Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a 1984 slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr. and starring Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Crispin Glover and Ted White. It is the fourth (and originally intended to be the final) installment in the Friday the 13th film series. Despite being billed as the final film, its success prompted another sequel, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, one year later.

Plot
A carefree lakeside vacation is interrupted by the re-emergence of serial killer Jason Voorhees. After he escapes from a morgue, leaving bodies in his wake, Jason travels to Camp Crystal Lake where a group of friends is staying. The teens meet some locals: Tommy and Trish, as well as secretive hiker Rob. As the group of teenagers engages in drunken debauchery, their numbers begin to dwindle, and pieces of the past resurface.

Why It's Great

 * 1) The film is a huge improvement from parts II and III.
 * 2) Jason is still an awesome villain and is more terrifying than ever.
 * 3) Tommy is a great protagonist, and Trish is a decent secondary lead.
 * 4) Lots of memorable minor characters like Rob, Jimbo, Axel and the twins.
 * 5) The suspenseful and creepy moments are still pretty effective.
 * 6) Tom Savini returns to deliver some awesome kills and gore effects.
 * 7) The atmosphere is still very eerie and well-done.
 * 8) Harry Manfredini's musical score is great yet again.
 * 9) The storyline is well-written.
 * 10) The climax is just as awesome as it was in the previous three films.
 * 11) The performances are very well-acted.
 * 12) Because this film has a recap of the first three films, you can watch this one on its own without having to watch the others.
 * 13) "Hey, Ted! Where the hell's the corkscrew?!"

Bad Qualities

 * 1) There are still a few boring filler moments.
 * 2) It never explained how Jason survived an axe to his head, and his death, which was originally supposed to be his definitive end, is more-so the same kind of thing.
 * 3) "Oh god, he's killing me! He's killing me!"

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter holds a 23% approval rating based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 4.27/10.

Box Office
Upon its theatrical release, the film grossed $33 million in the U.S. on a budget of $2.2 million, making it the fourth most attended of the Friday the 13th series with approximately 9,815,700 tickets sold.