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Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Slasher > Friday The 13th - Pt 2 (1981/Blu-ray)/Friday The 13th - Part 3/3-D (1982/Blu-ray) + Friday The 13th [New Line Remake] (Blu-ray/DVD)/Friday The 13th - Pt 4/5/6 (1985-7/Paramount DVD)

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


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