Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Year: 1984
Director: Joseph Zito
Writer: Victor Miller, Ron Kurz
Genre: Horror: Slasher

I'll readily admit that I don't know much about the Friday the 13th world. As such, I can't offer up any explanation as to why this film (the 4th in the series) is called The Final Chapter. I highly doubt that they were hurting for money at the time the movie was put together, so why even give it such a name? Perhaps it was the last piece intended to be put together by the old crew? I'll look into it sometime...

I'm glad that this film exists because it turns out it's my favorite of them all so far. What makes it so different is that there seems to be more focus than ever on the story. There are some college kids heading out to have a blast in some cabin, yes, but they're not the only people in the story. There happens to be a family nearby and a camper who is also in the area. With these stories (equally as important) alongside the youthful travelers it helps make a much neater experience.

It's the attention paid to making the characters all real and likable in some way that helped the movie immensely. Because I cared and could recall who each character was it made their deaths all the more troubling. There were a few deaths that confused me because they never really had a "pay off" scene. Although, now that I think about it, it was probably due to the nature of these characters that it might have been viewed as upsetting to give them a fleshed out death scene.

Strangely, this also ended up being the first Friday the 13th film that made me nervous. I wasn't completely scared but it was all shot in ways that helped amp up the tension. For once I was actually hoping characters wouldn't die and was screaming internally for characters to just run or do anything to save themselves. It was great fun, a bit scary, and overall a good movie. Now I can only hope that there are a few more gems in the Friday the 13th series before all the goofy stuff happened.

Eyes of a Stranger

Year: 1981
Director: Ken Weiderhorn
Writer: Eric L. Bloom, Ron Kurz
Genre: Horror: Slasher

Eyes of a Stranger is one of those films that came out during the slasher craze but still managed to be something better than a simple body count flick. The story focuses around a woman and her sister who are living together... The local news is rife with stories of women getting sexually assaulted and then murdered. This would be scary enough for anyone living in the area, but it hits the main character especially hard as her sister was left blind and deaf after a similar attack.

Although this is easily considered a slasher the film doesn't focus on the ephemeral killer. Yes, there are some grisly kills in it (thanks to Tom Savini) but the main brunt of the film is much more focused on the struggle of the lead to find the killer. She doesn't want him around anymore and can't stand what he is doing to other women, in part because it is reminiscent of her sister's horrible experience.

When it comes right down to it, if it weren't for the fancy kills it would be a much more highbrow drama. I don't mean that as a slight against the film. What I'm saying is that if they were removed than snobbish film types would probably be really into this movie. It almost feels like something from Brian De Palma and is a great story. The lead character in particular really jived with me. I loved seeing her so driven to stop the evil she saw in her life.

If you're a slasher fan then maybe Eyes of a Stranger may feel a bit foreign, but it is a great movie all the same. It doesn't follow the same predictable patterns or focus on teens but that's hardly an issue here. I totally recommend the movie and if you're looking for more underrated slashers you should also check out The House on Sorority Row.