Friday the 13th Part III behind-the-scenes images surface after 40 years

The Friday the 13th franchise (buy the Blu-ray set HERE) is my favorite horror franchise. And while Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI is the movie I credit with making me a horror fan, my favorite entry in the series is actually Friday the 13th Part III. The film just celebrated its 40th anniversary last month, and to mark the occasion 2nd assistant camera operator Mako Koiwai shared a batch of awesome, never-before-seen behind-the-scenes pictures with the folks at Smoking Zombie Films. You can see these eight images, including an incredible shot of the filming of the alternate ending (where the heroine was going to be decapitated), in this Facebook post – click HERE.

Thanks to Mako Koiwai and Smoking Zombie Films for sharing these pictures!

Directed by Steve Miner from a screenplay by Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson (with some uncredited polishing by Petru Popescu), Friday the 13th Part III has the following synopsis:

The third installment in the “Friday the 13th” series picks up on the day after the carnage with homicidal maniac Jason Voorhees stealing some clothes and killing a local store owner. Meanwhile, Chris and her sometimes boyfriend, Rick, are hosting a group of teenage friends at Chris’ lake house. Despite a run-in with a local biker gang, they enjoy an amiable weekend together — that is, until Jason begins knocking off kids and bikers alike.

The film stars Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Tracie Savage, Jeffrey Rogers, Catherine Parks, Larry Zerner, David Katims, Rachel Howard, Nick Savage, Gloria Charles, Kevin O’Brien, Cheri Maugans, Steve Susskind, and David Wiley, with Richard Brooker as Jason Voorhees.

Friday the 13th Part III is my favorite of the Friday the 13th movies because it has what I consider to be the perfect version of Jason Voorhees, who sports a nice new hockey mask and participates in what I find to be the best climactic chase sequence in the franchise. That cabin location is also very cool.

What do you think of Friday the 13th Part III and the newly released behind-the-scenes pictures? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.