When the Internet huddles together to rank all 12 slasher films in the famous Friday the 13th franchise, Steve Miner’s Part 3 typically finds itself rooted to the bottom of the list.
Originally released in 1982, Miner’s widely derided threequel drew the ire of horror fans for its hokey 3D effects, as studio executives scrambled for a way to lure viewers back to Camp Crystal Lake for another round of frivolous teenage fun and gruesome, over-the-top kills.
By that token, Friday the 13th Part 3 delivered in spades – remember the scene in which Jason Voorhees pops out an eyeball? Chills – even if Steve Miner’s follow-up will always be remembered as a derivative continuation of the superior Friday the 13th Part 2.
However that may be, director Kevin R. Phipps has produced a 40-minute documentary designed around Part 3. Aptly titled Friday the 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary, it’s essentially a horror-tinged love letter to Richard Brooker, the late actor who brought Jason to life all those years ago.
Per Bloody Disgusting, Phipps recently outlined his desire to immortalize Richard Brooker and his performance as the masked serial killer, who stalks Camp Crystal Lake in the search for fresh game.
Portraying Jason in Friday the 13th part 3, he was the first individual to don the now-iconic hockey mask. Richard was a terrific human being & a friend to all. In addition, the Higgins Haven cabin used in the film was burned down by some careless vagrants in 2006. These two events sparked us into action to do something with the one of a kind on location video footage we shot from 2003 & 2005.
Treading the same path as fellow documentaries His Name Was Jason and Crystal Lake Memories, the full Friday The 13th Part 3 documentary is perhaps the perfect time capsule honoring Steve Miner’s cult favorite – not to mention the lasting legacy of Richard Brooker.