Hello Enthusiacs I am your Lord of Shadows and today we take a look at three films in the Friday the 13th series. I group these together because honestly they all tell the same story.

Friday the 13th was basically the story of a deranged mother avenging her son Jason who drowned years earlier. It kept out the supernatural element most slasher films featured. So naturally the sequel brings back young Jason as the killer.

The second film begins killing off the lone survivor of the first film. We then see that the camp is reopening and we see that the owners are hosting a training camp for their employees. Enter Jason who runs through the camp basically killing anything that moves.

It implies that he is now working to avenge his mother. Who ironically died avenging him. This family is more into vengeance that Charles Bronson.

By the end of part 2 Jason is seemingly defeated. The film ends with him being “killed” but anyone who knows horror films knows it’s not over.

The second film did up the effects and they hold up quite well. Jason here is a much more human killer than he will become here he not only feels pain but is no stronger than a normal man.

Enter part 3 the only one of the Jason Trilogy to be in 3D. Not modern 3D mind you but the old classic red and blue.

Here we introduce the iconic hockey mask and make Jason a far more brutal and super powered killer. The story once again focuses on teenagers at camp Crystal Lake. However as this film takes place one day after the last it should be called Saturday the 14th But that’s a movie for another day.

Sadly this movie is a serious downgrade from the second. Way too many 3D gimmick shots and frankly the tone just jumps from trying to be funny to trying to be scary with little to no warning. And given that this takes place 24 hours after a massacre the town acts like the murders took place years ago.

Once more the film ends with Jason “dead” and a lone survivor escaping death. This was to be the end of the franchise however despite the drop in quality it make a metric ton of money so a fourth film was greenlit.

Friday the 13th “The final chapter” was set up as the true ending of the Jason saga. Once more we see a group of people going to Crystal Lake and being killed but Jason. You may be seeing a pattern.

The main difference is they introduce a new character that we will be seeing again in the future.

Despite the name the movie implies the franchise will continue with a new villain. Jason was meant to be killed off for good and the little boy played by Corey Feldman be the next slasher.

It does have one of the most chilling shots in the entire franchise. When the EMT’s roll away from the site and the darkness and quite return.

By the end young Feldman kills Jason Voorhees and we end on this shot.

Thus ends what was originally advertised as the Voorhees Trilogy. Taking place over the course of a single week. This could be seen as the “original” Franchise story line as future installments would alter all these events to make the stories work.

However these are movies for another day. For now we come to the end of what is frankly a forgettable trilogy. None of them hit the story heights or originality of the original.

But until next time I am your Lord of Shadows saying

Stay Scared