I absolutely loved The Third Saturday in October part V so much. The fact that this is functionally the fifth movie in a slasher franchise that you’re supposed to watch first is so much fun. It speaks to how some fans discovered the slasher franchises in the 90s. I don’t think I started any of the major slasher series with the first movie.
This is such a send up for the 90s and the horror movies that came out during that time. I guess its more of a love letter because takes those tropes and uses them lovingly. Jay Burleson showed his love and knowledge through his writing and direction. Kansas Bowling and Poppy Cunningham make such an amazing duo. You can’t help but be charmed by their charisma. Poppy is PJ a lovably precocious little girl and Kansas is her babysitter, Maggie. I also really want to mention both Taylor Smith and Bart Hyatt because they play mostly unlikable characters in the movie.
The kills in the movie are outstanding. The practical effects for the kills are top notch which makes them even more gnarly than you’d expect. They were complimented by CG elements which only improved those effects. The music by Kevin Wooten is amazing. You get a score that fits right in with the other elements of the movie.
The Third Saturday in October part V is an amazing love letter to a decade on top of being a fantastic slasher. I was able to double feature this along with The Third Saturday in October at the Chattanooga Film Festival 2022. I can’t recommend seeing this as part of a double feature enough because you get these little touches that carry over between the two. I give The Third Saturday in October part V 9.5 pairs of shears out of 10.