(1982; movie tie-in novel, based on a screenplay by Martin Kittrosser and Carol Watson)
From the back cover
“He lies in wait. Patiently.
Quietly. Ready to strike. As darkness settles over the forest, the victims
enter his lair. And one by one they die!”
Review
The plot of the third Friday runs thusly: Chris Higgins, survivor of a failed attack by Jason a few years prior─an assault not shown in either of the two previous films─takes seven of her friends to her family cottage (Higgins Haven) near Crystal Lake. Jason, who is not specified by name until late in the book, takes umbrage at this and brutally dispatches those he views as invaders.
The blunt, giddily unhinged
and no-nuance writing is appropriately choppy (given the rapid-style editing of
the Friday movies), with head-hopping between characters (often within
the same paragraph), the death scenes simile-laden, and the characters Friday-stock
(though Avallone gives at least one of the characters a surname, Vera Sanchez). Much of Friday
reads like A solid writer with a short deadline wrote a rough Ed Woodian
slasher movie tie-in novel, with a focus on hyperbolic, darkly humorous
dread and violence, e.g.:
“The hand twisted the cleaver
in a vicious, merciless circle. Harold’s chest exploded in flame and
agony.
“His paunchy body toppled
backwards, crashing to the floor.
“The meat cleaver jutted from
his chest like a tombstone.” (p. 30)
. . .or:
“[Jason’s] mad eyes shone like fiery coals in the gloom of the porch.” (p. 152)
Is Friday worth reading? Yes, if the above passages entertain you. Not only that, the out-of-print Friday is an alternate version of the 1982 film on which it is based─it was written before canon was established within the franchise, and there are noticeable differences between the 1982 book and its source flick.
One of the big differences is Jason laughs, chuckles, howls and screams in the book, something he doesn’t do in the films. In the book, Loco is black, not white. The book also has a different ending, one that negates Jason’s chances of returning, unless he encounters Re-Animator‘s Dr. Herbert West (or somebody like him) or the Friday works that followed were prequels.
There appears to be a fun Halloween (1978) shout-out in the scene where Edna, husband-pecking future Jason victim, sees a figure moving between her windblown laundry on a clothesline. Debbie, one of Chris’s friends, reads a “shocker” by Sidney Stewart titled The Beast With Red Hands─this is a real-life, low-brow Robert Blochian thriller (judging by Amazon reviews), penned by Avallone under the aforementioned nom de plume, one of seventeen the prolific author used in his career.
If you’re entertained by low-brow movie tie-in thrillers that read like they were hastily written and edited or you’re a die-hard Friday fan, Avallone’s Friday might be a worthwhile investment.
Note: In 1988, another, presumably more canon-friendly book version was published, Simon Hawke’s Friday the 13th: Part 3. Like Avallone’s Friday, it’s out of print and pricy, and is said to have its own minor variations (e.g., giving Edna and Hank more of a backstory, as well as Jason).
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The source/counterpart film was released stateside on August 13, 1982. Steve Miner directed it, from a screenplay by Martin Kittrosser and Carol Watson.
Richard Brooker played Jason Voorhees.
Dana Kimmell played Chris Higgins. Paul Kratka played Rick, Chris’s would-be boyfriend. Tracie Savage played Debbie. Jeffrey Rogers played Andy, Debbie’s boyfriend.
Catherine Parks played Vera Sanchez. Larry Zerner played Shelly, Vera’s “loser” prankster and Vera’s blind date─and previous owner of Jason’s now-iconic white mask. Rachel Howard played Chili. David Katims played Chuck.
Gloria Charles played Foxy. Nick Savage played Ali. Kevin O’Brien played Loco.
Cheri Maugans played Edna. Steve Susskind played Harold, Edna’s henpecked spouse. David Wiley played Abel, the Biblical doomsaying bum.
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