Friday The 13th 4’s Most Disturbing Scene Was Based On A Real Murder

The Friday the 13th franchise has seen a lot of brutal deaths at the hands of Pamela and Jason Voorhees, but one of the most disturbing ones is that of Rob in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter – and to make it more shocking, it was based on a real murder. The horror genre has been defined by franchises, of which most had their beginnings in the late 1970s and the 1980s, as are Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Each one has brought a different slasher villain that has become part of pop culture, and one who continues to be quite popular, even if he hasn’t been on screen in years, is Jason Voorhees.

The story of Jason Voorhees was introduced in the 1980 movie Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham. Set at Camp Crystal Lake, Friday the 13th follows a group of camp counselors who return to that infamous place to reopen it after it remained closed for years. Once there, they are haunted by a serial killer and the story of Jason Voorhees, a boy who drowned at the lake. The killer turned out to be his mother, Pamela (Betsy Palmer), with Jason taking over as the franchise’s antagonist from the second movie onward. The Friday the 13th franchise is formed by 12 movies (including a crossover with Freddy Krueger and a remake), but in 1984 it was intended to end with its fourth installment, and the writers made sure to add one of the saga’s most shocking deaths, which was based on a real crime.

Appropriately titled Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, it saw Jason going after new targets, including Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman), who went on to become his archenemy. Along with his sister, Trish (Kimberly Beck), Tommy became the protagonist of the fourth Friday the 13th movie, and while running for their lives, they met Rob Dier (E. Erich Anderson), the brother of Sandra from Friday the 13th Part 2 who returned to Crystal Lake to avenge his sister. Unfortunately, Rob couldn’t fulfill his mission and was killed by Jason in a basement right in front of Trish as he screamed “he’s killing me!” and for Trish to run away. It’s a completely bloodless scene as Jason’s attack is hidden in the shadows and you can only see Rob’s pained expression, and to make it more tragic and shocking, Rob’s death was based on a real-life murder.

In the book Crystal Lake Memories (via Friday the 13th Franchise), director Joseph Zito revealed the line Rob screams while being killed by Jason comes from a real crime he read about in a newspaper. According to Zito, the article was about a man who was stabbed and repeatedly screamed “please stop hurting me, please stop killing me”. The story had a big impact on Zito, who saw some extra tragedy in the victim speaking to his attacker, and that ultimately resulted in an equally impactful scene in the Friday the 13th franchise, as Rob’s death was more shocking and sad precisely because of his interaction with Jason during the attack, and it didn’t need one drop of blood to have that impact. Rob’s death is made more tragic by the fact that he couldn’t avenge his sister’s death, and he was no regular teen in the franchise that became a victim of the relentless Jason Voorhees.

Rob’s death in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter shows that it’s not necessary for an on-screen death to be gory and full of special effects and blood to be shocking and tragic, and it’s more about the character itself and its interaction with the killer that makes it impactful. Rob’s death is definitely one of the most disturbing ones in the whole franchise, and fans will decide if it takes the throne as the most tragic one or there’s another one that deserves the spot.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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