Despite being bankable and iconic, there was a time, when all things had to come to an end. You want to take your profits or talents and migrate into something new. In 1984, The Big Wigs saw the fourth film as the perfect time to offer the ultimate conclusion of young Jason’s killing saga amongst the land of Crystal Lake, Friday the 13th The Final Chapter.

After being mistaken for dead, after the events of Higgins Haven, Jason’s corpse is deposited to probably one of the worst manned hospitals in New Jersey. It is here Jason breaks out, determined to continue his campaign of killings amongst the sounding Crystal Lake area. Meanwhile, a couple of teens looking to literally let loose rent a property over the weekend, right next to The Jarvis family, with single mother Trish, and son Tommy Jarvis. As both of these households soon will have to deal with the lingering threat of Jason, will they be able to survive, before and after Jason’s final chapter?

As alluded to previously, Jason has pretty much settled on his look, for what is supposed to be his final outing. If the franchise ended here, it would be a shame, as the franchise has become adept in bringing in some interesting characters. Whizz-kid, Tommy Jarvis, is a fine addition; we have yet to see Jason face off against someone so young, as he was. Tommy likes tech, and horror masks, and feels like a fun alternative to the other batch of final girls that went up against Jason. Although this is possibly a reflection on the talents of Corey Feldman. Outside the Jarvis clan, Crispin Glover does steal the show in a couple of scenes as one of the victims, and the aforementioned doctors at the morgue almost take their incompetence to comical areas. 

The intro sequence leans heavily into the first two chapters, with a brief recap of the third, reflecting on how far the series has come. While the series has pretty much settled into the standard template for the franchise, the partying teens do fall into the standard slasher mould in their exploits. In its supposed conclusion, The Final Chapter spares no expense. Stretching the action to two properties does allow for some classic home-intruding carnage, and increasing the body count also does aid in Jason going out with more than a bang. You’ll get exactly what you will expect from this, and then some.

While it was dubbed The Final Chapter, I’m glad it didn’t stay that way. The allure of the box office proved too irresistible to not carry on. On its own, The Final Chapter shows that the crafted legacy could continue, through the mental scars of Tommy Jarvis, and we haven’t seen the last of him. Jason has a big banquet of improvised kills to go out on, and despite being a latecomer to the slasher craze, he knows how to help define it. As a final farewell to the franchise, Jason more than demonstrates that he isn’t finished just yet. 

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