After the success of “Friday the 13th part 3 3D” another movie was released in 1984, intended to be the end of the series “The Final chapter”, directed by Joseph Zito, sees Jason taken to the morgue after the events of “Part 3.”
Jason awakens and kills two nurses before escaping. One of Part four’s main contributions to the franchise was the introduction of Tommy Jarvis. Tommy Jarvis (played by Corey Feldman) is a young boy who lives with his mother and sister Trish and is fascinated with masks and make-up effects. (An homage to Tom Savini, the make-up artist for both the original “Friday the 13th” and “The Final chapter.”) After Jason attacks Trish and kills Mrs. Jarvis, Tommy takes Jason’s machete and embeds it in Jason’s head and then repeatedly hits Jason while he’s down, killing him.
“The Final Chapter” was intended to end the “Friday the 13th” series however after the film’s success a sequel was released the following year in 1985, that being “Friday the 13th: A New Beginning.” “Part 5” is one of the more divisive entries in the “Friday the 13th” franchise with the film following Tommy Jarvis at the Pinehurst Halfway House as he tries to recover from the trauma of killing Jason, which results in dreams and hallucinations of Jason. At Pinehurst a kid named Joey is murdered by a fellow resident Vic who kills Joey after getting offered a chocolate bar. One of the main controversies with “Part 5” is the fact that Jason isn’t the killer but rather Roy Burns, Joey’s father, killing in revenge for his son’s death.
“Part 5” like the ending of “The Final Chapter” leaned into the idea that Tommy would be the next killer, however with “A New Beginnings” poor reception the franchise brought things back to formula in 1986 with the release of “Friday the 13th: Part 6 Jason Lives.” “Jason Lives” continues the story of Tommy Jarvis as he visits Jason’s grave to destroy his body only to resurrect Jason. Unlike its predecessor, “Jason Lives” is one of the more loved entries in the series with the film having a more humorous tone and more gruesome kills it is a fan favorite. The Tommy Jarvis trilogy follows a broken kid trying to put his life back together and stop the evil of Jason Voorhees. This trilogy has two of the best films in the series and one of the most experimental sequels to the original, and as we see Tommy go from a normal 12 year old kid, to a traumatized teenager, to something akin to an 80’s action hero, we also get to some of the best horror films ever made.
