Review: Friday The 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary

Friday The 13th Part 3 holds a very special place in the hearts of many fans of the franchise due to the introduction of numerous memorable characters, the hockey mask, innovative 3-D, and of course, that tasty intro disco theme. In the past ten years, we have been treated to the most comprehensive behind the scenes information about the films in the Friday The 13th franchise imaginable and we as fans have learned more about how these movies were made than we ever dreamed would be possible.

Thanks to the book and documentary Crystal Lake Memories, our insight into Crystal Lake and the murderous Voorhees family has solidified our fandom, but could that be taken further? With the sudden loss of Jason Voorhees actor Richard Brooker in 2013, Executive Producer Sean Richards decided to make a documentary discussing the making of Friday The 13th Part 3 as told by a number of the actors that helped make the film while also paying tribute in memoriam to the first Jason actor to don the infamous goalie mask.

Throughout Friday The 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary, Part 3 alumni Paul Kratka (Rick) narrates as the actors reminisce about their time during the production of the film, working with Richard Brooker, and the troubles that were encountered while shooting the highly ambitious 3-D scenes. There is a wonderful tribute in the middle of the documentary to the late Richard Brooker where relatives and friends discuss their experiences with the larger than life man and how his friendship and hard work left a lasting impression on them.

There is a lot of information about the production of Part 3 that has been covered in past documentaries and publications, but for newer fans of the franchise, The Memoriam Documentary delivers a nice concise account of what it was like to be a part of the second Friday The 13th sequel. Perhaps the most interesting portion of the thirty seven minute documentary deals with the unfortunate fire that burned down the Higgins house at the Valuzet Movie Ranch filming location in 2006.

One of the admins of the old Friday The 13th forums is interviewed about how one of the people responsible for the fire posted a picture of the burning house along with information on how it happened in the old forum and how eventually the authorities were contacted. This is a great account of a tragic date for historians of the Friday The 13th films.

As a whole, the documentary is a great addition to a fan's library of reference material and it comes highly recommended, especially to those newer fans who may not have read through all of the reference books or watched previous documentaries extensively. The last few minutes that close the memoriam film involves a "what if" scenario with Jason and some victims that is a fun watch, but really doesn't add anything of merit to the subject matter of the documentary. There are some slick visuals during the chase scenes and the cinematography makes for a great demo reel for later work.

Friday The 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary will make it's World Premiere in Los Angeles, CA at Laemmle's Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre on the 13th of October 2017! Home video distribution is being worked on now and the filmmakers will have more information about that in the coming months. For more information about the film, please visit their Facebook Page.