Rating: 3.5/5
Hooptober 4.0 | 3/31 | Sequels 3/6
We get a recap of the events of the previous movies. When we last saw Jason, we saw Chris kill him, though she had a nightmare that he was still alive and that his mother pulled her into the water.
They take Jason’s body to the morgue. We get that classic troupe of the coroner eating a sandwich over a dead body. Jason miraculously returns to life. He hacksaws the coroner’s head and cuts open the nurse’s chest.
You can tell Tom Savini is back because the kill effects are fucking gnarly and creative. I had to think about how they pulled off a couple because of how well the filmmakers set them up.
We meet the Jarvis family: Trish, her young son Tommy, and their dog, Gordon. They still live by Crystal Lake for some godforsaken reason.
Another batch of teens makes their way, skinny dipping, dancing, and fucking up a storm. This time, however, the film is interested in the relational dynamics at play and gives us characters with specific hangups and secrets.
The film also explores eroticism, and how culture passes down what is sexy to teens. Whether it’s aerobics videos or old stag films, how they objectify women shifts over time, but the subject as an object remains.
Ted, as the one more versed in pornography, appears like the more sexually active one. But when people couple off, he’s left with a black-and-white porno reel he finds in the house.
Meanwhile, Sarah, the ostensibly virginal one, not only hooks up but has a romantic and genuinely erotic experience with a guy.
Of course, Jason still punishes anyone who has sex because this movie isn’t THAT considerate.
Tommy, played by Corey Feldman, is one of the most honest audience surrogates I’ve seen in horror. He wants a peep at the action. But what he really loves are monsters and special effects. When his sister meets a guy, Tommy takes him to Tommy’s room to show off his legit puppets and masks.
It’s hard to walk into the fourth chapter of a massive series with expectations, but this movie makes the best use of its setup that I’ve seen thus far. It’s not high art but stands out in a sea of slashers.
Like Part III, this wanted to be the end. But, uh, it isn’t.