first Friday the 13th<\/em> movie I ever saw \u2014 and I got to see it on opening night, in 3D and all \u2014 so it holds a special place in my heart. As stunt-filled as it is, with yo-yo\u2019s, apples, popcorn, and snakes flying at the audience, it has a lot going for it. At least half of the cast is likable and engaging. Vera (Catherine Parks) is terrific; a rare instance where I was bummed out by a character\u2019s death. Biker Fox (the late Gloria Charles) is only in a few scenes, but she\u2019s a Top Ten favorite victim, with a personality ranging from \u201ctough bully\u201d to \u201cfun-loving kid.\u201d And Chris, as played by Dana Kimmell, has a certain sincerity to her. She\u2019s not as tough as Ginny, but she holds her own against Jason\u2026even if the whole experience drives her straight to the funny farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That said, we\u2019re starting to slip into territory where some<\/em> characters feel more like cartoonish stereotypes than realistic people we\u2019d want to hang out with \u2014 and in these things, the stakes are higher if you give a shit about who dies. Shopkeepers Harold and Edna are just gross, and I\u2019m not a weed guy, so Chuck and Chili\u2019s antics were never amusing to me. Worse, they both feel like 30-year-old adults. It\u2019s weird. And as much as I love Fox, the bikers feel like out of place stereotypes, farmed in from a different movie. There\u2019s also a passing attempt at rebooting Crazy Ralph with a ridiculous (and legit crazy) hobo, but fortunately all but one of his scenes were cut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the point of Debbie being pregnant? It doesn\u2019t serve the plot, it doesn\u2019t change her behavior (except that she won\u2019t “hilariously” eat Chuck and Chili\u2019s weed stash when the police zip by), and it doesn\u2019t make a not-great actress any more compelling to watch. We\u2019re definitely getting into some uneven territory here, with the victims painted in broad strokes while the kills become more interesting (at least until the MPAA steps in later). Andy gets chopped in half, poor Vera gets a spear shot through her eye, Rick\u2019s head is squeezed until his eyeball pops out in all its 3D glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is the first appearance of the iconic hockey mask, which Jason steals from one of his victims. I still prefer the sack, but there\u2019s no denying the menacing effectiveness of the hockey mask. It works. Jason, meanwhile, has mutated even further than he was the literal day before<\/em>. Yes, yes, that\u2019s due to a change in makeup artists \u2014 but I like to think that his mutant healing factor (which enables him to survive most injuries and which possibly saved him from his childhood drowning) is also affecting his body as a whole. The more he\u2019s hurt, the stronger, bigger, and more malevolent he becomes; he’s evolving quickly<\/em>. I also think there are evil forces guiding these \u201cenhancements,\u201d but we\u2019ll get to that later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to discuss that controversial bit of business about Chris\u2019s first encounter with Jason (trigger warning for those who need \u2019em). A big question in Friday the 13th<\/em> fandom is: Did Jason sexually assault her? Nobody has an official<\/em> answer (although actress Dana Kimmell says he didn\u2019t). Unfortunately, I lean toward yes. We see, via flashback, what Chris remembers of the attack, and much of it involves Jason grabbing the girl and dragging her deeper into the woods (as opposed to, say, stabbing her, decapitating her, or folding her in half). When Jason confronts Chris in the barn during the film’s climax, he makes a pointed effort to lift his mask and leer at her. He WANTS her to recognize him \u2014 and she does. Then he tries to kill her, anyway, which he would have done the first time\u2026if he hadn\u2019t done…something else. In my mind, Jason is a rapist, full stop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yet again, we end the movie with a WTF vision\/dream. This time, it\u2019s a rotten, worm-covered Mrs. Voorhees (head reattached, wearing her favorite sweater) popping out of the lake to drag Chris from her canoe. But it\u2019s okay, don\u2019t worry. The very last scene reveals that Chris has gone hopelessly insane.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So what\u2019s up with that Pamela appearance? It\u2019s those dang evil forces I mentioned. Alice\u2019s vision of Little Jason, Ginny\u2019s window-smashing dream, Chris\u2019s canoe attack\u2026 Something \u201cother\u201d is fueling the violence at Crystal Lake, and then exerting its insidious, psychic influence on those who survive. Some higher, dark power has Jason in its protective hand. That \u201csomething\u201d is what makes him unstoppable \u2014 and it\u2019s tied directly to the Voorhees family. This becomes even more apparent in Jason Goes to Hell<\/em>, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s some fun trivia to share at Thanksgiving dinner: This is the first instance (of several in the series) where a character poops, doesn\u2019t wipe, and then gets killed. Bad hygiene abounds at Crystal Lake \u2014 and Jason doesn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite moment: Chili\u2019s whole \u201cOh, god\u2026he\u2019s dead! Shelly\u2019s dead!<\/em>\u201d sequence, where she\u2019s terrified but also looks like she\u2019s about to fall asleep while slow-running through the house. It tickles me every time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cLast” One<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released on Friday, April 13, 1984, The Final Chapter<\/em> was indeed meant to be the last in the series. The plan was to kill Jason once and for all, but that just didn\u2019t work out because people like me kept buying movie tickets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story picks up mere hours after the end of Part 3<\/em>, in a dramatic fashion. Higgins Haven is swarming with police and paramedics, as helicopters hover and shine bright spotlights on the scene. Jason, still apparently dead in the spot Chris left him, is transported to a local hospital, where he stays<\/em> dead for less than 15 minutes before swiftly killing a couple of goofy staffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Back at the lake, we\u2019re introduced to the Jarvis family: a divorced mom, teenage good-girl Trish (Kimberly Beck), and the precocious adolescent Tommy (a pre-Goonies<\/em> Corey Feldman), who briefly becomes an important figure in this series. Across the road from the Jarvis\u2019s, a hearty group of teen victims arrive, having rented a house for a weekend of partying \u2014 the most notable among them being the awkward dork Jimmy (played by the eccentric Crispin Glover, who steals the movie).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jason, after checking himself out of the hospital with a prescription for murder, just walks back home \u2014 killing a hitchhiker along the way \u2014 and starts picking off the new kids. Amidst the chaos, Trish and Tommy encounter the mysterious Rob Dier, a man obsessed with hunting Jason because his sister, Sandra, was among his many victims. Sandra, huh? Interesting\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all ends in pandemonium, with everyone dead except Final Girl Trish and young Tommy \u2014 who stops the disfigured Jason in his tracks by shaving his head, popping the collar on his polo shirt, and\u2026impersonating him. The kid actually tries to talk Jason down, Ginny-style, and it almost<\/em> works until Trish jumps in with a machete, snapping Jason out of his trance. Protecting his sister, Tommy picks up the weapon, practically splits Jason\u2019s head in half, then chops at him a dozen times more. So Jason\u2019s dead, right? Right\u2026?!?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sure, for now. But the final shot implies that Tommy, in the wake of this violence, just ain\u2019t right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This entry is one of my favorites, sitting right alongside Part 2<\/em>. Objectively, Part 2<\/em> is a better movie, with stronger characters and some genuinely creepy moments. But the energy of this one, particularly during the final act as Jason relentlessly chases Trish \u2014 running from house to house \u2014 really pulls me in. And while the teens aren\u2019t the most well-rounded, they still feel like people in a Saved By the Bell<\/em> kind of way, with some minor conflicts between them to keep things interesting. The kills are brief, but very effective, thanks to returning makeup effects artist Tom Savini, who stepped away after the first movie. Doug’s crunching shower death, even in its edited state, packs a punch, and Jimmy’s “Where’s the corkscrew?” kill is a Friday<\/em> classic. Jason\u2019s death is a sight to behold, all done with practical effects in this pre-digital age, which makes things all the more impressive.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In terms of world-building (as if anyone involved was actually considering such a thing)\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re still in the consecutive three-day run that began in Friday the 13th Part 2.<\/em> Jason has killed twenty or so people in the past couple of days, but as this movie begins, he\u2019s \u201cdead,\u201d so the Jarvis family are living their lives without a care in the world. The newspaper headline that says Jason\u2019s body has gone missing from the morgue means nothing to them. The Jarvis ladies go blissfully jogging through the local murder-woods and then don\u2019t even lock their front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chronologically, the first film took place in 1979. There was a five-year time jump in Part 2<\/em> to 1984. Now, with the \u201cserialized\u201d format of 2<\/em>, 3<\/em>, and Final Chapter<\/em>, we\u2019ve synced up with this film\u2019s release date. But get ready, because more time jumps are coming. Big<\/em> ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This movie establishes that Crystal Lake is located in Wessex County, and in or near Crystal Lake, there\u2019s a Crystal Point,<\/em> where one can skinny dip with one\u2019s friends before one is hacked to bits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Voorhees is literally buried by the side of the road, with a nice little headstone which reads \u201cPamela Voorhees 1939-1979, At Rest.\u201d Who came up with that inscription? Who paid for the funeral? Did Mr. Voorhees write a check? There must be a Mr. Voorhees, after all\u2026 More on him in a movie or four. And for you trivia fans, this is the first official mention of Pamela\u2019s first name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, Rob shows up seeking revenge because Jason killed his sister, Sandra. Sandra?! There\u2019s never been solid confirmation of this, but it\u2019s pretty much accepted that he\u2019s talking about the same Sandra who was impaled with her boyfriend Jeff in Part 2<\/em>. But that was just two days ago, and Rob already has a whole collection of yellowed Jason\/Crystal Lake newspaper clippings. He sure moves fast! My take is that Rob was already<\/em> a \u201cCamp Blood\u201d nerd, in the same way that people are obsessed with Bigfoot. When Sandra was murdered on Friday, Rob threw on his backpack and ran out the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little Tommy Jarvis appears to be a Tom Savini-level special effects makeup artist. This is obviously because Tom Savini did the special effects makeup for this film, and he gets to indulge himself through<\/em> Tommy, who shows off his creations. And that\u2019s great \u2014 but when Tommy decides to impersonate Young Jason, our little FX whiz looks kinda silly. They could have cheated things by having Tommy apply some pre-made \u201cmonster\u201d appliances from his room, anything to make him look freaky. But instead we get a bald, preppy child, in cut-off jeans. It\u2019s a goofy misstep, but we\u2019re stuck with it. Besides, Jason<\/em> believed it, and isn\u2019t that what matters most?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The final moment of this movie led to whispers from every corner of the theater. \u201cTommy is gonna be the new Jason!!\u201d Well\u2026no. That\u2019s like saying Jason was the new Mrs. Voorhees. But the implication that Tommy is \u201coff\u201d leads directly into the next adventure. They\u2019re at least trying to keep a through line going, heading into the next sequel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And for the record, as far as I\u2019m concerned, Jason does \u2014 definitely and officially and for the first time<\/em> \u2014 die in this movie. But although his days as a human being are over,  he\u2019ll return after a short nap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite moment: \u201cHe\u2019s killing me! Oh, god! He\u2019s killing me!!<\/em>\u201d There\u2019s not a drop of blood in Rob\u2019s death scene, but it\u2019s as chilling as can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stayed tuned for more Return to Camp Blood!<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Frank Pittarese Continuing a month-long review of the Friday the 13th film series, I dive into Parts 3 and 4 to discuss the ending that wasn\u2019t\u2026 The 3D One The third in the series comes with some controversy. It was also in 3D. Let\u2019s get to it\u2026  After a replay of the end of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-80s","category-friday-the-13th"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7013\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matt.doppiavvu.it\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}