Upon receiving the news that Richard Brooker, Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th Part 3, had passed from a heart attack on April 8, 2013, Sean Richards developed the idea for Friday the 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary. This project would commemorate the film while serving as a tribute to the actor who first donned the iconic hockey mask. With the help of filmmaker Kevin R. Phipps, Richards succeeded in putting together an in-depth meaningful piece to share with fans of the Friday the 13th franchise.
Opening with images of Jason Voorhees, the infamous hockey mask, Crystal Lake and the Part 3 cabin scored with the unmistakable eerie Friday the 13th music, the documentary immediately strikes at the heart of nostalgia. Cutting to the film’s narrator, Paul Kratka (Rick from Friday the 13th Part 3), the film explores the 3D gimmick used in Part 3 to revitalize fan excitement about the franchise. Featuring interviews of original cast members from the film such as Tracie Savage and Larry Zerner, the documentary takes a walk down memory lane with a look behind the scenes of production.
After highlighting the history behind the film and its successful opening weekend, the documentary offers a closer look of the man behind the original hockey mask, Richard Brooker. Stories about Brooker are told by the franchise’s cast and crew, as well as by friends and family. Various reminiscent interview stories describe him as a humorous, intelligent, and cultured storyteller, with unexpected details and touching memories giving great testament as to the man Brooker was to friends, colleagues and fans alike.
Though some details may already be known among diehard fans, the documentary offers new material even to the most knowledgeable of the franchise, especially concerning a night in April of 2006. The Friday the 13th Part 3 cabin set once stood on the Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch in the foothills of the Santa Clarita Valley outside of L.A., but now all that remains is a pile of ash. Through a reenactment, Friday the 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary shows the events that sparked the fire that burned the famous cabin to the ground.
Featuring insightful interviews, original photographs and video as well as entertaining reenactments, Friday the 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary offers plenty of nostalgia. While preserving an important part of the Friday the 13th franchise, Phipps and Richards give fans answers as to what became of the some of the film’s most iconic images, including the original hockey mask that became the face of a franchise. Last but not least, the film serves as a great tribute to Richard Brooker. Friday the 13th Part 3: The Memoriam Documentary is set for a world premiere in Los Angeles, California at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre on Friday the 13th of October, 2017.