In
My Skin 4K (2002/Severin
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Jason
Goes To Hell 4K (aka The
Final Friday/1993)/Jason
X 4K (2001/both New
Line/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+/B-/B- Picture: B/X/X Sound: B/B-/B-
Extras: B/C/C Films: C+/C-/C-
The
idea of people being cut by sharp objects on film usually is
something that has become trivial and once in a while, something more
or something else. The following releases show both....
Marina
De Van's In
My Skin 4K
(2002) features the director playing a woman who is having a decent
time at a party when she falls and cuts her one leg up a good bit,
though she does not realize it for a while. Sadly then, she starts
to become obsessed with her deep, long wound and starts to cut back
into it, poke at it and even cut other parts of her body as her
depression and shock and upset into a literal bloody mess.
Not
an easy film to watch, it is attempting to be honest and portray the
long-term way someone with this condition (or sets thereof) how this
would and could manifest itself and it does not cover up or hide
much. On the one hand, you have to be graphic to be honest about it
all, but for the film and this viewer, it was still too much (it is
obviously going to be too much in real life) and though the
screenplay and cinematography come close to wallowing in it all, sad
predictability sets in. Only for those with a strong stomach, but a
brave and honest film no matter what.
Extras
on both disc editions include a Feature Length Audio Commentary By
Writer/Director/Star Marina De Van
Commentary
By Film Critic/Fantasia International Film Festival Programmer
Justine Smith
Exclusive
Faculty Of Horror Episode On IN MY SKIN With Andrea Subissati
And Alexandra West
French
Trailer
and
U.S. Trailer, while the regular Blu-ray alone adds...
An
Introduction By Kier-La Janisse, Author Of House Of Psychotic
Women
Exposed
Skin: Interview With Marina De Van
Fear
Of A Female Cannibal: Barbara Creed, Author Of The
Monstrous-Feminine, On IN MY SKIN
Under
The Surface: Video Essay By Dr. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas,
Author Of 1000 Women In Horror, 1895-2018
Marina
De Van's Student Shorts:
Short
Films:
CADAVRE
EXQUIS (Lea Mysius, 2013)
A
FERMENTING WOMAN (Priscilla Galvez, 2024)
and
an Audio Commentary For A FERMENTING WOMAN With Director Priscilla
Galvez And Star Sook-Yin Lee.
Adam
Marcis' Jason
Goes To Hell 4K
(1993) offers two equally lame cuts, with any extra or more graphic
footage improving nothing. Paramount was so bored with the Jason
character and he was so played out,. New Line Cinema was licensed the
character and they came up with two desperate films. The gimmick
here is that Jason becomes a spirit that can inhabit others bodies
and then also go on the kill. Too bad they did not kill the script.
More
explicitly supernatural than the older entries, it is a lame wreck,
plays very desperately and to say it is for fans only is an
understatement. To bad the film drags the audience into the title
locale in the worst way.
Extras
include a
reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
by Gary Pullin
Double-sided
foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by
Gary Pullin
Illustrated
collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by JA Kerswell
and original production notes
DISC
ONE - THEATRICAL CUT
Introduction
to the film by director Adam Marcus
Faces
of Death, a brand new interview with special make-up effects
creator Robert Kurtzman
Undercover
Angel, a brand new interview with actor Julie Michaels
Mixing
it Up, a brand new interview with composer Harry Manfredini
The
Gates of Hell, an archival interview with director Adam Marcus
Jason
vs. Terminator, director Adam Marcus on growing up with the
Cunninghams
Uber-Jason,
an archival interview with Kane Hodder on playing Jason
Additional
TV footage, with optional commentary by director Adam Marcus
Theatrical
trailer and TV spots
Still,
behind-the-scenes and poster galleries
DISC
TWO - UNRATED CUT
Brand
new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve
''Uncle Creepy'' Barton
Archival
audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and author Peter Bracke
and
an Archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and
screenwriter Dean Lorey.
James
Isaac's Jason
X 4K
(2001) has Kane Hodder return as the killer, but even in space, you
can hear (and see) all the tired cliches and the makers know it, so
it becomes this bizarre compilation of things Jason had already done
(and many times in most cases) becoming slap-happy stupid throughout.
In a rare mood, you might laugh this one off the screen as I did
when first released in theaters, but it is bad and its race-bating
title (Spike Lee's Malcolm
X had
also recently arrived) would likely not get made now. The result is
another pointless revival and it bombed. For fans and the oddly
curious only.
Extras
include
an introduction to the film by actor Kane Hodder
Brand
new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve
''Uncle Creepy'' Barton
Archival
audio commentary with writer Todd Farmer and author Peter Bracke
Archival
audio commentary with director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and
producer Noel Cunningham
Scoring
the Stars, a brand new interview with composer Harry Manfredini
Outta
Space: The Making of Jason X, an archival documentary on the
making of the film featuring interviews with producers Noel
Cunningham and Sean S. Cunningham, actor Kane Hodder and writer Todd
Farmer
In
Space No One Can Hear You Scream, an archival interview with
writer Todd Farmer
Kristi
Is a Headbanger, an archival interview with actor Kristi Angus
Jason
Rebooted, Sean S. Cunningham on Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X
The
Many Lives of Jason Voorhees, an archival documentary on the
history of the character
By
Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X, archival making-of
documentary
Cast
and crew interviews
Behind-the-scenes
footage
Electronic
Press Kit
Theatrical
trailers and TV spots
Still,
behind-the-scenes and poster galleries
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary
Pullin
Double-sided
foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by
Gary Pullin
and
an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film
by Matt Donato and JA Kerswell.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on In
My Skin 4K
was shot on Kodak 35mm color negative film and looks pretty good
here, if not perfect, though some reconstruction had to be done to
get the version we see. Its the best performer here, by default or
not, and plays well enough. The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High
Definition regular Blu-ray version is fine for the format, but I like
the color and slightly more solid 4K performance. The
French DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 5.1 lossless mixes
are both good, with the 5.1 having slightly more clarity, but the 2.0
Stereo sometimes having a fullness advantage.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Jason Goes To
Hell 4K offers a few good shots at times, but the overall
presentation is weak, a little soft and not great or as good as it
should be. Not that it was that well-lensed in the first place, but
still. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio)
5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes try to upgrade the old analog
A-type Dolby System noise reduction soundtrack, with Pro Logic
surrounds on the 2.0 Stereo mix, but it is too harsh and forward,
especially in 5.1 and not good. Be careful of high levels of
playback.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Jason
X 4K has much more digital, very few good
shots and also is not that good, but it does represent how this
looked in movie theaters upon its original release for better and
worse. It was shot in Super 35. This has not aged well visually.
The DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes represent whatever
soundmaster was used for its theatrical release in DTS, Dolby Digital
and SDDS (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound) but is a little off and was
never great, so in this era of even more tracks of sound on movies,
it really shows its age and flaws.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
