It really strikes you watching this right after Part 2 how much worse this looks in nearly every regard - it's nowhere near as crisp, the blocking of a lot of scenes feels strange (probably to accommodate shooting in 3D?) and the colors overall just feel far closer to pastel than any other movie in the series. Add that together with the fairly annoying characters (though Shelly and the bikers have their moments) and you get a sequel that in a lot of ways is a big letdown compared to the second, but is still a cheesy stupid fun slasher that gets some cultural importance due to establishing the iconic look for Jason and for being a perfect example of how trend-hopping can go wrong.

All those problems aside, once you get the action going near the end with the string of fun, classic kills like the harpoon gun and the crotch chop, you remember that the basic F13 formula is almost always at least a little bit of fun, and this is early enough that it feels tired, but not as tired as something like Part VII. It's also so fast paced that all the annoying parts at the very least fly by and before you know it you're at the juicy massacre and finale with that awesome shot of Jason reaching for the camera with his arms out.

Watched this with my brother and nephew and we all had a good time ribbing the all the cornier parts of the first 2/3rds and marveled at how fun the last chunk is. On the lower spectrum of the series but still very watchable.