Chris (Friday the 13th)

Chris appears in two of the twelve Friday the 13th films—the third and fourth films as a young woman traumatized from an encounter with Jason Voorhees. The books in the expanded universe further explore Chris' story.

Chris made her cinematic debut in Friday the 13th Part III on August 13, 1982.{{cite web|work=AMC|title=Friday the 13th, Part III|series=Greatest Movie Series Franchises of All Time: Friday the 13th|url=http://www.filmsite.org/series-friday13th3.html|access-date=February 25, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180226030824/http://www.filmsite.org/series-friday13th3.html|url-status=live|archive-date=February 26, 2018|author=Dirks, Tim}} In this film, Chris is a young woman recovering from trauma who takes a group of friends and acquaintances to the Higgins Haven, her family homestead. Due to her trauma, she distances herself from the group and her boyfriend, Rick (Paul Kratka). In a monologue sequence, Chris reveals that two years prior, she was assaulted in the nearby woods by a severely disfigured man after a family fight and returned to her family's homestead in an attempt to face her trauma. Soon discovering that everyone is dead, Chris finds herself in a confrontation with her attacker, Jason Voorhees (Richard Brooker). After fending him off, Chris finds herself cornered in her barn. Chris drops from a beam at the top of the barn and temporarily stuns Jason. After knocking him unconscious, she hangs him and hits him in the face with a hatchet. Due to already suffering from prior trauma, the events of the film leave her hysterical.{{cite video|people=Steve Miner (Director)|title=Friday the 13th Part 3|medium=DVD|location=United States|publisher=Paramount Pictures|date=1982}} Chris returns in an easter egg in The Final Chapter (1984), as a young woman recovering in a hospital.{{cite video|people=Joseph Zito (Director)|title=Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter|medium=DVD|location=United States|publisher=Paramount Pictures|date=1984}}

Chris first appeared outside of film in the 1982 novelization of Friday the 13th Part 3 by Michael Avallone;{{cite book|author=Michael Avallone|title=Friday the 13th Part 3|publisher=Star|year=1982|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-0-352-31249-5|author-link=Michael Avallone}} Avallone's novelization, based on the original screenplay, is notably different compared to the film version—which had three different endings that change Chris's fate. Avallone's novel takes different narrative approaches to the character. Avallone features Chris written as a blonde twenty-year old and includes an ending that features Chris decapitating Jason with a sickle in the barn rather than striking him with a hatchet. The novel ends with Chris's original death scene written in as a nightmare sequence. In the nightmare, Chris enters the barn in an attempt to find the missing corpses to prove her sanity to authorities and is decapitated by Jason in the process. Additionally, Chris appears in Simon Hawke's 1988 novelization of the third film which follows the film more closely.{{cite book|author=Simon Hawke|title=Friday the 13th Part 3|publisher=Signet|year=1988|location=New York|isbn=0-451-15311-1}}

{{quote box

| align = left

| width = 25em

| quote = “I liked Chris because she fought back, I didn't want her to be a wimp. I wanted her to be someone who could survive — and she did."

|-

| source = — Kimmell discussing Chris

}}

Writers Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson conceptualized her following Amy Steel's decision to turn down the offer of reprising Ginny, the heroine of the prior film.{{cite AV media|title=Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th|year=2013|publisher=RLJ Entertainment|medium=Documentary|people=Farrands, Daniel (dir.)|chapter=Part III}}

An uncredited Petru Popescu was hired to do additional rewrites featuring the character. Popescu describes rewriting the Chris character to be the most creatively fulfilling as a writer as she had a past he could explore.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=179}} He found Chris both easy and challenging to write due to this background, and that he spent the most time developing her.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=179}} The biggest questions asked by the makers surrounding the character were the exact nature of her history with Jason.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=179}} Early discussions involved a full-fledged rape backstory, although they deemed this too exploitative, and decided to keep her past with Jason ambiguous.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=179}}

The role of Chris went to actress Dana Kimmell, although she wasn't who the writers of the script envisioned in the role.{{cite news |last1=Kirpsel |first1=Kerry M. |via=Newspapers.com|title=Acting is basically the only thing she wants to do |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81526218/the-shreveport-journal/ |access-date=15 July 2021 |work=Shreveport Journal |date=July 16, 1982 |page=55}} The television actress had recently led Jim Sotos' feature length slasher film Sweet Sixteen (1983) which caught the attention of Frank Mancuso Jr., the producer of Friday the 13th Part III (1982). He reached out to Kimmell, and she met with a casting director.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=178}} He brought her to an audition, in which all she had to do was scream, with Mancuso Jr. and director Steve Miner.{{cite web |title=The Horror Collection 3 |url=https://ia800609.us.archive.org/21/items/The_Horror_Collection_03/The_Horror_Collection_03.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107222010/https://ia800609.us.archive.org/21/items/The_Horror_Collection_03/The_Horror_Collection_03.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |url-status=live|website=Internet Archive |publisher=Eaglemoss Publications |access-date=21 August 2021}}{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=178}} Due to a scheduling conflict with another project, Kimmell was initially unable to sign on to the film. However, the filmmakers postponed filmmaking until she was available. Kimmell describes the character as "a young college girl who takes her friends up in the mountains." There wasn't a lot of discussion or preparation for her character until she arrived on set to begin shooting. Kimmell has expressed gratitude for the film, stating that "it's by no means a cheap horror film," and described Chris as a "good part."

{{quote box

| align = right

| width = 25em

| quote = “It's funny, but apparently, I was interviewed for Fangoria a few years ago, where I talk about these changes I requested in the movie. I honestly don't even remember giving that interview. But I do remember having a meeting with Frank Mancuso, Jr. They had a couple of scenes in there about how Rick and Chris had stayed out all night, and there was a line that they had made love. I said to Frank and Steve Miner, "I'd be a lot more comfortable if we didn't talk about that." And they said, "Just do whatever you want," and rearranged it. I knew this series had a lot of young followers. I just thought it was good not to promote that kind of thing so much. And nobody notices, anyway."

| source = — Kimmell discussing the only things she had changed in the film{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=180}}

}}

File:Dana Kimmell performing Chris Higgins stunts in Friday the 13th Part III (1982).jpg

Although speculations surfaced that Kimmell pushed for various changes in the movie, Kimmell only recalls expressing discomfort to Mancuso, Jr. about dialogue referencing Chris having sex with her boyfriend.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=180}} Kimmell states she got permission to alter the lines for this scene as she believed the Friday the 13th series to have a young audience and didn't want the film to be overtly sexual.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=180}} Costar Tracie Savage states, "Each person took care of themselves. Dana had no say over what was happening. She wouldn't have had that authority. The priority is to scare the hell out of people, and if they have an actress who was concerned about the art, they're going to say, "Sorry, we'll find somebody else."{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=180}}

Kimmell wanted to perform her stunts as there was a lot of free time between takes; it motivated her for her scene work.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=206}} Kimmell recollects obtaining bruises throughout the shoot from performing Chris's stunts—such as the barn beam scene where she was 18 feet above the ground and had to fall.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=207}} This sequence had to have several retakes.{{sfn|Bracken|2006|page=207}} The original ending of Chris getting decapitated at the hands of Jason Voorhees (Richard Brooker) was scrapped due to the filmmakers finding this ending to be too grim.{{cite web |last1=Konda |first1=Kelly |title=13 Things You May Not Know About Friday the 13th Part 3 |url=https://weminoredinfilm.com/2014/02/14/13-things-you-may-not-know-about-friday-the-13th-part-3/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220130/https://weminoredinfilm.com/2014/02/14/13-things-you-may-not-know-about-friday-the-13th-part-3/ |archive-date=January 30, 2022 |url-status=live|website=We Minored in Film |date=February 15, 2014 |access-date=15 August 2021}}{{cbignore}} This ending would have marked the first film in the franchise to feature the protagonist dying.{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=Jim |title=Legacy of Blood |date=2004 |publisher=Critical Vision |isbn=978-1-90-048639-2 |page=94}}

Film critic Janet Maslin (The New York Times) writes that Chris is the "lone survivor" and by the end of the film, she is left traumatized.{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |title='Friday the 13th Part III-In 3-D' Opens |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/13/movies/friday-the-13th-part-iii-in-3-d-opens.html |access-date=16 July 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 13, 1982 |pages=4}} Writer Jim Harper wrote that, unlike her peers, Chris is reluctant to engage in sexual activity—because of her past alluding to sexual assault. When discussing the psychological aspects of Chris, scholar Wade Newhouse describes Chris as an exploration of the psychology of a victim—unlike the prior films focus on the killers Pamela Voorhees and Jason. Newhouse describes her as being set apart from the other characters in the film, attributing it to Chris' self-awareness rather than a morality play. Newhouse highlights her monologue as showing her "in a sense worth saving because her introspection marks her as unique in a world of otherwise generic teenagers."{{cite news |last=Keetley |first=Dawn|title=Friday the 13th Anniversary Special Issue |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/63260138/Friday_the_13th__Full_Special_Issue_1_Spring_2020_20200510-101035-15cingq-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1628330415&Signature=c-5ke2xHCkBqEO3cobT7X8Jp3N-YdlMdh-58X79SBzVzOfbYmB9V8DuWPI~pbXwOoWbBgYWJzx9Na0aZpvLZCgc6~017KPpWSLf2mBhTor0IRLyy-fu3kLUqIy1nyzUQjWy44apYLsyVIy4yWhTdKoYafFkg68tatBNxy-4VcR18KXh0PQj3IpgJ~4Sb0L1K47kZuGovWSD5tjyzBMDvr3Ehf1CVqnqrTkMYPqKrSbeqHALwEYByADJmowcWEC2wHdW7pDUDgVc~0K3BRsH8txCce0Zm06TXSV0y3XX6HKQZhsg30JOFFVdYvqg5RfQy0cXK1DvR57Cfyd4nj9FcYg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |access-date=7 August 2021 |work=Horror Homeroom |date=2020 |archive-date=August 7, 2021 |pages=138, 161|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807091136/https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/63260138/Friday_the_13th__Full_Special_Issue_1_Spring_2020_20200510-101035-15cingq-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1628330415&Signature=c-5ke2xHCkBqEO3cobT7X8Jp3N-YdlMdh-58X79SBzVzOfbYmB9V8DuWPI~pbXwOoWbBgYWJzx9Na0aZpvLZCgc6~017KPpWSLf2mBhTor0IRLyy-fu3kLUqIy1nyzUQjWy44apYLsyVIy4yWhTdKoYafFkg68tatBNxy-4VcR18KXh0PQj3IpgJ~4Sb0L1K47kZuGovWSD5tjyzBMDvr3Ehf1CVqnqrTkMYPqKrSbeqHALwEYByADJmowcWEC2wHdW7pDUDgVc~0K3BRsH8txCce0Zm06TXSV0y3XX6HKQZhsg30JOFFVdYvqg5RfQy0cXK1DvR57Cfyd4nj9FcYg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA}}

Similarly, Brennan Thomas characterizes Chris as showing signs of PTSD, emphasizing her as the franchise's most physically and emotionally vulnerable character. Thomas further likens her vulnerability to a post-war Vietnam veteran due to her extensive trauma. Wickham Clayton credits Chris as the first protagonist of the Friday the 13th films to have an in-depth backstory explored. Clayton attributes her backstory and its connected flashback scene that alludes to the possibility of rape by Jason as allowing Chris to have a fully developed character arc that explains her mental breakdown at the end of the film. Clayton argues that the sufficient characterization provided to Chris allows the audience to have an emotional engagement with her wellbeing compared to the heroines of the prior installments.{{cite news |last1=Clayton |first1=Wickham |title=Killing the Sad Fat Guy and the Pregnant Lady: Uncomfortable Death in Friday the 13th Part III – 3D. |url=https://research.uca.ac.uk/5475/1/7-Clayton_KILLING-THE-SAD-FAT-GUY-AND-THE-PREGNANT-LADY.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920031539/http://research.uca.ac.uk/5475/1/7-Clayton_KILLING-THE-SAD-FAT-GUY-AND-THE-PREGNANT-LADY.pdf |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |url-status=live|access-date=9 August 2021 |work=Horror Homeroom |date=2020}}

Tim Dirks describes Chris's confrontation with Jason as a "monumental battle of wits and stamina." Jack Pooley (WhatCulture) describes the character as "annoyingly hysterical" but praises Chris for her resourcefulness during the film's finale.{{cite web |last1=Pooley |first1=Jack |title=10 Horror Movies That Chose The Wrong Survivor |url=https://whatculture.com/film/10-horror-movies-that-chose-the-wrong-survivor |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220130/https://whatculture.com/film/10-horror-movies-that-chose-the-wrong-survivor |archive-date=January 30, 2022 |url-status=live|website=WhatCulture |access-date=9 August 2021 |date=June 10, 2021}}{{cbignore}} Joan Bunke (Des Moines Tribune) describes Chris as "dim" for the character's decision of returning to the place that traumatized her.{{cite news |last=Bunke |first=Joan |title=Another violent offering from filmland chop shop |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81525995/des-moines-tribune/ |access-date=17 July 2021 |work=Des Moines Tribune |date=August 26, 1982 |page=30|via=Newspapers.com}}

Chris appears as an easter egg in the video game Friday the 13th: The Game (2017) as a figurine players must collect in order to progress in the Virtual Cabin game mode.{{cite web |last1=Perrin |first1=Steve |title=Friday The 13th The Game: Virtual Cabin |url=https://littlebitsofgaming.com/2018/05/23/friday-the-13th-the-game-virtual-cabin/ |website=Little Bits of Gaming & Movies |access-date=5 March 2022 |date=23 May 2022}} Writer Stacie Ponder included an illustration of Chris in her 2017 Friday the 13th death count book.{{cite book |last1=Ponder |first1=Stacie |title=Death Count: All of the Deaths in the Friday the 13th Film Series, Illustrated |date=October 7, 2017 |publisher=Two Things Press |isbn=978-0692965832}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Bracken|first=Peter|year=2006|title=Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th|publisher=Titan Books|isbn=978-1-845-76343-5}}

{{Friday the 13th (franchise)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Chris}}

Category:Female characters in film

Category:Female horror film characters

Category:Film characters introduced in 1982

Category:Final girls

Category:Friday the 13th (franchise) characters

Category:Teenage characters in film