"FRIDAY THE 13TH: DELUXE EDITION"
Blu-ray Reviews
by Kevin Carr
Back in February, the modern re-imagined version of “Friday the 13th” hit theaters, and Paramount Pictures released Deluxe Edition DVDs of the first three films in the original series. Now, the Killer Cut of the film is available on DVD and Blu-ray, these Deluxe Editions are now available on Blu-ray.
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"FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 2" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Amy Steel as GINNY FIELD John Furey as PAUL HOLT Adirenne King as ALICE HARDY Kirsten Baker as TERRI Stuart Charno as TED Warrington Gillette as JASON VOORHEES Rated R Directed by: Steve Miner Back to DVD Review Home |  |
After eleven films in the original “Friday the 13th” canon, with a new film that rocked the box office in February, it’s pretty easy to suffer from Jason overload. However, after decades of campy, supernatural horror, it is nice to head back to Camp Crystal Lake and watch the early films again.
We open Part 2 with Alice (Adrienne King), the last survivor from Crystal Lake, being attacked in her home. She finds Pamela Voorhees’ severed head in her refrigerator, and Jason breaks in to kill her in a vengeful rage. Soon, the film moves back to Crystal Lake, or rather a camp nearby. Some counselors decide to explore the legendary Camp Blood, which puts Jason on their tail so the body count can rack up again.
Many people who have forgotten their Jason history do not remember that this is actually the first time we see Jason as the killer (if you ignore the weird dream sequence at the end of the first film). In this respect, the remake has more to do with this film than the previous one. Like we saw in the remake, this Jason is masked with a burlap sack, as no hockey mask appears until part-way through the third installment.
There’s a freshness to this film that comes from the fact that Jason has not yet reached superhuman status. He’s just a vengeful, deformed mountain man. He hasn’t returned from the dead... not even from the almost-dead that he wakes up from in Part IV.
“Friday the 13th Part 2” is a pretty good sequel, delivering fresh kills and scares for the slasher crowd. It helped prove the viability of slasher sequels and potentially was more impactful to the genre than the first film because it allowed them to continue.
Sure, the movie’s not as good or as fresh as the original, but it gives us some decent scares and pays off on all the slasher elements fans have later grown to know and love.
On Blu-ray, the high definition presentation looks pretty crisp for a low-budget film from 1981. Along with a high-def presentation of the film, we have most of the bonus features (only excluding “Jason Forever”) presented in HD as well.
There’s no commentary track, but we have the same features from the Deluxe Edition DVD. “Inside Crystal Lake Memories” looks back on the history of the film with a “Friday the 13th” expert. “Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions” spotlights how fans kept the excitement for the series alive with grass roots campaigns and convention appearances.
Rounding out the features is the theatrical trailer in HD and the second installment of “Lost Tales from Camp Blood,” a nice little slice of modern slasher movie-making.
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"FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 3 IN 3D" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Dana Kimmell as CHRIS Paul Kratka as RICK Nick Savage as ALI Rachel Howard as CHILI David Katims as CHUCK Larry Zerner as SHELLY Tracie Savage as DEBBIE Jeffrey Rogersa as ANDY Richard Brooker as JASON VOORHEES Rated R Directed by: Steve Miner Back to DVD Review Home |  |
The two most notable things about “Friday the 13th Part 3” is that it was the first time Jason wore a hockey mask and it was originally released in 3D. Let’s table the hockey mask for a minute and talk about the 3D effects.
3D has seen a revolution in the past year or so, thanks to digital projection and modern filmmaking. I doubt you will ever see an anaglyph 3D film again in the theaters unless it is an old print of a film like “Friday the 13th Part 3.” Back in 1982 when this film was release, 3D was hitting another resurgence, but it was still very gimmicky and had to be viewed with the red-blue anaglyph glasses that caused double vision and eye strain.
When the Deluxe Edition of this film was released on DVD, we got a nice remastered presentation. The same happens with the Blu-ray release, giving us a crisp image and more control over the color levels. However, the presentation can only be as good as the original image, which still gives plenty of double vision and eye strain. Sure, it’s cool to watch the movie in high definition but the 3D is still pretty distracting and murky.
Instead, “Friday the 13th Part 3” looks better in its 2D presentation, even from the Blu-ray. If you’re a fan of at-home 3D, you can still enjoy the 3D presentation because the Blu-ray comes with two pairs of 3D glasses, but you might just end up abandoning them after the second or third overt 3D gimmick shot.
Once you get past the 3D gimmick, you’ll see that “Friday the 13th Part 3” traverses familiar territory. We’ve got counselors in the woods, Jason Voorhees with a new hockey mask and a list of fresh kills. Jason is still human, if not superhuman in strength, but the silly 80s moments (like the jive-talking biker gang) soften the film a bit.
The Deluxe Edition DVD came with no special features, but they have been included on the Blu-ray release. So if you haven’t picked up this film for your collection, check it out on Blu-ray rather than DVD. All the features are presented in HD, including the standard element of the theatrical trailer.
Three featurettes examine this film’s legacy. “Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror” talks about how and why the movie was planned in 3D, including how tedious it was to shoot the gimmick shots. “Legacy of the Mask” examines the iconic nature of Jason’s signature hockey mask, which was first introduced in this film. “Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular” looks at the violence and stunts required to make this film in the early 1980s.
Finishing things off is the third installment of “Lost Tales from Camp Blood” which continues to be one of the better special features in this DVD/Blu-ray release slate.
