It is hard to imagine now, but Friday the 13th was not intended to be such a long ongoing series. Initially, the plan was to end the series as a trilogy, but then one last film was planned to close things out. This time around, Jason would meet his end and the series would reach its finale. Things did not fully work out that way in the long run, but the movie itself is undoubtedly the best entry in the entire franchise.
A big flaw of the Friday the 13th films is that the films were all centered around Jason, with no real characters besides him. Everyone felt interchangeable, and while later entries like part vii did introduce a clear protagonist, that overall movie itself was itself flawed. The Final Chapter, better known to many as Part IV, stands out above all other entries in the series with both likable characters, a clear sense of who to root for, as well as the best writing in the franchise. The writing in the movies has always been lacking, but Part IV stood out as a well-crafted movie aside from the minor issue of how Jason survived his supposed death at the end of the last film.
There was no gimmicky 3D this time, and instead, just straight to the point storytelling. There were some weird points obviously, such as the morgue scene, but the narrative is handled well for the most part. It is in this film that we are introduced to Tommy Jarvis, who was intended to be the recurring protagonist for the series and an equivalent character to Laurie Strode. Sadly the character was not used right in later films but in this appearance, where he was played by a young Cory Feldman, the character was a great fit for the movie. Child characters in horror movies are often a bad fit, but the character of Tommy made the movie a bit more relatable and his character arc in this appearance was something any fan could like. The character was essentially a young Tom Savini in terms of being a special effects wizard and he was a monster movie fan as well, which helped fans to identify with him.
Sadly many of the kills were censored by the MPAA but the Blue Ray release of the film has all the cut content and in amazing quality as well. I have to recommend checking out that release of Part IV, as it is the best way to experience the film. With great effects, subtle touches that helped build characterization, and an ending that stood out, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is easily the best in the franchise and would have been perfect to end the series on.