Friday the 13th- Part 2 (Blu-ray) + Friday
the 13th- Part 3; 3-D (Blu-ray) + Friday the 13th [Remake] - Killer Cut (New Line Blu-ray
+ DVD) + Friday the 13th-
Part 4: The Final Chapter (Deluxe DVD) + Friday the 13th- Part V (Deluxe DVD) + Friday the 13th- Part VI
(Deluxe DVD/Paramount Original Series)
(Picture/Sound/Extras/Film):
Friday the 13th- Part 2 (Blu-ray): B/C+/B-/C
Friday the 13th- Part
3; 3-D (Blu-ray):
B/C+/B-/C
Friday the 13th [Remake] - Killer Cut
Blu-ray:
B+/B/C-/C-
DVD:
B-/B-/C-/C-
Friday the 13th- Part
4: The Final Chapter (DVD)
B-/B-/B-/C
Friday the 13th- Part V (DVD) B-/B-/B-/C
Friday the 13th- Part
VI (DVD)
B-/B-/B-/C
Preface:
If all
you readers out there were wondering; yes there are that many films and yes
there are that many releases/re-releases.
Now unlike most of the films; that is scary!
Friday the 13th- Part 2
(Blu-ray)
The Back Story:
And so it
starts…
Whereas Friday the
13th was a slick and scary original horror film that gave
audiences something new to fear; the sequel was not nearly as exciting. The creators of Friday the 13th- Part 2, along with the studio, could
have made the second installment of the series a continuation (as the title Part 2 implies and fans expected) of an
already great story, but instead they seemingly decided to do a retelling of
“part 1” with loose connections here and there.
The story seems to make little sense off the bat as Jason
Voorhees has somehow aged ten years, packed on 100 pounds of muscle and oddly
enough arisen from the dead (yes he was dead in ‘part 1’). The studio must have figured that audiences
are forgiving and with movie magic you can do anything; and so a legendary
horror-slasher was born. The modern day
Jason we all think of today (save the hockey mask) really started in Friday the 13th- Part and
the series has never been the same sense.
Good story arches and creative plot twists took a complete backseat in
the canoe to senseless killing and horny teens.
Jason starts off by killing off the only survivor from the first film (Adrienne
King) with an ice pick and moves on from there to brutally murder the crew of
camp counselors who idiotically and needlessly decided to reopen Camp Crystal
Lake. The counselors are same brand of
alcohol consuming, dope smoking, sex having hooligans that they always were and
Jason sees it as his job to end their neglectant ways
once and for all.
With Mrs. Voorhees disposed of in the original film the
creators of Friday the 13th obviously
had to find a means to unabashedly continue the series; their solution being to
creator a new, yet familiar villain in the form of a more ‘ahem’ mature
Jason. The last we saw him he was
misshapen and a sinking piece of seaweed.
It goes back and forth as to whether Jason is ‘supernatural’ or not, but
for at least Part 2 he fills whole
of crazed serial killer. The film is
Steve Miner’s best as he rehashed ‘part 1’ in a more fast paced manner with
even more creative kills and better visuals.
The originality and freshness of ‘part 1’ is missing, but Part 2 remains creative in its own way
and smells nothing like the horror that would be to come in the following
sequels.
Technical Quality Information:
Friday the 13th-
Part 2 on Blu-ray
is presented in a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video, which is projected as a 1.78 X 1
image. The film is by no means a perfect
High Def presentation but it is the best the film has ever looked with a much
better degree of depth, balance, and no artifacting or debris. The contrast is a clear upgrade from previous
releases, as is the new bright image that is well balanced with the deep, inky
blacks. Overall, it is a solid picture
presentation. The sound is presented in
a remixed Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound track that does not come across as
smooth as the picture with Harry Manfredini’s original score projecting
somewhat harshly and bas track that is simply inadequate. The dialogue is greatly improved over other
releases as it is crisp and clear, but the old film does not sound as good as
it should (though better than the original Friday
the 13th on Blu-ray).
The Blu-ray extras are lackluster and don’t offer much new
or exciting to fans. The extras included
are the same as those found on the recent Deluxe Edition DVD release, except
now they are presented in HD. The special features are:
Inside
Crystal Lake Memories
[Author Peter Bracke recounts many memories from the second film, including
those of deleted scenes, as only he can with overwhelming admiration for the
film series. He delves into alternate endings, deleted gore and many other
fascinating film trivia]
Friday’s
Legacy: Horror Conventions [As the title sounds the featurette looks at the many conventions
that have glorified the film series; especially one entitled Scarefest.
There are interviews from the convention floor as well as the film’s cast
members]
Jason
Forever [A
recycled featurette from the previous 2004 DVD release that features 4 of the 8
actors that have previously played Jason in the films. The actors field
questions from the Fangoria audience as well as talking about their overall
experience.]
Lost
Tales from Camp Blood: Part 2 [Like the odd newly-shot scene that was on the first film
Blu-ray/DVD, this scene once again features our favorite killer torturing some
unsuspecting victims; this time a few bickering hikers.]
Theatrical
Trailer
Friday the 13th- Part
3; 3-D (Blu-ray):
The Back Story:
Can you say hockey mask?
Well this is where the mommy and burlap sack went bye, bye and a hockey
masked, machete wielding killer was born. So that about sums up the film! The film essentially has no depth and as it
picks up one day after Part 2 ended;
it starts on another journey of senseless violence in which horny teens are
massacred. There are some biker guys,
some gore fanatics, and a ton of new faces for Jason to hack off in some
elaborate way. It is a new Friday the 13th, but all the
same old tricks are there.
The film took the franchise to a new level when it
introduced 3-D imaging into the works; but truly it was a gimmick to suck in
fans as the studio recognized that the old tricks of chop-chop-stab-stab may
not be cutting it anymore. The fact of
the matter is that the kills were not even that epic this time around. After extensive editing to get an R rating
the movie shaped up to a few unexhilarating 3-D stabs here and there and one
cleverly placed eyeball grab…other than that the film was a wash. The creativity of the first film and the
little that trailed over into Part 2 is
all but gone here in Part 3, but
after years of bad horror sequels this is no surprise.
If you want the complete Friday the 13th experience then this is not one to skip
out on. The girls are amazing to look
at, the acting is painfully horrible, and whereas it is not excessive violence
at its best…it is in 3-D!
.
Technical Quality Information:
Both the standard and 3-D versions of the film appear on
this Blu-ray release and whereas far from perfect, the release does look better
than any other release before it. The
picture is presented in a 2.39 X 1 1080p High Definition like Part 2 and for the matter presents in
pretty much the same manner. The blacks
are nice and the colors have been improved upon, but there are many areas of
inconsistency, muddiness, and an overly soft image throughout. Whereas it does look better than ever before,
much work has yet to be done. The film
presents as better experience in 3-D, but the effects are still clumsy here and
do not surmount to all they could be.
The 24 bit Dolby TrueHD sound is not amazing but gets the job done as
most comes from the front still and the surrounds are only utilized from
ambient, atmosphere noises. The
directionality is ‘blah’ at best as the surround track does not do much to kick
the film to the next level.
The extras on the Blu-ray are an upgrade from those
presented on the recent Deluxe DVD release of Part 3 (which were essentially nonexistent) and include the
following:
Fresh Cuts: 3-D Terror [HD] – A behind the scenes look that
gives some interesting factoids like how the film was so successful that
Paramount ran out of 3-D glasses, the alternate endings that never were, and
even a creative design of Jason by Stan Winston that was never used.
Legacy of the Mask [HD]-
The new featurette delivers just what it says as it discusses the evolution of
the infamous Jason Mask and how it has evolved from a burlap sack to what it is
today.
Slasher Films: Going for the
Jugular [HD]- Some former cast members reminiscing on what makes a good
slasher flick…intriguing.
Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part
3 [HD]- In the
same vein as those fan made films viewed on the other Friday the 13th releases that are mildly entertaining.
Theatrical Trailer [HD]
Friday the 13th [Remake] - Killer Cut (Blu-ray +
DVD)
The Back Story:
Well with everything in Hollywood “going back to the
beginning” or having some “origins” film as a means to cleverly disguise an ill
fated remake; it was no surprise when the studio decided to do the same to the
classic Friday the 13th. The rehashing of Friday the 13th is no so much original as it is a
mashing together of the first 4 Friday
the 13th films.
Essentially if you threw the Friday
the 13th film series into a blender and saw what game out; that
is what this film is as it took the best elements and tried to somehow creative
a viable storyline.
The film is overflowing with the
formulaic elements of the Friday the 13th
series with plenty of blood, guts, gore, and boobs; but sadly none of its
original charm. The film manages to
quickly summarize the happenings of the original Friday the 13th film in a quick camp fire story as a
means to give the film a back-story and substance; instead it just sounds
contrived and uninspiring. The initial
group of travelers tells the tale of Jason Voorhees, and Mrs. Voorhees as well
for that matter, and quickly gets hacked to bits. Later a second group of rich and horny teens
(as well as another guy looking for his missing sister) shows up at Crystal
Lake for a weekend of fun; but what they find is quite different. The film takes an odd turn as Jason, who
seemingly has lain dormant for years, begins killing a slue of people; even
though he has lived closed to a community and the house where the teens are
staying for quite a long time (pure nonsense).
The tale discards all previous notions
of the Camp Crystal Lake and camp counselors (with the exception that the
setting is the abandoned camp grounds) and instead opts to work with
underground caverns and a mansion on the lake side that together are so
unbelievable it is distracting. The
mansion has been there for years and Jason never showed his mangled face and
the caverns are so wide and expansive that they nearly seem impossible with the
geography of the camp being exceedingly confusing. Maybe he didn’t bother the mansion dwellers
because he was too busy building his elaborate tunnel system? Just a thought.
In the end the film tries way too hard
to be exciting, gory, sexual, and a classic rolled into one; and instead comes
out flat and forgettable. Whereas
previous Friday the 13th
films were known for their creative massacre scenes (no matter how bad the film
was), this film was lackluster and a downward spiral from the very beginning.
Technical Quality Information:
The 2.39 X 1 picture on the film’s Blu-ray release is a
amazingly well done at 1080p/VC-1; with a bright color palette as well as deep
and rich blacks the film boasts of a great visual experience, even thought he
film itself was duller than any color could ever be. The image was exceedingly clean throughout
only having slight softness issues and a few inconsistencies with the
characters’ flesh tones here and there; but overall it was well done. The sound is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround
Sound track that is not as good as the picture, but still slashes past all
previous Friday the 13th Blu-ray/DVD
entries with ease. The dialogue is
amazingly crisp, the bass is deep, and demonstrates nicely utilized
surrounds. There are issues here and
there and whereas not pristine; it is still a good track.
The DVD has a Widescreen presentation that in no way
compares to the Blu-ray and is a solid downgrade from the excellence of
Blu-ray. The sound quality is also
watered down on DVD in its Dolby 5.1 Surround that lacks the depth, clarity,
and the fluidity found on the Blu-ray.
If this is a must have film for you, Blu-ray is the way to go.
The extras on the DVD and Blu-ray are the same with the
exception that the Blu-ray features some BD Live Features that are minimally
enjoyable and its extras are found in HD.
The extras only include Explore
the Rebirth of Jason Voorhees for a New Moviegoing Era (a simplistic studio
press junk, making of featurette that is rather throwaway at 12 minutes) and Additional Slashed Scenes that add
nothing to an already floundering film.
Friday the 13th- Part
4: The Final Chapter (DVD)
The Back Story:
In what many consider to be the best Friday
the 13th film; Friday the
13th: Part 4 – The Final Chapter if nothing else stands out as
the shining lantern in a dwindling horror series. Joseph Zito took the helm on this installment
of the hockey masked psycho franchise.
In the film that stars both Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman; Jason
returns (from the county morgue none the less) to put those horny, idiotic
teens back in their place. While Jason
stabs his way through another lot of unsuspecting and nude teens, a creepy
ax-man named Rob Dier (played by Erich Anderson) is out to get revenge on Jason
for killing his sister; so an awkward triangle of death arises as the teens
(mainly Corey Feldman), Jason, and the ax-man are pitted against each other in a
winner take all battle.
This film is better than the rest as
it seems Zito is the first director to get the film’s pace correct, have plenty
of nudity, and allow Savini to be the mastermind that he is and create some
amazing and inventive kills. Whereas the
film is by no means a work of art it does finally blend the elements back
together to make a thoroughly enjoyable slasher flick.
Technical Quality Information:
Whereas the Widescreen
presentation of the fourth film is at times grainy and still contains color and
black issues that will hopefully be fixed on Blu-ray. With that said the film does look
considerably better than it ever has and has a sharp quality about it that has
not been seen to date on any other release of this film. The sound is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound that gets the job done, but never fully utilizes the full speaker
spectrum. The original Mono Track is
also available for purists.
The
extras are full of goodness and it seems the studio finally did right by fans
as it includes:
Commentary by Joe Zito,
Screenwriter Barney Cohen and Editor Joel Goodman – A nice track that includes
plenty of on set memories and trivial facts that you can’t find anywhere else
Fan Commentary by Adam Green and
Joe Lynch – The
two young horror film directors reminisce on how this particular film inspired
their life and works
Lost Tales of Camp Blood – Part 4- Continuing right along with the
other sets; featuring another segment of the fan made films.
Slashed Scenes
Jason’s Unlucky Day: 25 years
After Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter- An 11minute behind the scenes
featurette that brings together many of the old cast and crew to give some
insight into how the film was made, inspirations, and much more.
The Lost Ending
The Crystal Lake Massacres
Revisited Part 1
Jimmy’s Dead Dance Moves – Watch Crispin Glover
hilariously dance his life away
Original Theatrical Trailer
Friday the 13th: Part V
– A New Beginning
(DVD)
The Back Story:
Ok, I
know what you are thinking. Didn’t I
just read the review of “The Final
Chapter;” well apparently it was the final chapter in volume one of a
dreadful tale of lost dreams and crushed creativity, because Jason is back once
again. In what seems all too much like
the studio and director was messing with us; the film plays more like a
caricature of a Friday the 13th
film, rather than actually being a film.
The
characters are goofy and the action sequences scream WTF, more than they scream
in horror. The film consists of
outrageous moments and trailer parks; as Jason hacks his way through another
useless sequel that fans surely will enjoy for all the wrong reasons.
I would
like to dissect the film further, but honestly I have no idea how. The film is dark and demented in its own
unique way as the director/writers obviously intended for some black humor to
course through the film. Sometimes the
film is so bad it hurts, but the truth of the matter is that it is still
thoroughly enjoyable. The characters are
fun, the killings are sick and unique, and really what was anyone expecting in
the 5th installment?
Technical Quality Information:
The
Widescreen presentation of the fifth film in the series plays very much like
the other films
in the series which were already released on Deluxe DVD. Throughout the DVD presentation there is at
some grainy segments that also get murky the color contains very little life
(though somewhat vibrant) and the video black is dull and will hopefully be
fixed on Blu-ray. As with the other deluxe
editions, the film does look considerably better than it ever has and has a
sharp quality about it that has not been seen to date on any other release of
this film. The sound is a Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound that gets the job done, but never fully utilizes the full
speaker spectrum.
Extras
include:
Commentary by
director/co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann with Cast and Crew- Nothing that intriguing is put on
the table here; mainly due to the director being a drag and most of the
comments made here can be better found on the His Name Was Jason film.
Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 5
– You guessed it!
Another fun filmed installment of the Camp Blood mini films that at first were
annoying, but I have now grown to look forward to them on each set.
The Crystal Lake Massacres
Revisited Part II-
A mock news report that discusses the incidences occurring at Crystal
Lake. It is worth a look at best
New Beginning: The Making of
Friday the 13th Part V
Original Theatrical Trailer
Friday the 13th: Part
VI – Jason Lives
(DVD)
The Back Story:
Please
make it stop!! Yes Jason Lives but fans souls died a little with this film as the once
promising horror franchise jumped the shark.
Bad acting was a mainstay for the Jason series by this point and whereas
I would like to call this installment a complete waste, director Tom McLoughlin
took the film seriously and put a somewhat new spin on a dying (or dead)
concept. McLoughlin made Jason more
supernatural than ever as a lightening bolt (you heard me) resurrects Jason
from the dead, just before Tommy Jarvis (from Part IV and V) can finish him off
at the grave yard. There seems to be
more attention to detail in this film than the previous two installments, but
the film can still concurrently be ridiculously laughable at times. As a new batch of camp counselors attempt to
reopen Camp Crystal Lake, McLoghlin finds new inventive ways fro them to die
the most gruesome deaths.
The film
may not win an Oscar but it fits well into the series, even as it jumps the
shark.
Technical Quality Information:
Just as
the previous two films appeared…
Whereas
this is the best looking film on DVD thus far, the film still plays very much
like the other films in the series on Deluxe DVD as it is nice, but has
issues. Throughout the DVD presentation
there is at some grainy segments that also get murky the color contains very
little life (though somewhat vibrant) and the video black is dull and will
hopefully be fixed on Blu-ray. As with
the other deluxe editions, the film does look considerably better than it ever
has and has a sharp quality about it that has not been seen to date on any
other release of this film. The sound is
a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound that gets the job done, but never fully
utilizes the full speaker spectrum.
Extras
include many similar things to the other DVD releases as fans can enjoy the
following:
Commentary by director Tom
McLoughlin with Cast and Crew- McLughlinis very insightful and the listener can tell he
truly cared for this film; regardless of the stigma that was associated with the
series at this point in time.
Lost Tales from Camp Blood: PART 6- YES! Another installment…over joyed!
The Crystal Lake Massacres
Revisited Part III
Jason Lives: The Making of Friday
the 13th Part VI
Meeting Mr. Voorhees
Slashed Scenes
Original Theatrical Trailer- They add
nor detract from the film, but are fun to watch.
In the End:
After
reviewing, viewing, and suffering through way too many Friday the 13th films I have decided that I would take
them on any day. No matter how campy or
bad acted, the films remain fun. Though
not always the freshest series it does have heart and entertainment value and
that is enough to make the film line-up a classic horror genre in my book.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
