The Final Chapter is the 1984 entry in the Friday the 13th series. It was directed by Joseph Zito and starred Kimberly Beck, Corey Feldman, Crispin Glover, Judie Aronson, and E. Erich Anderson. The film picks up immediately after the events of Part III, with a seemingly dead Jason being taken to the morgue. Of course, he is not dead; he escapes and returns to Crystal Lake, where a new group of teenagers has rented a house next to a family living on the lake. From there, the usual shenanigans ensue. It was originally intended to be the final movie in the series, but that clearly did not end up being the case.
As with the other films, there are several different releases of this one. I have the Shout! factory version, which is a single-disc release. The extras on that one include two commentary tracks: one by Zito, screenwriter Barney Cohen, and editor Joel Goodman. The other is a fan commentary by Adam Green and Joe Lynch. There are also deleted scenes, a retrospective on the film filmed for the 25th Anniversary, the alternate ending, the trailer, and a stills gallery.
Like the other films in the series, you know what you get. It is a low-budget film with relatively unknown actors (at least at the time). One thing it has going for it is that it was not a carbon copy of the first movie, as the first three films were. The acting and writing were still pretty bad, which is unfortunate given that it had the potential to have a much stronger story. If they had focused the story on the brother of one of Jason's victims hunting Jason, the plot would have been a lot stronger. The film definitely earns its R-rating, as there is a lot of violence and swearing, and some sexual content and nudity. Ultimately, for a low-budget horror film, it is okay. If you like the genre and the series, it is worth watching.
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