The day after Part 3(D), Jason Vorhees (Ted White) recovers from his injuries and heads back home to Crystal Lake.
Meanwhile, local residents, the Jarvises, including Trish (Kimberly Beck) and her younger brother Tommy (Corey Feldman), are dealing with a familiar menace - more horny teens, who have taken over the house next door.
Throw in a literal Jason-hunter (Erich Anderson) and the stage is set for a final chapter in the Camp Blood story…
Each Friday the 13th film acts as a sequel and a resolution to its predecessor - resurrecting Jason from death for another final battle.
Part 3 tries to provide closure, by having the final girl kill Jason and then - in an echo of the original movie, she is dragged underwater by the reanimated Pamela Vorhees.
While its title sums up the film’s intent, it is better seen as the completion of a transition, or an evolution, from the murder mystery of the first film, to the re-centring of the series around its protagonist, now complete with mask.
As Part 2 improved upon the original, so The Final Chapter does to the Miner duology.
Director Joe Zito and cinematographer Joao Fernandes had just collaborated on the brutal, atmospheric slasher The Prowler, and they bring a darker, more visceral approach to the Friday the 13th template.
Combined with stuntman Ted White’s forceful performance, The Final Chapter is the most effective version of Friday the 13th as a straight horror movie.
The well-cast ensemble handle the familiar roles with varying levels of freshness - none more so than Crispin Glover as the lovelorn Jimmy.
The one element The Final Chapter contributes to the universe of the series is the introduction of Tommy Jarvis, played here by future teen star Corey Feldman.
Clearly the intent was that, after surviving numerous attempts by adults, Jason would be felled by a child.
While providing a conclusion, the trauma of killing Jason would lead to Tommy’s own turn to the dark side.
The final freeze-frame of a dead-eyed Tommy staring straight at the camera serves two functions providing a different spin on the series’s familiar twist ending, while also providing a backdoor for perpetuating the franchise with another child-turned-killer.
When the film’s box office performance exceeded expectations, another sequel was in the offing - although its trajectory would be somewhat different from the one teased at the end of The Final Chapter.
The Final Chapter is one of the few Fridays I had watched prior to this miniseries, and it remains my personal favourite.
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