The immortal
murderer Jason Voorhees comes back from the grave, slaughters a bunch
of heavy drinking, pot smoking teens, and chases the final survivor
around until he or she finds some way to kill him for good…or at least
until the next movie.
CRITIQUE
Since his debut in
the second film, Friday the 13th’s Jason has become a cultural
horror icon. He is the ultimate boogey-man. He is a mindless,
purposeless killing machine. And he is everywhere. Unlike Freddy (or
even Michael Myers) Jason doesn’t have a motivation, he exists to kill
anything and everything he sees. And that’s what makes him a
terrifying monster. He has no wants to needs, just the desire to
kill.
The eight films in
this set are a mix of clever ideas, gross gore effects, and bad
acting. The films, in a filmmaking sense, are pretty much trash.
Lame scripts, poor acting, lazy direction…the characters exist simply
to give the director a reason to have Jason mutilate, crush, bash,
gash, smash, etc. However, the films do try to be creative with the
kills, such as in the 8th film, there is a shot from the
perspective of a severed head as it falls off a roof top. Friday 6
(Jason Lives) even attempts to bring humor into the series, and
occasionally pulls it off, but not always. At least, the films fell
into Freddy territory and gave Jason a voice just so he can deliver
one-liners as he offs his victims.
But, in the end,
not all the creativity in the world can change the fact that the
Friday films are nothing more that cheaply made slasher films. If
you love the series, this is a must have set. If you’ve a fan on
slasher films, but have never seen the films, it’s worth a look.
THE VIDEO
The transfer is not
too bad, although not the best considering there are two films on the
disc. I did see a bit of grain every now and then, but it was nothing
that really harmed the film.
THE AUDIO
The audio mix is
presented in a variety of ways. The first five films are presented in
Dolby Digital mono. Fridays 6 and 8 are presented in Dolby Digital
“Ultra Stereo.” And part 7 is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1
surround. All of the mixes are very good, the sound effects and
dialogue is never lost beneath the screams.
THE EXTRAS
Commentary on
Friday the 13th part 3:
Some of the cast as well as Jason talk about their experiences making
the film. A really good track, especially with the very British
Richard Brooker, talking about what it was like to play the a
character without motivation (Jason.)
Commentary on
Friday the 13th part 6:
Director/Writer Tom McLoughlin discusses how different he wanted to
make his entry in the series, as well as pointing out all the in-jokes
that he used.
Commentary on
Friday the 13th part 7:
Director Buechler and Kane Hodder (Jason) talk about their experiences
of making the film. A very good track.
Commentary on
Friday the 13th part 8:
An okay track in which director Rob Hedden recalls working on the
film.
The Friday the 13th
Chronicles:
An 8 part documentary about the films. Each part is about each film
and features the director, cast, and a few of the Jasons. It’s a very
interesting feature that explains many of the choices made in the
films.
Secrets behind the
Gore: A
3 part feature with Tom Savini and director John Carl Buechler about
how they did the gore effects in Fridays 1, 4, and 7. It also has a
look at Tom Savini’s make-up school.
Crystal Lake Victims Tell All: A few of Jason’s victims return to life to talk about what it was
like to be on the film as well as being killed by Jason.
Tales from the
Cutting Room Floor:
Alternate and extended takes. Many of these are the extra seconds cut
from the kills in order for the film to receive an R rating.
Friday Artifacts
and Collectibles:
Toys and props from the film. Some interesting fan work, but overall,
not that interesting.
Rounding out the
extras are Trailers.
FINAL THOUGHTS
An excellent
collection for these really bad, yet somehow fascinating films.
Although, I wonder, why weren’t we treated to the uncut original
Friday the 13th, which is available everywhere else?! It also
would’ve been cool to have seen Friday 3 in its original 3-D
presentation.
