Another fun sequel, with some memorable characters and scenes. Although with more cliches and dumb scenes than movies before, a bit repetitive too, but still entertaining enough. I would rate it higher if the ending wasn't so weak.

This routine instalment in the saga has its fair share of shocks, suspense and gory deaths, but the impact is lessened here by the BBFC's decision to butcher just about every death in the film. Instead of some true in-your-face blood and guts to enjoy, the death scenes are all brief and very obviously cut. This ruins the overall nature of the film, as without the gore there's not much point in it - it's like watching THE SOUND OF MUSIC with all the dancing cut out.

So, aside from the brief glimpses of gore we're allowed to see, what is there to recommend this film? The acting is of the same standard as the previous entries in this film, so the less said about it the better. Some mild amusement comes from watching Crispin Glover practice some "crazy" dance moves and make a fool of himself, and the introduction of Corey Feldman is at least a new addition to the formula.

On the plus side, there's a creepy freeze-frame ending and a wonderfully hideous Jason visage when the unmasking occurs at the end. Somehow the producers also managed to coax Tom Savini back into the series, convincing him that this was indeed the final film (yeah, right) so the gore looks more realistic than before. This would have been a good place to end the series; but it somehow made money, and the rest is history...

Recap:

I've recently had the joy of watching an uncut, high definition print of this film and I enjoyed it considerably more than I did 20-odd years ago. It looks great, and the template is essentially one suspense set-piece after the next; I found this less repetitive and more involving than something more modern and torture-porn focused. Finally, Savini's gore effects are notably imaginative and realistic, particularly that incredible ending. THE FINAL CHAPTER has now jumped to being my second favourite in the series; amazing what can happen without BBFC interference.

Following the events of Part III, Jason Voorhees is thought to be dead and brought to the hospital morgue. There he resurrects and starts killing all over again. He returns to find another group of young partying kids. Next to the kids live a family with little boy Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman). The other future star Crispin Glover plays one of the college kids.

Despite having a small budget, the production value is probably the highest of the franchise to that date. It helps to have better actors around. Corey Feldman was actually great. In a world of throwaway victims, he needed to be bigger and he was.

The story is still the same. College kids come to party. Jason comes to kill them. It's not anything unexpected. The shower scene is especially good comparable to the greatest shower scene ever from Psycho. However it's still Friday the 13th with the weak dialog, and predictable story.