Friday the 13th Movies: Ranked Worst to Best

6. Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984)

Paramount Pictures

I actually hate Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter with every fiber of my being, but still I can't rank it any worse than #6 on my list. It does have its good moments.

The main contribution of The Final Chapter is the introduction of Tommy Jarvis, who not only features prominently in the next two episodes of the series, but is also indirectly responsible for the title of Part VII. It seems pretty obvious that Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood's title was chosen to make a break from the Tommy character so as to move on to a new batch of protagonists. It was a good move.

First, let's talk about what I hated. I hated Corey Feldman in this film. His character was annoying. His stupid stunt of splotchily shaving his head to resemble a young Jason and thereby distract Jason enough to allow his death is just freaking ridiculous. I realise Jason was not yet immortal in the eyes of the writers, but it's still ridiculous. I also hated how they had Tommy stare psychotically at the camera as the movie ends. This is such an amateurish trick in horror movies and often infuriates the heck out of me.

Which brings me to my next issue with this film - the title. The Final Chapter? How dare they try to finish off Jason!! Very short-sighted, especially with Tommy looking like a psycho at the end of the film. I have other problems with this film, but that's enough for now. I hate to say too many bad things about a Friday the 13th movie.

Now for the good stuff from this chapter of F13. The death scenes in this film weren't too bad. Jason finally starts to come into his own with this movie, but he's not the perfect killing machine just yet. Still, we can see much of what he will become in Part VI. And finally, we get some good guest appearances from Crispin Glover, Lawrence Monoson (Last American Virgin), prolific character actor Kimberly Beck, and Wayne Grace (who's made several Star Trek appearances).

Contributor

Tim is a varied character. He's lived on three continents. He hates ice cream. He has been a highly-paid computer programmer. He invents collectible card games. He is a coffee shop owner. He has had fantasy stories published in magazines. Eventually he wishes to retire from life and become a professional 10-pin bowler who writes articles while living in his RV and traveling from bowling tournament to bowling tournament with his faithful wife in tow. And of course, Tim is a major horror and science fiction fan.