Still to this day, the entry with the creepiest looking Jason.

_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

***Somewhat fun and entertaining, but adds campiness and bad writing***

The first two films from 1980-1981 are serious in nature with the expected antics of youths at a remote camp, but the franchise introduced a campy element with this third installment, which pretty much plagued the rest of the series until the reboot in 2009. Not that I'm complaining much, as these films are only quasi-believable anyway.

Still, this is the main detriment of "Part III,” released in 1982. The opening credits song tips the viewer off that this isn't a wholly serious horror film (like the first two), which is compounded when a couple of the protagonists meet some sinister bikers at a convenience store in the boonies, which takes place about 25 minutes into the story. These hoodlums are too cartoonish to take serious and so it's hard to take the horror seriously either. This doesn't mean it's not entertaining in some ways, just that it's my least favorite installment.

The dubious writing doesn’t help. For instance, why does Fox go into the barn? Speaking of that dang barn, why on earth are so many characters preoccupied with it? It’s like the writer wanted to come up with any possible excuse to use the barn as a focal point. Also, why does Vera leave Shelly to go outside and hangout by herself? I realize she probably wanted to get away from the pathetic guy, but she informs him that she’s going to go outside with a sense of purpose and come back in, but she really doesn’t do much outside. Sequences like this reflect lame writing.

Another noticeable difference between Part III and the two previous films is that, although the story takes place in the area of Crystal Lake, the film was shot in Southern Cal instead of the East Coast, specifically Santa Clarita, CA, and nearby Melody Ranch (where the barn is located). The geography is obviously dryer and the contrast in setting is too glaring. While it could be argued that the different environment provides a nice change of tone, the setting seems too one-dimensional.

As usual with the series, the film thankfully features a nice assortment of females: three white girls, a Hispanic and a black woman, the latter being the biker chick, Fox. It's hard to pick a favorite, but the main protagonist, Chris, played by Dana Kimmell, is probably it, followed by the stoner chick, Chili; not to mention Debbie and Vera (Debbie has a quality bikini scene).

BOTTOM LINE: Part III is entertaining in some ways and is notable for switching the filming locations to dry Southern California, not to mention Jason is bigger and more imposing than in Part II and he finally acquires his iconic hockey mask. Yet it’s my least favorite of the franchise due to the goofy elements, the subpar writing and the limited setting with too much focus on a freakin’ barn.

The film runs 95 minutes.

GRADE: C

Decided to get in one more Friday the 13th movie and this one reminded me why it's not high on my list in the series, though I liked portions of it, just nothing involving Shelly and watching it in 2D, the shots made for 3D are pretty annoying. I will say, I did like the lead actress and I'm a fan of the hockey mask Jason. **3.0/5**

If you want to watch a bad movie, watch this with some 3D glasses on.

If you want to watch an atrociously awful movie that will actually make you laugh, watch this without the 3D glasses. It's awful. By this time, I'm actually rooting for Jason to kill everyone. Heck, kill ME; anything to stop me from watching this putrefaction. Awful, awful, awful, awful... As others have mentioned, however, this was where we got the iconic Jason with the hockey mask, but that's about the ONLY good thing that can be said about this. As with the original F13 and its first sequel, I can't even say about this one, _"It's a bit dated by today's standards, but it's still worth watching..."_ It isn't. Pure and simple, this - or ANY of these - just isn't worth wasting your time over. 30 years ago, they might have been a bit frightening; now, however, they're just awful. Terrible. Horrible dialogue, horrible acting, horrible direction... And the 3D stuff: if you watch this with 3D glasses on, it might actually be kind of cool; if, however, you're like me and you try to watch this without the benefit of 3D glasses, you can easily see just how much they tried to push the 3D effects throughout. Too many kills (and many other scenes) that were made specifically with 3-dimensional effects in mind, making it extremely annoying (and, in some cases, downright funny) to watch in 2D.

The only recommendation I can give anyone concerning this is, _"I recommend you don't waste your time. It sucks. They ALL sucked. Don't waste your time watching any of these because you'll wind up regretting that hour and a half you just lost."_ Trust me, they just get worse, and they weren't good to begin with. Don't bother.