This is probably one of my favorites from the franchise, mostly because of the impact it had on me as a young boy (probably relative to the character of a young Tommy Jarvis). This film also had some of the best kills, thanks largely to Tom Savini taking lead on the practical effects. His absence from Part 2 and 3 are pretty obvious. This is the start of the ‘Tommy Jarvis Trilogy’ and probably best known as the height of the Paramount Friday films, easily remembered for having the death of the human version of Jason and also for being the epitome of 80’s slashers in general, full of blood and teenage sexuality.
It’s complicated to review any of the Friday the 13th films because any seasoned horror fan has seen every one of these films ad nauseum and anyone getting into the genre should absolutely view them as they are staples in the genre, even the worst of the franchise. Of the iconic slasher killers of the 80’s, Jason has always been my favorite yet this is the last film that maintains or surpasses the quality of the original. Some of the following sequels have their moments and most are genuinely fun to watch (and some are incredibly miserable) but they all have a little bit of a different feel to them as we meet faux Jason, Zombie Jason, and then Uber Jason. I’ll get much more in depth during the review, but for now lets add some more to Jason’s tally.
The Kills
- Axel – His throat is slit with a hack saw, and then has his neck snapped all the way around. I’d normally count this as a throat slit as he would have died from that anyway, but I’d say the cause of death is his head facing exactly the wrong direction. Going with a neck snap here.
- Nurse Morgan – He stabs her right below her sternum and keeps driving down then the scene ends. I’d say she’s probably gutted by the end of it but no real money shot here. Just going to sum it up as a stabbing.
- Hitchhiker – Stabbed in the back of the neck. Couldn’t even let her finish the banana first. For shame.
- Samantha – Stabbed through a raft. Like all the way through. To the point where I almost want to count this as an impalement. Almost.
- Paul – Impaled through the dick with a harpoon gun. This kill kinda bears a few questions. Where does Jason keep getting harpoon guns? This is a lake, right? Do people really go whaling on a lake? Would you actually die from getting harpooned through the dick? Would you really want to live after that?
- Terri (or is it Tina? I get these 2 confused) – Impaled via silhouette offscreen. Pretty sure this was a Noob Saibot fatality at one point or another.
- Mrs. Jarvis – Killed offscreen, so no clue what actually happens to her but it’s assumed she’s pretty dead. Hate having so many unknown deaths tallied up in a SLASHER movie.
- Jimmy – Gets a corkscrew in his hand, followed by a cleaver to the face, all for being a dead fuck. Counting this as a slashing. Much like Marks death in Part 2, this death really reminds me of A Bay of Blood. It’s crazy how much I have to reference that movie in this franchise.
- Tina – Defenestrated. I’ve always dug how the car’s windows blow out after she hits it. It happens a lot in the genre, and gets me every time.
- Ted – Stabbed in the back of the head. I’m really not sure how Jason knew that Ted would try to get into the action of the stag film and the film would end at that exact moment, but here we are. Also, wouldn’t Ted have noticed his feet under the screen since it was a pulldown? Oh, these movies.
- Doug – Killed with bare hands. You have to appreciate how Jason waited till all these teens got their nut before killing them. Except for poor Ted. You know if you would have given him another 10 minutes he’d of cranked one out.
- Sara – Has an ax get thrown through a door and into the center of her chest in probably the most improbable kill of the franchise. Or ever. This kill is wild, y’all. I’m going to count it as a slashing just because I don’t think it really deserves it’s own classification.
- Rob – He’s killed to death (yep, that’s right), with what looks to be a hand rake. See, I knew I should have made a classification for hand rakes in the Halloween V Kills Analysis. I am, however, going to count this as a stabbing like I did that kill, even though consistency with other kills I’ve looked at would suggest I count this as a slashing.
“He’s killing me!
Rob (sorry, couldn’t help it)
Conclusion
Jason Voorhees kills 13 people in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Coincidence? I think not.
| Method: | Amount of Kills: |
|---|---|
| Slashing | 2 |
| Impaled | 2 |
| Stabbing | 5 |
| Throat slit | 1 |
| Defenestrated | 1 |
| Killed with bare hands | 1 |
| Unknown cause of death | 1 |
| Method: | Amount of kills: |
|---|---|
| Stabbing | 9 |
| Strangled | 1 |
| Hammer claw to the head | 1 |
| Throat slit | 3 |
| Impaled | 8 |
| Slashing | 6 |
| Electrocuted | 1 |
| Killed with bare hands | 2 |
| Defenestrated | 1 |
| Unknown cause of death | 2 |
| Movie Title: | Total kills: |
|---|---|
| Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) | 9 |
| Friday the 13th Part III (1982) | 12 |
| Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) | 13 |
| Total Altogether: | 34 |