August 13 1982
A new dimension in terror…
From the crop of 3-D films (Jaws 3, Amityville 3, etc) that reared their heads in the early 80s, there’s no doubt that Friday The 13th Part 3 was the best of the lot. Packed with more scares and excitement than the aforementioned films, this was one helluva juggernaut when it was released.
When the trailer was first released, both in the theater and on television, talk immediately started about it being in 3-D. Exactly what effects were we going to see? How was Jason going to appear in the third dimension?
It didn’t take us long to find out…
On opening night, the theater was packed. There was a lot of buzz in the lobby. There’s simply no way to describe the vibes that were emanating from the film being in 3-D.
Now, there was one heck of a long line snaking away from the box-office. I’d like to say that I was first in-line, but nope. I was about midway down through the crowd. In front of me there was a young teenage couple groping each other, while behind me were two older guys talking about Part 2. It would appear that neither of them really liked it. There was mention of Mark’s wheelchair kill, but even that was rather deflated. Now, you have to remember the impact of the original film and the MPAA’s slaughter of the first sequel. Some fans were expecting this to be another rather bloodless affair. Just to spite these two guys, I pulled the old “looking at the sky” gag. Sure enough, both of them looked up to see what I was staring at. That one is always good for a laugh.
So, here I was. I had long hair, wearing a Molly Hatchet t-shirt and a chain-wallet hanging out of my back pocket. In the lobby, I bought myself my usual Raisinets and Goobers. I also killed a bit of time playing Galaga. It’s always been my favorite video game, and I’d never imagine that twenty odd years later I’d actually own one of the machines.
Well, enough that. Do you have your candy? Do you have a bucket of popcorn, maybe, to throw into the air when you get a jump scare? Good. Let’s go find ourselves some seats and get ready for the show.
Before the movie starts, though, we have to slip on those 3-D glasses. Thankfully, I had no problem with mine. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for two black guys sitting in front of me. These guys bitched-and-moaned about their crappy glasses, fiddling and putting them on their head in all crazy fashions, until it was nearly time for the movie to start. Finally, in a last ditch effort, they put toilet paper into the sides of the glasses so that they’d stay on their head. I have to admit that it was comical watching them work.
Wait! Here we go! The lights are going down!
It was one of those evenings where the usher had to come out and tell everyone to move over one more seat to let the people in the aisles sit down. Unfortunately, I can remember the lights coming up early. They interrupted during the scene where Shelly, in his dime store fright mask, was sneaking up behind Andy.
Now, I know some of you have seen this film in the theater on re-runs. But think about what it would’ve been like to see it in 1982. The audience was completely oblivious about what we were going to see. We didn’t know what kills were going to blast off the screen, and we didn’t know if the 3-D effects were going to be awful. We also didn’t know what scenes to react to. Now, fans know to hoot-and-holler at certain parts in the film, but to see it without any prior knowledge was a downright blast.
I can remember the certain 3-D scenes that brought the audience alive:
The opening credits, with its groovy disco theme, brought someone in the crowd to clap along with the beat. Now, I know that this can take certain people out of a film, when the audience “interrupts”, but this movie had everyone charged up. It was cool to hear the crowd getting into it.
The baseball bat did little to calm the nerves concerning awful effects. This one brought A LOT of groans from the audience. The snake followed suit. That was downright awful, too.
Even though it wasn’t in 3-D, the late Steve Susskind’s Harold on the crapper brought a lot of “eeewwwsss!!!” and “He didn’t wipe his ass!” comments. It still makes you wonder if there’s a toilet paper shortage at Crystal Lake.
The passing of the joint brought the crowd into an uproar. There were plenty of laughs and comments from the stoners in-attendance (including yours 80s truly).
Vera being brought down by the spear-gun brought a lot of scared yells. It didn’t scare me, but I had a good time with it. Even to this day, I consider it one of F13’s best kills. The way that Jason simply drops the weapon showed what kind of killing machine we were dealing with.
Another scene that wasn’t in 3-D was Chuck’s death. When he turned on the lights, revealing the Sultan behind him, it brought a lot of jump scare to the audience.
Andy’s demise was a downright hoot. The audience screamed as Jason brought down that machete. And when Andy’s corpse fell from the screen, well… It was a testament to these films actually being scary in the early 80s. There was a rush when you heard nervous laughter.
And, of course, we had Rick’s death. This one simply brought down the house. When his eyeball veered off the screen, there were plenty of yells. Though the F/X is completely drained on the VHS/DVD releases, it was one helluva experience in the theater. Talk about being caught off-guard to a kill!
There needs to be some talk regarding Rick’s kill. As I’ve mentioned in the original F13’s Opening Fright’s installment, there was plenty of talk regarding Kevin Bacon’s demise. However, I’d say there was more talk surrounding Rick’s death. As I’ll mention later, this kill truly cemented itself in Jason’s lexicon. Having seen all the movies in the theater, with every one of them having their BIG KILL, I don’t believe I’ve heard any talk that would surpass Rick’s outing.
The final chase regarding Chris brought the audience alive, too. There were shouts when the van ran out of gas on the bridge and plenty of screams when Jason emerged in the window. There were also a few yelps when Jason came alive in the noose.
And what about the scene where Chris fell from the rafters? This definitely brought a lot of cat-calls as her crotch fell from the screen.
Jason, with his noggin split open, grabbing at Chris, also brought screams from the crowd. It’s always cool to hear female yelps in a horror film!
I’ll also admit that I stole my F13 glasses. These were the ones branded with the F13 logo. There was no way in hell I was going to let a piece of memorabilia like this escape me!
I ended up seeing this one 3 times in the theater. Twice I caught it by myself, and the other time with my wife. She reacted much to the scenes like I’ve already described.
Now, how exactly BIG was this film in 1982?
Some time during the summer, my television went on the blink. If I remember correctly, my cable was crapping out. So, I had to call a repairman. While he was there, fiddling about with the wires behind my set, a preview of F13 Part 3 crossed the screen. For a second, the repairman stopped and stared at it. Then, with a face-splitting grin, he turned to me and shook his head.
“Have you seen that thing?” he asked. “There’s a scene in there where a guy’s eyeball gets popped out!”
F13 had even taken a television repairman by storm. Jason was leaving victims everywhere in the summer of 1982.
Now, there was also the time that the film first hit cable/VHS. This would also leave the fans wondering how bad the effects would play in 2-D.
Unfortunately, our worst fears came to pass.
The effects didn’t look that good on home-viewing. Once you’ve seen this film in 3-D, there’s really no turning back. Even Rick’s eyeball, which the fans loved, looked corny. Talk about a long sigh.
And where was the “We Don’t Accept Food Stamps!” girl? It would take nearly 20 years before she’d pop back up on DVD. There was many times that I’ve heard younger fans say that they didn’t even know you could see her on-screen. I’ve often felt bad for fans that haven’t had the experience of seeing this one properly in 3-D.
Fortunately, I now own two different versions of this in 3-D. Sure, I get a migraine whenever I watch them, but it’s nice to have them ready whenever I might want to revisit 3-D Crystal Lake. Do I suggest tracking them down? No, not really. Like I’ve mentioned, it’s headache-inducing to watch this one at home in 3-D.
At the theater, though, there was nothing like it.
The taglines screamed “…there’s nowhere to hide! We dare you to try!” But nobody wanted to hide. We wanted Jason.
Now, as the audience filed out, there was talk that Jason was truly dead. Most people seemed to believe that the Sultan succumbed to Chris’s axe blow, while others discussed the possibility of 13 installments to the series. This was the first time that I’d ever heard the rumor of 13 films. Did the 1982 Mr. Palmer believe it? No, not really.
Especially not when the next film was subtitled The Final Chapter...
Written by Trever Palmer
A new dimension in terror…
From the crop of 3-D films (Jaws 3, Amityville 3, etc) that reared their heads in the early 80s, there’s no doubt that Friday The 13th Part 3 was the best of the lot. Packed with more scares and excitement than the aforementioned films, this was one helluva juggernaut when it was released.
When the trailer was first released, both in the theater and on television, talk immediately started about it being in 3-D. Exactly what effects were we going to see? How was Jason going to appear in the third dimension?
It didn’t take us long to find out…
On opening night, the theater was packed. There was a lot of buzz in the lobby. There’s simply no way to describe the vibes that were emanating from the film being in 3-D.
Now, there was one heck of a long line snaking away from the box-office. I’d like to say that I was first in-line, but nope. I was about midway down through the crowd. In front of me there was a young teenage couple groping each other, while behind me were two older guys talking about Part 2. It would appear that neither of them really liked it. There was mention of Mark’s wheelchair kill, but even that was rather deflated. Now, you have to remember the impact of the original film and the MPAA’s slaughter of the first sequel. Some fans were expecting this to be another rather bloodless affair. Just to spite these two guys, I pulled the old “looking at the sky” gag. Sure enough, both of them looked up to see what I was staring at. That one is always good for a laugh.
So, here I was. I had long hair, wearing a Molly Hatchet t-shirt and a chain-wallet hanging out of my back pocket. In the lobby, I bought myself my usual Raisinets and Goobers. I also killed a bit of time playing Galaga. It’s always been my favorite video game, and I’d never imagine that twenty odd years later I’d actually own one of the machines.
Well, enough that. Do you have your candy? Do you have a bucket of popcorn, maybe, to throw into the air when you get a jump scare? Good. Let’s go find ourselves some seats and get ready for the show.
Before the movie starts, though, we have to slip on those 3-D glasses. Thankfully, I had no problem with mine. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for two black guys sitting in front of me. These guys bitched-and-moaned about their crappy glasses, fiddling and putting them on their head in all crazy fashions, until it was nearly time for the movie to start. Finally, in a last ditch effort, they put toilet paper into the sides of the glasses so that they’d stay on their head. I have to admit that it was comical watching them work.
Wait! Here we go! The lights are going down!
It was one of those evenings where the usher had to come out and tell everyone to move over one more seat to let the people in the aisles sit down. Unfortunately, I can remember the lights coming up early. They interrupted during the scene where Shelly, in his dime store fright mask, was sneaking up behind Andy.
Now, I know some of you have seen this film in the theater on re-runs. But think about what it would’ve been like to see it in 1982. The audience was completely oblivious about what we were going to see. We didn’t know what kills were going to blast off the screen, and we didn’t know if the 3-D effects were going to be awful. We also didn’t know what scenes to react to. Now, fans know to hoot-and-holler at certain parts in the film, but to see it without any prior knowledge was a downright blast.
I can remember the certain 3-D scenes that brought the audience alive:
The opening credits, with its groovy disco theme, brought someone in the crowd to clap along with the beat. Now, I know that this can take certain people out of a film, when the audience “interrupts”, but this movie had everyone charged up. It was cool to hear the crowd getting into it.
The baseball bat did little to calm the nerves concerning awful effects. This one brought A LOT of groans from the audience. The snake followed suit. That was downright awful, too.
Even though it wasn’t in 3-D, the late Steve Susskind’s Harold on the crapper brought a lot of “eeewwwsss!!!” and “He didn’t wipe his ass!” comments. It still makes you wonder if there’s a toilet paper shortage at Crystal Lake.
The passing of the joint brought the crowd into an uproar. There were plenty of laughs and comments from the stoners in-attendance (including yours 80s truly).
Vera being brought down by the spear-gun brought a lot of scared yells. It didn’t scare me, but I had a good time with it. Even to this day, I consider it one of F13’s best kills. The way that Jason simply drops the weapon showed what kind of killing machine we were dealing with.
Another scene that wasn’t in 3-D was Chuck’s death. When he turned on the lights, revealing the Sultan behind him, it brought a lot of jump scare to the audience.
Andy’s demise was a downright hoot. The audience screamed as Jason brought down that machete. And when Andy’s corpse fell from the screen, well… It was a testament to these films actually being scary in the early 80s. There was a rush when you heard nervous laughter.
And, of course, we had Rick’s death. This one simply brought down the house. When his eyeball veered off the screen, there were plenty of yells. Though the F/X is completely drained on the VHS/DVD releases, it was one helluva experience in the theater. Talk about being caught off-guard to a kill!
There needs to be some talk regarding Rick’s kill. As I’ve mentioned in the original F13’s Opening Fright’s installment, there was plenty of talk regarding Kevin Bacon’s demise. However, I’d say there was more talk surrounding Rick’s death. As I’ll mention later, this kill truly cemented itself in Jason’s lexicon. Having seen all the movies in the theater, with every one of them having their BIG KILL, I don’t believe I’ve heard any talk that would surpass Rick’s outing.
The final chase regarding Chris brought the audience alive, too. There were shouts when the van ran out of gas on the bridge and plenty of screams when Jason emerged in the window. There were also a few yelps when Jason came alive in the noose.
And what about the scene where Chris fell from the rafters? This definitely brought a lot of cat-calls as her crotch fell from the screen.
Jason, with his noggin split open, grabbing at Chris, also brought screams from the crowd. It’s always cool to hear female yelps in a horror film!
I’ll also admit that I stole my F13 glasses. These were the ones branded with the F13 logo. There was no way in hell I was going to let a piece of memorabilia like this escape me!
I ended up seeing this one 3 times in the theater. Twice I caught it by myself, and the other time with my wife. She reacted much to the scenes like I’ve already described.
Now, how exactly BIG was this film in 1982?
Some time during the summer, my television went on the blink. If I remember correctly, my cable was crapping out. So, I had to call a repairman. While he was there, fiddling about with the wires behind my set, a preview of F13 Part 3 crossed the screen. For a second, the repairman stopped and stared at it. Then, with a face-splitting grin, he turned to me and shook his head.
“Have you seen that thing?” he asked. “There’s a scene in there where a guy’s eyeball gets popped out!”
F13 had even taken a television repairman by storm. Jason was leaving victims everywhere in the summer of 1982.
Now, there was also the time that the film first hit cable/VHS. This would also leave the fans wondering how bad the effects would play in 2-D.
Unfortunately, our worst fears came to pass.
The effects didn’t look that good on home-viewing. Once you’ve seen this film in 3-D, there’s really no turning back. Even Rick’s eyeball, which the fans loved, looked corny. Talk about a long sigh.
And where was the “We Don’t Accept Food Stamps!” girl? It would take nearly 20 years before she’d pop back up on DVD. There was many times that I’ve heard younger fans say that they didn’t even know you could see her on-screen. I’ve often felt bad for fans that haven’t had the experience of seeing this one properly in 3-D.
Fortunately, I now own two different versions of this in 3-D. Sure, I get a migraine whenever I watch them, but it’s nice to have them ready whenever I might want to revisit 3-D Crystal Lake. Do I suggest tracking them down? No, not really. Like I’ve mentioned, it’s headache-inducing to watch this one at home in 3-D.
At the theater, though, there was nothing like it.
The taglines screamed “…there’s nowhere to hide! We dare you to try!” But nobody wanted to hide. We wanted Jason.
Now, as the audience filed out, there was talk that Jason was truly dead. Most people seemed to believe that the Sultan succumbed to Chris’s axe blow, while others discussed the possibility of 13 installments to the series. This was the first time that I’d ever heard the rumor of 13 films. Did the 1982 Mr. Palmer believe it? No, not really.
Especially not when the next film was subtitled The Final Chapter...
Written by Trever Palmer
The author does not allow comments to this entry
No comments