SentraWagon1982's Reviews

Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)

Not one of the best installments but worth being a part of the series

28 August 2001

Warning: Spoilers

*This contains spoilers*

Friday the 13th part 3 was filmed in Saugus, California and came out in 1982. The traditional 'Jason' hockey mask was introduced for this sequel. The movie picks up pretty much where the second installment leaves off. The lady with curlers in her hair is watching the news about what just happened at Camp Crystal Lake, which was the second sequel. The news clipping that is shown on the TV is actually part of the end of Friday the 13th part 2. The day after she was murdered by Jason, there are a group of people going to Camp Crystal Lake for a weekend. It is not mentioned whether they are counselors or not, so it is understood that they are just there to camp out in the cabins.

The lake where the movie was filmed was obviously different from the ones in the original movies, probably because it was filmed on a movie ranch. Even though the lakes in the first two were different, at least they looked to be the same. The acting was rather poor. In the beginning where the man is in the store eating the food and sees the snake, the wire that makes the snake move is visible. Later on in the movie, Jason tries to crush Rick's head and when he does that, his eye pops out, which looked really cheesy. A few of the scenes were poorly reproduced from the original Friday the 13th movie, especially at the end when the last survivor climbs into the canoe and drifts on the lake. Jason's mother pops out of the lake half decomposed and pulls her into the water. Immediately after that happens, she awakens. Other murder scenes seemed very fake, such as when the girl was shot in the eye with a dart gun by Jason, there was an obvious difference between her real face and the makeup job.

Don't expect this movie to be as good as the first two Friday the 13th movies, but at least it's worth watching. There are still good murder scenes; especially the way Andy is killed, there are no other murder scenes quite like it in any of the other Friday the 13th sequels.

Movie rating: 6 out of 10

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Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

A better than average sequel which introduces the famous killer, 'Jason'; however, his hockey mask is not introduced until the next sequel.

28 August 2001

Warning: Spoilers

*This contains spoilers*

Friday the 13th part 2 is a good sequel which picks up right where the original Friday the 13th movie leaves off. Other than crazy Ralph, Alice (Adrienne King), who was the only survivor from the original movie, is trying to put her life back together from that night where all of the other counselors was killed. That night the only way to survive was to kill Mrs. Voorhees, and she did this by chopping off her head at Camp Crystal Lake. That night, Jason supposedly witnessed his mother being killed by Alice, and that is when he decided to take his revenge out on any other counselor who ever wanted to open the camp again. How Jason could have witnessed his mother being killed remains a mystery, because supposedly he drowned in Camp Crystal Lake in 1957.

In this sequel, Alice is Jason's first victim. He goes to her house, plants a head in her refrigerator, when she opens the door and screams, he stabs her in the head. Jason then makes his way to Camp Crystal Lake to finish off the other counselors who want to reopen the camp. The unsuspecting counselors tell stories of what happened there at Camp Crystal Lake when all of the murders took place, but still believe that Jason is only a legend.

Overall, this is a good sequel. Though it was filmed in Kent, Connecticut, the lake and forestry scenery appear to look very much like it did in the original Friday the 13th that was filmed in Blairstown, New Jersey. The acting was terrific and many scenes toward the end were very dramatic. Of coarse, there was the famous horror movie thunderstorm during the climax which added a creepy touch. If you liked the original Friday the 13th, this is a must see sequel.

Movie rating: 8 out of 10

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Buried Alive II (1997 TV Movie)

This is a fairly decent sequel, however, it's predecessor was far better.

16 August 2001

Warning: Spoilers

*This contains spoilers*

Buried Alive II is a half way decent sequel, but nothing close to saying it's a fantastic movie. What makes it a half way decent sequel is the fact that it picks up where the first one leaves off. Laura (Ally Sheedy) and Randy (Stephen Caffrey) have just inherited a large sum of money from the sheriff, Sam, from the original movie who had just passed away. Randy wanted to buy a new boat with the money and Laura didn't want to waste the whole inheritance on it. While at the same time, Randy was seeing Tracy (Tracy Needham). They come up with a plot to murder Laura by poisoning her with fish toxon. Randy would then be able to get his hands on Laura's money so that he would be able to buy the boat he wanted. Randy follows up with his plans and poisons Laura in a restaurant. Laura, of coarse, does not die, and after she wakes up from her coma, she takes her revenge out on Randy and Tracy.

Though this is a decent sequel, it left a lot to be desired. In general, the acting by Clint and Laura was very well done; however, the acting by Randy and Tracy seemed very stale. In the first place, poisoning somebody in public doesn't seem like a very well thought out plot by the writers. They also could have found another way to prevent Laura from being embalmed instead of showing the fluid injection system going haywire, which seemed cheesy and fake. The scenes with Randy and Tracy at the end were rather funny. While Laura was sinking the boat Randy and Tracy was on, Randy says to Tracy "What would you like me to do, call 911?". Overall, this movie is worth seeing, but don't expect anything spectacular.

Movie rating: 6 out of 10

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Buried Alive (1990 TV Movie)

What people won't do for one and a half million dollars...

16 August 2001

Warning: Spoilers

*This contains spoilers*

This is one truly great suspense movie. Basically, the story surrounds a couple, Joanna (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and Clint (Tim Matheson) who have moved to the country to start a new life away from the city. Joanna begins expecting a child and sees a doctor, Courtland, who is only interested in scamming Joanna out of the whole fortune Clint's carpentry business is worth. Joanna is not happy being with Clint in the country and wants out of her life. Courtland tells Joanna that he plans to build a clinic in Beverly Hills and says "this is a cash machine just waiting for us to plug into it". The only way to get the money was with Clint's business. Being a doctor, he devises a plan with Joanna to kill Clint by poisoning him so Joanna could sell his business and get the million and a half dollar fortune. Courtland's plan was almost fool-proof, except for one thing; Joanna's dead husband, only, he wasn't dead. Clint couldn't have thought up a better plan to take revenge out on his wife and the doctor.

This movie is definitely worth seeing. The ending is unlike anything anybody could have ever expected. The plot is basic and straight forward, with a spectacular performance played by the actors, and a brilliantly written script. This movie is a good example of how greed can completely poison somebody's mind and ruin the lives of other people. Joanna and Courtland definitely deserved the torment they received by Clint's revenge for trying to kill him and ruining his life forever after. Another great movie which is similar to this is "Mortal Thoughts" (1990).

Movie rating: 10 out of 10

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Friday the 13th (1980)

The movie that started the slasher era and a stepping stone to many great sequels to follow.

9 August 2001

Warning: Spoilers

*This may contain spoilers*

Friday the 13th came out in 1980 and was filmed in Blairstown, New Jersey. This movie truly marked the beginning of the slasher movie era. The story all started in 1957 when a boy named Jason Voorhees drowned in Camp Crystal Lake because the camp counselors neglected to keep an eye on him. Many years later his mother, Pamela Voorhees, took her revenge on her son's death out on camp counselors that were trying to reopen the camp after many years of being shut down. Throughout the majority of the movie, the killer is not identified. The killer's appearance, being cloths worn and size, gives the viewer the impression that the killer is a man, until the end where it is exposed being Jason's mother while trying to kill Alice (Adrienne King).

The cast and acting was fantastic. The murder scenes seemed very realistic which gave the movie a lot of character. The plot is basic and straight forward. Who could have asked for a better setting? There was the woods, the lake, and the camp counselors trying to save themselves from the killer. Also, there is the all time famous horror movie thunderstorm during the lead to the climax. Most Friday the 13th sequels have a thunderstorm brewing at some point during the movie. Friday the 13th: part 1 was by far one of the best of all the proceeding sequels to follow with it's cast, script, setting, and plot.

Movie rating: 9 out of 10.

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The Hollywood Knights (1980)

A movie with a rather stale plot, but still not too bad.

30 July 2001

This movie has a drive in type setting with teenagers, fast cars, and good times. It is very similar to "American Graffiti". If you are sensitive to obscene language and behavior, I strongly recommend that you don't see this movie. The plot is rather stale. Basically, it's about Tubby's Drive In (the Knights' favorite hangout) that is about to be closed down and the Knights want one last night out to play tricks, drag race, and cause trouble. The police try desperately to stop the chaos but always seem to be outsmarted or outrun by the Knights. Overall I'd rate this movie fair to good, no more than that.

I never knew this movie existed until the day I went to the Star Drive In for one of the Wednesday night car shows to show my '82 Nissan Sentra wagon that I had partially restored and I met up with the current owner (whom I've known by sight for a few years) of the orange Chevrolet sedan delivery that was used in the movie by the gang leader of "The Hollywood Knights", which can be seen right on the box cover of this movie. He had it for show there along with my car and he told me that this car was in the movie "The Hollywood Knights". I told him that I have never seen this movie but I would make it appoint to tape it the next time it came on TV. I thought it was pretty awesome that I was standing right next to and touching something that was in a movie.

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Wheels of Terror (1990 TV Movie)

A good mix of horror, mystery, and suspense...

21 July 2001

Wheels of Terror is one of those movies that has a mixed theme of horror, mystery, and suspense. It is about a 1974 Dodge Charger (it is said by a police officer during the movie about the year of the car, but how he could have known that without seeing it is a mystery) that terrorizes an Arizona community. The grill of the car was customized for the movie to give it a satanic look. There are several clues throughout the movie that tells the viewer that nobody is driving the car, however nobody comes right out and says for sure. There also are no clue on where this car came from or how it became evil.

The main plot surrounds a mother and daughter who have just moved to Arizona from L.A. to be away from the city to start a new life in the country. Most of the main events of the story surround the car stalking young girls, which lead up to the final chase scene between the mother driving the mini bus and the car which kidnapped her daughter. The chase scene lasts a good half hour.

The acting in this movie is rather poor. You will ask yourself "how can anyone be so dumb?" Before the daughter is kidnapped by the car, there was at least two scenes where the car was about six feet away from her and she was completely blind to it. How can you not see a car that is right in front of your face that is about to run you down? The makers of this movie used a bit too much of the slow motion technique during the final chase scene to add more of a dramatic approach to what was actually happening. The movie is actually very good despite what some of the other critics may think, it is definitely worth seeing a few times. The suspense and mystery really make it worth while.

This movie is very similar to the 1977 movie, "The Car". The difference between this movie and "Wheels of Terror" is that "The Car" will run down anybody in it's way and is more ruthless. The movie is more violent than "Wheels of Terror". Another short story similar to "Wheels of Terror" is from one of the segments of the 1983 movie, "Nightmares". The segment is entitled "The Benediction", which is about a satanic driverless truck that terorizes a priest that is traveling across a desert. Unfortunately the segment is less than a half hour long, but is very creepy and suspenseful.

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