Just about everyone who is evenly slightly versed in pop culture knows who Jason Vorhees is. Even those who have never seen a Friday the 13th film are familiar with the name. Jason’s iconic status as a serial killer has him joining the ranks of serial killers the likes of which only Michael Meyers and Freddy Krueger have achieved.
Because everything old is suddenly new again, New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures are co-producing a remake of the 1980 low budget slasher flick. It hits theaters this Friday, February 13 (big surprise) and both studios are undoubtedly already counting the box office dollars in their minds even though not a single ticket has been sold.
As the date nears, Paramount has grabbed some of the original films out of their vault and given them slick new DVD releases, the first one even hitting Blu-ray (read Brad’s review of that one here). These so-called Deluxe Editions come with new featurettes, restored picture and new 5.1 audio mixes. Part 3 even comes in both 3-D and 2-D versions, two pairs of glasses included with the disc to help simulate the original theatrical experience.
Personally, I’ve never understood the popularity this series of films or with Jason Vorhees himself. While Halloween was a well-made, highly efficient and still scary-as-hell shocker, I find the Friday the 13th films to be relatively tiring. While they all have their moments, overall these are insanely repetitive and poorly directed motion pictures. While some are certainly better than others (there is a soft spot in my heart for, all things, the eighth chapter, Jason Takes Manhattan) overall if I never saw another one of these again I wouldn’t feel like I was missing a thing.
Still, they do have their fans. As such, here’s what you can expect from the first three of these new DVD releases from Paramount.
Friday the 13th (1980)
WHY THE FUSS? It’s the uncut version of the film featuring even more graphic action about 40 additional seconds!
FUN FACT: Kevin Bacon is one of the stars appearing in only his fifth film up to that point (his debut came in National Lampoon’s Animal House).
BEST DEATH: The decapitation of Mrs. Vorhees (Betsey Palmer) by potential victim Alice (Adrienne King).
NEW EXTRAS: A compilation interview commentary track (much like the ones on so many of those James Bond DVDs) featuring director Sean S. Cunningham (who admits thinking up the film to make a quick buck in the wake of Halloween‘s success), writer Victor Miller and stars Palmer and King (amongst others), three featurettes (most of them filmed during a 2008 horror convention), the theatrical trailer and the bland, relatively pointless short film Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 1.
BOTTOM LINE: How this was a hit is a little bit beyond me, but the cast (mostly made up of New York theater actors) is better than you’d expect and the twist of having Jason’s mother be the killer is still, even almost 30 years later, relatively inspired. Plus, the signature score (while blatantly copying musical cues from Psycho, Jaws and North by Northwest) still gets under your skin (especially Digital 5.1 surround), creeping you totally out whether you like the film or not.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
WHY THE FUSS? It’s the first time Jason Vorhees starts killing people himself!
FUN FACT: Steve Miner’s first film as a director, he would go on to direct Part 3, the low budget William Katt/Richard Moll shocker House and New England crocodile thriller Lake Placid. He would also helm Jamie Lee Curtis’ return to the character that made her a household name in Halloween H20.
BEST DEATH: Nice guy in the wheel chair Mark (Tom McBride) getting dispatched by Jason with a machete to the face. Honorable mention goes to Terri (Kirsten Baker) and Ted (Stuart Charno) getting speared by the killer while in the middle of having sex, a gag which would be repeated in some fashion or another at least twice in subsequent sequels.
NEW EXTRAS: Three more featurettes, including one on the horror convention most of them were filmed at and another reuniting four of the actors (Ari Lehman, Warrington Gillette, C.J. Graham and Kane Hodder) who have portrayed the famous mass murderer. Also included is another lame installment of Lost Takes from Camp Blood as well as the film’s original theatrical trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: Obviously made as quickly as possible in order to exploit the success of the original, Part 2 is nonetheless a bit better directed by Steve Miner than the first one was. Unfortunately, the kids are a heck of a lot stupider (which is saying something), the acting is a lot worse and the writing doesn’t have any of the slight, subversive wit Victor Miller brought to his screenplay.
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
WHY THE FUSS? It’s in 3-D! Jason wears his hockey mask for the very first time!
FUN FACT: This was the first time the actor playing Jason Vorhees (Richard Brooker) would get listed in the opening credits. Actress Kimmell would become a recurring character on “Diff’rent Strokes†for three seasons.
BEST DEATH: Acrobatic showoff Andy (Jeffrey Rogers) getting sliced in two while walking down the cabin’s hallway on his hands.
NEW EXTRAS: The 3-D version of the film is available for the very first time on DVD. The 2-D version is also included as is the original theatrical trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: Easily the worst of all the sequels (which is saying something), Part 3 is so beholden to trying to make its flirtation with 3-D successful it pulls out every trick in the book. With that being the case, the steady hand Miner brought to Part 2 is entirely absent, while the actors are so bad this time around there is a reason most of them were never heard from again. It’s also the first one where the continuity and logic problems start to become an issue, and while a couple of the deaths are reasonably well staged (love the harpoon gun to the eye socket gag) by and large this one’s a massive waste of time.
As for the 3-D, the less said about that the better. The color looks terrible and watching it gave me a massive headache less then ten minutes in. I can’t imagine anyone choosing to watch the film start to finish this way.
