Yes, Jason survived that massive head wound from Part 3 (in 3-D!), turning it into nothing more than a trademark split in his mask. Coming off yet another loss to the teenagers he hates so much, Mr. Vorhees now must face his deadliest opponent to date: Corey Feldman! Yes, beloved childhood/teenage star of such grand cinema as THE LOST BOYS, STAND BY ME, VOODOO, and NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LAST RESORT takes a swing at the disgruntled goalie in one of the few highlights of his carreer. Directing chores are handed over to Joey-Jo-Jo Zito (director of Chuck Norris flicks MISSING IN ACTION and INVASION U.S.A.... haha, "Chuck Norris", what a dork!) and starring as everyone's favorite unkillable slasher is Richard Brooker once more, who, much to the delight and laughter of my girl Krissy, was stylin' and profilin' in Part 3 (in 3-D!) with his Dockers and misshapen physique! And let us not forget who else makes his return to the series, none other than Herr Goremeister, Tom Savini, whose violent art made the first FRIDAY THE 13TH fun to watch! Who can forget Kevin Bacon with an arrow in his throat!

As usual, the opening title is a little too action packed for a slasher flick, exploding outward and scaring my dog, who was peacefully enjoying licking himself up to this point in the movie. Our first scene following these fast paced opening credits focuses on the police investigation held after the events of Part 3 (in 3-D!) as our friend Jason is wrapped u pand shipped off to the town morgue. The Wessex County morgue is no match for our man behind the mask though, as the lumbering brute awakens from his apparent coma and hacks down any employees that should get in his way. Meanwhile, a brother/sister/mother trio settle down for a little vacation in their cabin... on Crystal Lake. Next door to them, a group of horny nubile teenagers also make themselves at home, also in a cabin... on Crystal Lake. Okay, I can fathom the victims' reasons for being there in the first and second movies, and maybe even the third, but, seriously, do you think that a small family with no real protection is going to go camping at Crystal Lake when a serial killfest has happened up the road a mere day or two earlier?! The teens I can understand, they're simply stupid and hormonal, but a mother dragging her two precious children along?! Well, these movies were never known for their gripping storytelling... By the way, had you not figured it out at this point without my help, Corey Feldman plays the son.

Of course, along comes Jason, making a quick visit to his mom's grave and killing a fat hippy hitchhiker before heading off to maul his new batch of victims. He takes them all down one-by-one, including a very painful to watch harpoon-to-the-genitals for one male corpse in training. I'm not really too into this repetative formula slasher stuff right now, so I'll say this, plain and simple: Jason impales, stabs, decapitates, chops, corkscrews, tosses, skull crushes, spikes, and stabs some more. A lot of youngsters dies, except for the one whose organs need an eviction notice most of all: Corey Feldman. Yep, Tommy (Feldman) is our hero, going into a blinding rage and machette-ing the large goon Jason to death in an effort to save his sister and avenge his mom. Oh, and because Jason's fingers were twitching. Corey Feldman frightens me...

Well, at least Tommy is the first hero in film history not to fall for the old "the killer's not dead yet" scam. In addition to the film's higher points, the Savini gore shines through as always, soaked in blood and featuring violent mauling and maiming! Storywise, I knew this was going to happen. Sooner or later I would get tired with the "serial killer set loose on naked teens at a summer camp" motif, and here it's happened. Afterwards though, the later creators of the F13 flicks realized that some modifications would have to be made if they planned to keep drawing in the braindead teen slasher viewers. These modifications would include a copycat killer, the ressurection of Jason as a super zombie anti-hero, the addition of a telekinetic girl to the "I killed Jason Vorhees and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" list, a visit to Manhatten, Jason's soul possessing other bodies, and, soon, taking Jason to the cosmos where he can practice his machete hacking on a whole new scale. Some worked, some didn't. Oh well, trial and error.

Oh, and by the way, if any of you out there are still worried about this being Jason's last appearance due to the "Final Chapter" subtitle, despite my previous unveiling of the sequels' plots, first, get out from under your rock and take the plugs out of your ears. Okay, with that done, now learn this valuable lesson: when used in the title of a horror movie, the word "Final" actually translates to common English as "Mid-Point". For example, this is only the 4th installment of, as of this writing, a soon-to-be 10 part series. In addition, PUPPET MASTER 5: THE FINAL CHAPTER has since spawned two more sequels, probably with more on the way. Even the third OMEN movie, subtitled THE FINAL CONFLICT gave way to a fourth movie. Convinced yet? The only real finallity is Death, and since I know where you live, you might as well just accept it.

Sequels: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING; FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES; FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD; FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTEN; JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY

If You Liked This Flick, Check Out: HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS or CAMP BLOOD