Killing the sad fat guy and the pregnant lady: uncomfortable death in Friday the 13th Part III - 3D
Clayton, Wickham (2020) Killing the sad fat guy and the pregnant lady: uncomfortable death in Friday the 13th Part III - 3D. Horror Homeroom, 1 (1). pp. 71-79.
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Likened to a ‘roller coaster’ by the director of Friday the 13th (1980), Sean S. Cunningham (Wood 2015), the first two films in the franchise minimised character back-story and heightened the spectacle of death sequences to reinforce this experience of ‘thrill’. However, with Friday the 13th: Part 3 – 3D (1982), the spectacle was intensified through the introduction of 3D cinematography while characters were developed more extensively, altering the balance of this experience. As a result, Part 3 becomes the first film in the series to read as truly tragic, something that has been identified in later films, including Part V (1985).
This mini-essay will look at the characterisations and deaths of Shelley, the misfit friend with self-image issues who is overtly (and understandably) rejected by his blind date, and Debbie, a young woman who the film establishes as pregnant. Both of these characters derive from archetypes established in the first two films but with more defined characteristics. Therefore, Part 3 acts as a film that significantly alters the trajectory of storytelling in the Friday the 13th series.
Works cited:
Wood, Jennifer M. (2015) ‘The Hard Truths of Making Horror Movies, from the Creator of Friday the 13th: Sean S. Cunningham on the do’s and don’ts of keeping a slashing murderer alive’, in Esquire.com, October 31. Online at: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/g2493/friday-the-13th-creator-making-of-horror-movies/ (Accessed 18/12/2019)
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