#The meat shield generation since 1981.

[nando161mando]

The meat shield generation since 1981.

[majinkura]

Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter ( 1984)

Did You Know?👇👇👇👇🤔

The strange dance which Jimbo performs at the party was contributed by actor Crispin Glover and was based on the eccentric way he actually danced in clubs. On the set he was dancing to "Back in Black" by AC/DC as the scene was filmed. In the film however an edited version of "Love Is a Lie" by Lion was dubbed into the scene.

Last film in the series to pick up immediately where the previous film left off. At 58 years old at the time Ted White is the oldest stuntman/actor to portray Jason Voorhees. On a budget of $1,800,000 the film made $32,600,000 at the box office.

At the time, this installment of the series contained the most nudity and gore. The film was released on Friday the 13th: April 13, 1984.

In Turkey, this film, and the next sequel, Friday the 13th V: A New Beginning (1985), were released at the same time. People could watch both films back to back. Even the posters for both movies were displayed next to each other.

(at around 1h 2 mins) In one scene, Rob talks to Trish about his sister, Sandra. Sandra was one of Jason's victims in Friday the 13th - Part II (1981).

(at around 10 mins) The workout video Axel watches is Aerobicise (1982). It stars Darcy DeMoss who went on to have a role in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986).

This is the only film in the series to shoot new footage using sets and locations from a previous film. The beginning takes place on the set of Friday the 13th - Part III (1982), before moving to a new location.

Director Joseph Zito was opposed to using clips from previous installments at the beginning of the film.

(at around 9 mins) The nurse's name tag reads "R. Morgan, RN," an homage to actress Robbi Morgan, who played Annie in Friday the 13th (1980).

During filming Kimberly Beck, who plays Trish, experienced strange occurrences including a man watching her while she ran in the park and strange phone calls at all hours. This stopped when production was over.

Though he disliked being involved with the film, Ted White is considered by many fans to be one of the best Jasons.

(at around 9 mins) The moment where Jason's hand moves in the morgue was done by Ted White after Joseph Zito had called cut on the scene. However, the camera was still rolling, and caught this movement, and it was included in the film.

Writer Barney Cohen originally wrote a scene involving Jason fondling Trish's breasts but the producers vetoed it. Director Joseph Zito also disliked the scene because it made Jason seem too human and less menacing. The scene was excised.

Joseph Zito had previously directed The Prowler (1981), but they wanted him to both direct AND write Friday the 13th Part 4. He said, "But I'm not a writer," to which they said, "Here's a contract paying you double to write and direct," and then he responded, "Yeah, I'm totally a writer." Zito used the extra salary to hire Barney Cohen to somewhat secretly write the script. Their process entailed Zito taking nightly one-hour phone calls with Phil Scuderi to discuss the story and script for Final Chapter. The next day Zito would meet Cohen in an apartment in New York to relay what notes and ideas Scuderi had offered, which they would then turn into new script pages to be sent later that day to Scuderi in Boston to be discussed again over the phone that night.

Camilla More actually read for the role of Samantha, but when the producers discovered she had a twin, they offered both sisters the roles of Tina and Terri.

It is played for humor throughout Final Chapter that young Tommy Jarvis (Feldman) is suddenly surrounded by horny teenagers renting a cabin he can see into from his own house. However, the reality of the situation is that those actresses were indeed very or partially naked, and Corey Feldman was still young enough that Erich Anderson and Kimberly Beck took him trick-or-treating the first day of filming since it happened to be October 31, 1983. So, they shielded 12-year-old Feldman from most of the bad stuff, using tricky editing when necessary. What they could not control was the power of a low-cut top sans bra underneath. According to Feldman, in the scene in which Jodie Aronson's character bends over to greet Tommy's dog unbeknownst to anyone but Feldman he could see down her low-cut top.

It has been suggested that the only reasons Tom Savini worked as make-up artist on this film was in order that he could accurately age and properly kill the character he created from the first film.

Barbara Howard used a body double for her shower sex scene.

After Jason actor Ted White finished his scenes for this film, he immediately started work on Starman (1984). While on set for the night's filming, a group of reporters were waiting to interview Jeff Bridges, but he was unavailable. Therefore, director, John Carpenter, told the reporters to talk to White about the film he had recently finished. After telling the reporters he had just finished playing Jason in the latest Friday the 13th film, the next day's article was entirely about him, and that night, numerous "Friday" fans arrived at the set solely in order to see White.

Jason actor Ted White and special effects artist Tom Savini at first were confrontational with one another. But once White found out Savini had experience with stunts, the two became friends.

Rob was originally supposed to have high-tech equipment which he had used to track Jason, but the props for this looked cheap, and the idea was scrapped.

The film takes place on Sunday the 15th and beyond which makes it the second "Friday" film not to actually take place on a Friday at all. While the beginning with the coroners takes place during the night of Sunday the 15th, the rest of the film takes place on Monday the 16th, with Tuesday the 17th being the climactic night.

Even though he plays her son, Ted White (Jason Voorhees) is actually 11 months older than Betsy Palmer (Pamela Voorhees).

Rather than making masks, Tommy was originally going to have been an inventor. One of his projects was a device made from a microwave oven, which would have been what he used to kill Jason. Some of this is seen in the final product in a scene where he helps repair a car.

Amy Steel talked Peter Barton into doing the film. By the time the Final Chapter offer came around Matthew Star was off the air, and Barton wanted no part of horror films, having hated working on Hell Night in 1981. Amy Steel somehow talked him into it, selling him on the notoriety of starring in the final Friday the 13th film.

Director Joseph Zito wanted Jason's hockey mask to explode apart in the opening credits, but there was not enough time in post-production to pull off this gag.

Paramount was originally going to release the film in October, 1984. After filming wrapped in January Paramount studio head Frank Mancuso Sr. screened footage of the film to much enthusiasm. After a window opened up the release date was changed to April upon confirmation from Joseph Zito that he could complete the film faster than planned. This led to Zito, producer Frank Mancuso Jr., and a crew of editors essentially remaining locked in a house in Malibu editing around the clock in order to finish the film on time. This marked one of the only times that Paramount actively helped in the production of a Friday the 13th film, as they were generally produced independently, with the studio only handling marketing and distribution.

The house used for the Jarvis home was later used as the Anderson home in the film Ed Gein (2000) where serial killer Ed Gein is apprehended.

Bonnie Hellman's agents told her about a possible role in this film - the hitchhiker - but then told her that she would not want to do it, as there were no lines. However, she ended up taking the role anyway.

Kimberly Beck stated in the Crystal Lake Memories book that she does not like the horror genre. In addition to this, she also said that she feels this film was not even a B-movie, but rather a C-movie.

Distinguished film critic Roger Ebert called this film "an immoral and reprehensible piece of trash."

The Jarvis family's dog, Gordon, was named after a recently deceased dog which a friend of director Joseph Zito owned.

Peter Barton was talked into taking a role in this film by his The Powers of Matthew Star (1982) co-star Amy Steel who played Ginny in Friday the 13th - Part II (1981).

The female hitchhiker was called "Fat Girl" in the original draft of the script.

The poster shows the hockey mask with a knife on its left eyesocket. Jason is defeated with a machete going through his left eye.

Kimberly Beck is the only Friday the 13th actress that appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock film. She worked on Marnie (1964), exactly 20 years prior to this. She plays the little girl that Marnie's mother babysits.

The film was shot entirely in California.

Carey More's audition was to simply read one line.

Lisa Freeman, who played Nurse Morgan, and Crispin Glover, who played Jimmy Mortimer, both would go on to be in the Back To The Future movies. Crispin Glover played George McFly in Back to the Future (1985) and Lisa Freeman played Babs in Back to the Future (1985) and Back to Future, part II (1989).

(at around 20 mins) The Jarvis family sandwich hug was based on a group hug that screenwriter Barney Cohen's family did.

Jason's death won the Golden Chainsaw Award in Dead Meat's "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" kill count.

This is considered by many fans, to be the best and most popular Friday the 13th film.

The Jarvis family car is a 1970 Dodge Polara.

Rob's rifle is a Winchester Model 70.

Rob looks to be the main male hero of the film to work alongside Final Girl Trish. Instead he dies almost immediately after encountering Jason, with the real Final Guy of the film being Tommy

The ambulance driver played by Antony Ponzini & Axel and the coroner played by Bruce Mahler both appeared on the sitcom Seinfled. Ponzini as Jerry's barber Enzo and Mahler as the Rabbi in Elaine's building.

Was released in theaters, directly a week before Crispin Glover's (Jimmy) 20th birthday.

Tracy Jarvis' fate and death would have been more further explained in a deleted scene that had been cut from the film. An alternate ending to the film, included in the 2009 Deluxe Edition DVD, shows a dream sequence where Trish and Tommy wake up the next morning after killing Jason to the sound of police sirens. Trish sends Tommy to summon the police who have arrived next door. At that point she notices water dripping from the ceiling and goes to investigate. She enters the upstairs bathroom, and finds the body of her mother floating in a tub full of bloody water. Trish lifts her mother out of the tub, prompting Tracy's eyes to open, revealing them to be solid white and devoid of irises. Jason suddenly appears from behind the bathroom door and prepares to attack Trish. Trish then suddenly wakes up in the hospital in a scene reminiscent of the ending of the first movie.

Ted White was uncredited as Jason Voorhees by his own request.

The twins are played by real life sisters Camilla and Carey More, who both also appeared on the daytime soap opera Days of our Lives as Gillian and Grace Forrester. More stars from the soap DAYS also appear in further Friday The 13th sequels like Renee Jones in Part 6, and Kevin Spirtas and Staci Greason in Part 7. Other soap stars that appeared in Friday The 13th films include Kevin Bacon, Russell Todd, Lauren Marie Taylor, Dana Kimmell, Kimberly Beck, Peter Barton, Jennifer Cooke, Michael Swan, and Scott Reeves.

Paul's car is a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Estate station wagon.

According to Ted White, he and director Joseph Zito did not get along very well during filming.

The actress playing Trish's mother was only 14 years and 1 day older than her.

Both Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover later appeared in different films with actor Kiefer Sutherland in the same year: Feldman in Stand by Me (1986) and Glover in At Close Range (1986).

Pamela Voorhees' first name appears on a tombstone.

[hendrixeros]

It would be easy to imagine that Adrian came from a broken home. The most generous would assume that his mother was overworked and unintentionally neglectful. His father wasn’t ready to settle down so he wasn’t around. The most malicious might assume that his parents were some combination of abusive, addicted, or dead.

But Adrian will be the first to tell you that he fucked up his life all on his own. Both of his parents are still alive and well, still married and happily approaching their 37th wedding anniversary. 

Emmett Henderson (59) and Ruth Henderson (56) met at a concert in 1981. Emmett was the guitarist for the opening act, Ruth was experimenting with teenage rebellion for the first time in her very sheltered life. Coming together involved a complicated scheme to sneak back stage so Ruth’s friend could meat the headliner’s frontman. The two bonded over their love of music, their strict parents, and some spark of attraction that refused to die when the night was over.

After a whirlwind secret romance that would have made Romeo and Juliet look like ammeters, Emmett and Ruth eloped just two weeks after Ruth’s 18th birthday. Three months later, Ruth found out she was pregnant. Unfortunately, she spent much of her pregnancy alone in the bedroom she occupied in the home of her new in-laws while her new husband was away on tour. There were nights when she would lie awake and wonder if she’d made every possible wrong choice she could have made. Another series of events, elaborate schemes, where one wrong move could have put her in a completely different situation.

Adrian came due two weeks after Emmett came home from his first and last tour. One look at his wife holding their son was enough to ground him. He knew he never wanted to be away from them. Emmett quit his band and joined a studio house band. The money was more stable and the traveling was minimal. Every major blues record recorded in New Orleans in the late 80s and early 90s features Emmett’s guitar riffs. While Emmett worked, Ruth went to night school and eventually became a music teacher.  The couple bought a house in what they thought was a quiet town outside the city. A place they could raise their sun and live their lives. Eventually Emmett would change careers to one less seeped in the kinds of things they wanted to shield their son from. While Ruth worked as a teacher and gave private piano lessons in their home in the afternoon, Emmett attended night school and became a nurse, specializing in hospice care. It was a relief to be home every night for dinner, rather than locked in a studio with a demanding musician and producer.

There’s no way they could anticipate the damage a car wreck and a prescription to narcotic pain killers would do to the son they’d raised. The son they’d loved and cared for his whole life. It was as if, over night, their son had become a different person. Years of laughing over family dinners, sitting under the stars on the back porch singing country songs while Emmett and Adrian played guitar together, church services and choir practices had all drifted away under the fog addiction brought over their family. 

And as quickly as Adrian had changed, he vanished from their lives with a note that was more of an apology than an explanation. In the beginning Adrian called, but he couldn’t stomach listening to his mom cry and beg him to come home. So, instead he wrote letters. Some were thoughtful and apologetic. Others were written and mailed thoughtlessly under the influence of one narcotic or another. These were the hardest and most painful to read. But Ruth kept them all the same, anticipating the day that contact from her son would stop coming all together.

Even as three years have passed since the Prodigal Son’s return home to Olympus, Adrian still has not reached out to his parents. The closest he has come was a near run in with his dad at the grocery store. But even after a double take in his direction, Emmett didn’t seem to recognize his son. 

What Adrian doesn’t know is that Ruth has seen him around town. She knows that he’ll come back to her when he’s ready. And she and Emmett are both waiting to welcome their son home with open arms if he chooses to reach out to them.

[antiques-for-geeks]

Game Review : Satellite Attack

Philips (Magnavox) / 1981 / G7000 (Odyssey²) / Originally £14.95

“I’ve been lost in this damned asteroid field for what seems like days. I snuck into the launch bay and climbed into a waiting mining cruiser… hoping to scoop enough precious space rocks into the hold to feed me, my wife and our 7 kids for the rest of our lives… but those flashing red lights on my nav-com were there for a reason. This sector is a death trap! Maybe if I keep flying toward galactic central I’ll find my precious ore and a way home…”

Many of the games for the G7000 were barely concealed copies of popular arcade titles of the era. There were a couple of licensed conversions by Parker Brothers late on in the machine’s lifetime, but almost everything else was an original work or an unlicensed facsimile of some kind. This tac eventually ended with Phillips being court ordered to withdraw their excellent Pac Man ‘homage’ KC Munchkin from sale.

What I really appreciate about these games is that they attempted to retain playability by re-working each game within the heavy limitations of the machine, leading to interesting and enjoyable twists on the copied game’s mechanics. 

Take Satellite attack for example. One of the best games for the G7000, on paper it’s a shameless copy of Asteroids. Worse, it’s Asteroids with the rotational controls and thrust-physics completely removed! Thankfully we get smart new mechanics to replace what was lost. 

There are, of course, floating asteroids. These come in two different flavours; the bog standard aimless ones and the fast spinning magnetic ones that get spawned when two of the basic ones collide. These are worth more points, and follow your ship around like an affectionate puppy. 

There are also vicious enemy saucers which periodically fly across the screen trying to tag you with their laser blasts.

Hovering just out of range, shield up!

Your ship can move in any direction on command within the bounds of the single screen asteroid field. Unlike Asteroids, you cannot ‘wrap’ your ship or your shots from one side of the screen to the other. You are surrounded by a rotating dot ‘shield’, and whilst it is active you cannot be destroyed. You temporarily lose shield cover by smashing into an asteroid, firing your lasers or being shot by an enemy saucer. Take a hit while the shields are down and it’s game over ...yeah, G7000 games are almost all single life score attacks for some reason. The shields will restore to full cover within a couple of seconds, but until then you’ll need to be careful. 

So you have 2 ways of destroying the asteroids for points; bash into them while your shield is up or shoot them with your laser. How you aim the laser feels highly original, though it does take some mastery. One of the dots which make up your shield is brighter than the rest, and this indicates what direction you’re aiming. When you move your ship in one direction, the bright dot begins to rotate that way too. It takes a little time to get there, and since you usually need to keep your ship on the move, this means that you have to carefully manage its position to nail those asteroids. Firing the laser brings your shield down too, so drawing a bead on the fast moving saucers without getting tagged by one of their shots is pretty difficult! You can always smash them with you shields up, but be sure to approach them from a cardinal direction as their diagonal shots are fast and deadly.

Zapped by a saucer. This looks better in motion, honest! 

There’s not too much more to the game than that, but this game retains a satisfying depth that still makes it an enjoyable game to play today. Note for example how when the asteroids are destroyed their debris can hit and destroy other rocks nearby (or even saucers) causing a satisfying chain reaction... or the balance of risk and reward, the ebb and flow of defence and attack caused by the shield recharge time. These are the small details which so many other contemporary games lacked. 

Buying it today

This was a ubiquitous title on the machine, and there are still plenty of copies floating around. There also isn’t a high collector demand for the G7000, so you should be able to pick up a nice boxed copy for under a tenner.

Commentariat

Tim : It’s like asteroids, but it’s not. That’s the best way I can describe Satellite Attack (or UFO! depending on your territory). I love that it’s colourful and crisp, even if it’s look is basic.

The game is sadistically hard and the way the controls are changed from those you'd expect from an asteroids homage doesn’t make life easy. Yes, we are into difficulty as a replacement for variety territory here. Oddly though, that did not put me off, instead drawing me further in, determined to do better with each attempt. It’s good fun and I could easily see Pop and I wasting a good afternoon trying to best each other with this title...

Pop: I feel like some kind of crazy apologist for the Philips G7000 sometimes, but I honestly think this is ‘good retro’. I often find more enjoyment in talking and reading about games on these second generation consoles than actually playing them, but found myself hooked in straight away, transported back to a Saturday morning 35 years ago trying desperately to best my brother’s high score. The only shame is that I can’t play this on the original hardware with the original joysticks anymore.

I’d also rather have this than Asteroids on the Atari 2600. That’s not a bad version per-se, but the concessions made to get it to work on much more basic hardware really knocked my enjoyment of it down a notch or two.

Meat: Are the graphics in all these G7000 games just a bunch of + and x signs flashing over each other? I’ve seen more detailed ASCII art! My first feelings were of pity for the kids playing this when they could have had Pitfall on the Atari, but after actually sitting down to play I can see how it could be fun once you get past how basic everything looks. I’d still have snatched your hand off for an Intellivision or Colecovision instead.

Score card

Presentation 8/10

A nice sturdy plastic box (these things will last forever!) with appealing cover artwork. No real in-game presentation, but that’s a given for games of this era. 

Originality 7/10

The premise is as unoriginal as it gets, but this plays like it was created by somebody who overheard someone else talking about Asteroids while drunk in a bar. The way the ship and shooting mechanics work make it feel like something quite distinct.

Graphics 4/10

As simple as G7000 games always are, but everything is clearly defined. You have to give some recognition to how much is done with a few colours and simple sprites here. You can clearly tell what the condition of your shield is and where you’re aiming with basic visual cues.

Hookability 7/10

A premise so simple anyone could grasp it, but there’s some subtlety to getting the best from the ship. If you try and play it like asteroids, only using the blasters you’ll soon come unstuck.

Sound 3/10

Very basic sound effects only, but at least not actively annoying!

Lastability 8/10

As a score attack game or for a quick occasional blast this does the trick, in much the same way as asteroids does.

Value for Money 8/10

Game cartridges were expensive back then so this is subjective, but this one had tonnes of re-playability.  

Overall 8/10

Might well be the best on the machine, and a fine example of the genre.