Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter

In 1984, Paramount Pictures released Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter, which, as the title suggests, was intended to close the book on hockey-masked serial killer Jason Voorhees.  Of course, that was not the case, as this film's box office success led to another six sequels (eight if we're including the mashup Freddy vs. Jason and the Friday the 13th remake).

As much as I love horror movies, I'm really not a fan of the Friday the 13th flicks, but if I had to pick a favorite of the sequels, this would be it.  This time around, in addition to the cabin full of horny young adults, there's a family next door - Mrs. Jarvis, daughter Trish, and son Tommy (Corey Feldman).  Trish is our obvious final girl, while Tommy... is something special.  He takes pride in his carefully crafted collection of monster masks, inviting a strange man up to his bedroom to "show him something" - a brown monster head on a stick which Tommy controls by moving its eyes and mouth whilst making little growling sounds.  Aside from that, he's just your average preteen boy, reacting to the sight of a naked woman by squealing, wiggling his fingers, and twirling around in his bed as if in the midst of a seizure.

If this were any other Friday the 13th, Tommy would easily be the most entertaining character of the bunch, but this installment boasts Crispin Glover as Jimmy, one of the vacationing horny young adults.  In his first appearance, Jimmy questions why he continually strikes out with women.  His buddy Ted taps his knees, running it through his imaginary computer, and replies, "Computer says you're a dead fuck."  I didn't count, but I can safely guess that the words "dead fuck" are repeated at least ten more times during the course of the film.  Fortunately, when a woman shows some interest in Jimmy, he gets to tell Ted, "Run that through your computer."  And then of course there's the most glorious minute in the entire Friday the 13th franchise, in which Jimmy wins a chick over by performing his mating dance, a full-out arms flailing body spasm set to an obscure '80s metal/new wave track.

The body count is high, and gore is in good supply, with makeup and effects work courtesy of Tom Savini.  Some of the more memorable moments involve a speargun to the groin, a corkscrew to the hand (followed by a machete to the face!), an axe to the chest, a throw from a window, and (spoiler) Jason's demise at the hands of bald Corey Feldman.  It seems we are to believe that the dude who's hunting Jason to avenge the death of his sister will face off against Jason in the climax, but instead, dude gets jumped by Jason and screams, "He's killing me!  He's killing me!" before taking a breath, then adding, "He's killing me!"  (On the downside, the death scenes are obviously cut, but the extended versions can be found on the Deluxe Edition DVD.)

Dead fucks.  Imaginary computers.  Banana drool.  Old school peep shows.  Pot smoking.  Premarital sex.  Dog through window.  "He's killing me!"  Bald Corey Feldman.  The Crispin.  Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is clearly the must-see hit of 1984.