10 Movies That Saved Their Respective Franchises

In 1984, Frank Mancuso Jr. had grown weary of producing Friday the 13th films as they were critically lambasted and seen as low-brow entertainment. This led to the release of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, which intended to bring the series to a proper conclusion.

The film features the return of famed make-up artist Tom Savini, who came back to kill off Jason. Because of this, we get more grisly deaths and a Voorhees redesign that harkens back to his initial appearance in the original film.

At the same time, The Final Chapter sets itself apart from previous entries by featuring memorable characters. A pre-Back to the Future Crispin Glover shines as Jimmy, a hapless virgin with some killer dance moves. Rob Dier is a man seeking vengeance for his sister's death, which humanizes Jason's victims. Finally, Corey Feldman plays Tommy Jarvis, an aspiring make-up artist who manages to deliver the killing blow on Jason. The Tommy character would be popular enough to return in the next two entries and serves as Voorhees' arch-nemesis.

Ironically, the success of The Final Chapter meant that it could never deliver on its title. This led to Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning a year later, with the series continuing for a further five films, a crossover with Freddy Krueger, and then a 2009 reboot.