Friday the 13th Part 3‘s Shelly Finkelstein (or Shelly Greenblatt, according to the novelization) is one of the most memorable characters from the entire Friday the 13th franchise. A horror aficionado and practical joker, things were always more interesting for Shelly’s friends when he was around. Although he can at times be an obnoxious prankster, the character has a certain charm brought to him by actor Larry Zerner, who was literally cast off the street when the writers spotted him handing out fliers, immediately recognizing he’d be perfect for the part.
Shelly’s pranks are a bit dark, as Chris Higgins and her friends quickly discover after they arrive at Higgins Haven in Crystal Lake for a weekend of teenage debauchery. He actually fakes his death by using a prosthetic axe and fake blood, horrifying his blind date Vera. The nerdy prankster manages to redeem himself to her soon after when a group of bikers harass the two at the grocery story, running over their motorcycles and driving away. Vera is impressed, but unfortunately for Shelly, it’s still not quite enough to get him anywhere with her.
As a big horror fan, Shelly is a collector of a variety of masks. Luckily for fans of the Friday the 13th series, Shelly kept his goalie mask from when he played hockey. Feeling rejected by Vera, Shelly pranks her by scaring her with his hockey mask and a harpoon gun. Possibly witnessing this and feeling inspiration, Jason slices Shelly’s throat to take the legendary mask for himself, which has since become synonymous with the character. In other words, if you appreciate Jason Voorhees in the hockey mask, you have Shelly Finkelstein to thank.
In the end, Shelly’s pranks would wind up working against him. Initially surviving the gash to the neck received from Jason, Shelly wanders Higgins Haven in search of help. When he manages to find the stoner Chili, she believes he’s merely trying to trick her again, leaving the poor kid to bleed out right there in front of her. Considering his recent rejection and desire to just entertain his friends, it was kind of a bummer to see him go – and yet, it was probably the perfect way to go for the character if he had to die.
Shelly also has the distinction of being just one of three characters from the films to appear by name in Friday the 13th: The Game – aside from Jason and the voice of his mother, of course. Franchise hero Tommy Jarvis appears as he was portrayed by Thom Mathews in Jason Lives, while Fox from Part 3 was put into the game to pay tribute to late actress Gloria Charles. Joining them as a playable character is none other than Shelly himself, complete with the voice of Larry Zerner.
While Shelly’s death in Part 3 prevented him from appearing in any more Friday the 13th movies, the character has since been resurrected in comic book form. The crossover comic book series Freddy vs Jason vs Ash features a scene where Freddy Krueger conjures up several Friday the 13th series victims as Deadites to take down Jason, including Part 4‘s Jimmy, Part 5‘s Eddie, and, of course, Part 3‘s Shelly. At least in some small way, Shelly was able to finally get some payback on Jason.
In any case, Shelly Finkelstein is perhaps the most memorable of all of horror’s greatest pranksters. He may not have survived Jason’s rampage, but he’s definitely a character no Friday the 13th fan will ever forget. Long live Shelly!
Related Article: A Look Back at ‘Friday the 13th Part 3’ After 35 Years
