Take 3
With the quick success of the first two films, director Steve Miner and Paramount wasted little time in releasing the third in the series just a year after Part 2. Once again, the story in Part 3 is that of a group of young adults, helpless and alone, deciding to forgo better judgment in favor of spending some time at a camp site near Crystal Lake. As it should be well known by now, that place isn’t quite right, and Jason once again feasts upon the inept young adults, killing them off in his traditional brutal fashion, one-by-one. As usual, one manages to escape in the end, but not before a long, painful altercation with Jason.
I thought this third entry into the series was actually quite a bit more enjoyable than Part 2. With Part 3, we get to see a lot of Jason in action, and he dons the infamous hockey mask for the first time, too. The violence and suspense in Part 3 was much better than that of Part 2 as well, and the additional ten minutes of running time allowed for a better experience to develop than the rushed Part 2.
One area I couldn’t find myself getting into was the 3D version, however. I put on the glasses and watched about half of the film in this way but it just wasn’t interesting or really as cool as I hoped for. It’s a good thing that Paramount included both the 2D and the 3D versions on this release.
On DVD
Friday the 13th Part 3-D on DVD isn’t as great as a release as you might hope for. Sure, the video presentation is fine, although the 3D version of the film isn’t compelling. The audio on this DVD is well done too, and I can’t say I noticed the subdued dialogue like in the DVD re-release of Part 1 and 2, so that’s a plus. For extra features, there are basically none – just the original theatrical trailer, that’s it.
There isn’t much to this release, so let’s cut to the chase and wrap up…