#25. Friday the 13th Part III(1982, Miner)
By Eivind Langdal
1st December 2009

There are two types of music in movies. The first is the one that John Williams wins so many Oscars using, called non-diegetic, which is music that the audience, and not the characters, can hear. The second type is diegetic music, which is music that both the audience and characters can hear. The reason I am mentioning this is because, when I saw the third chapter in the Friday the 13th ”saga”, I realized how much of the music in the horror genre is non-diegetic. Let me give you an example: a character walks into a barn after one of his friends has disappeared inside it. Once inside, he calls for his friend, thinking it’s just a prank. In the meantime, the audience almost becomes deaf because the soundtrack is so blaringly loud.

The director achieves his purpose: to amp up the tension and let the audience, but not the aforementioned character, know that something bad is about to happen. While watching that scene I wondered how differently it would have played out if the character could suddenly hear what the audience is hearing. It would make the scene very, very different. But that doesn’t happen. The character walks into his death because he can’t hear the high-pitched notes played from the violin. Speaking of which, how many of that instrument did they use in the production of this film? It’s used so frequently I couldn’t help but wonder if any of them broke after the harsh treatment they received.

Friday the 13th Part III is filled with so many scenes like that you have to wonder if director Steve Miner looked up the word “ominous” in the dictionary and then was so afraid he’d forget its definition that he shot like 15 scenes where characters think they see or hear something and then it all turn out to be nothing, just so he could remember. Still, I prefer this approach to the direct one employed in the two first films in the series. They were so devoid of tension I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe someone involved in the production should perhaps have considered to look that word up in the dictionary.

Yes, the third film in this series is somewhat better than the first two. But there’s still a long way to go to greatness. However, the film has some bright points. The plot, which is pretty much like a rehash of the two first films, is not one of them (yes, someone goes to camp again, and I’ll be damned if Jason isn’t there to stalk them), so I won’t bother describing that. But the actors are slightly more talented, especially Larry Zerner as the socially awkward Shelly, who is so sympathetic I actually became worried every time he got himself in dangerous situations. Why aren’t more characters in slasher films like him? They would certainly be much better.

Now, let’s talk about Jason for a while. Is he a great villain? Eh, you tell me. I know he’s an iconic one, but he has got nothing on his “buddies” Michael Myers and Freddy Kreuger. What has he really got that other horror villains haven’t? Still, this is the third film in the series, which means that he wears the hockey mask for the first time, which I guess is somewhat of a relief, as we don’t have to watch so many scenes where the camera is always cranked right below his neck. Okay, there are a few of those too here, but by the time the movie reaches it’s halfway point, we actually get to see the guy that the film is actually about. Which I guess could be considered a good thing.

Now, Jason is certainly still worth talking about. His capabilities as a killer, for example, warrant plenty a mention. I don’t know what he was busy doing between the second film and this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me he had done something like 1600 push-ups each day, because the physicality he puts on display is one that seems to belong to a very, very strong man. He is also a master of sneaking, which makes me wonder if he’s really Solid Snake or something. He is only seen when he wants to be seen every bloody time! He doesn’t even need to hide in the dark. He can sneak up on you in full daylight and you wouldn’t even know what stabbed/cut/gutted/throated you. Why is he stalking teenagers instead of starring in Metal Gear Solid, I don’t know.