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As a fan of
the earlier “Friday the 13th”
films, I’m finding it rather enjoyable
to re-visit these classics on the wonderful
world of Blu-ray. Of course, by the earlier
I mean the first 2. By the time the series
reached the 3rd film it was already becoming
a bit of a parody. Consider the fact that
the 3rd film was also in 3D… hoo boy.
Still Paramount is thrilling fans again
with the release of “Friday the 13th”
parts 2 & 3 (3D!!) on Blu-ray this month.
I had almost forgotten how much I liked
part 2, with Jason returning as the actual
killer this time, wreaking havoc…
but not yet with his trademark hockey mask.
Here we see him in all of his potato sack
glory.
“Friday the 13th Part 3”, begins
to feel more like a rehash as we once again
have teenagers returning to Camp Crystal
Lake to have sex and get off… or would
that be… get ‘offed’?
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What made it different was the use of ‘3D’
to enhance the viewer’s experience. This
was still in the early days of 3D however, when
most directors went out of their way to make sure
props would jump off the screen at you. It was
clever, but ultimately rather silly.
There has been a renewed interest in horror over
the past several years and so we have seen many
different releases of this franchise. Both of
these films were released just a few months ago
in Deluxe DVD Editions, but these were questionable
as the Deluxe part was not really that deluxe.
“Friday the 13th Part 3”s only feature
was the fact that it was in 3D. And admittedly
it wasn’t a very good transfer of 3D at
that (which isn’t totally the fault of the
studio as most 3D on DVD looks pretty poor.)
These new Blu-ray Editions are a completely different
story however. Both include a handful of decent
extra features, the overall image quality looks
a lot better than what has been available before,
and depending on the TV you’re watching
the 3D isn’t too awful. You definitely need
a HD TV to really appreciate it.
“Friday the 13th Part 2” offers up
“Inside Crystal Lake Memories” (which
was available on the Deluxe Edition) allows writer
Peter Bracke the opportunity to talk about how
he came to write his book on the series and how
much a part the fans were able to play in its
creation. “Friday’s Legacy: Horror
Conventions” looks at the phenomena of horror
conventions and why a lot of the actors from the
films are there (I kept waiting for someone to
say, “To Make money from autographs since
I no longer have a career!!”). “Lost
Tales from Camp Blood: Part 2” is part of
a series of short films inspired by Friday the
13th… skip it. In “Jason Forever”,
Bracke is back to moderate a panel of former Jasons
as they talk about their experiences playing the
character. Finally there is a Theatrical Trailer.
“Friday the 13th Part 3” gives us
“Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror”, which is
a fairly lengthy featurette on how the film was
made including some of the 3D processes. “Legacy
of the Mask” tells us how the mask became
the iconic look for Jason, while touching on his
various looks from film to film. “”Slasher
Films: Going for the Jugular” includes interviews
from several horror luminaries as they touch on
the subject of why these types of films work so
well. “Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part
3”… well again… skip it.
The 3D offered up here is about what you typically
get from home video… red and blue ghostly
images that give you 3D…but with odd colors
and hues. For some reason no one has been able
to capture the 3D we get in the theater, which
uses the cool grey sunglasses and therefore does
not mess with the color. In HD it is better than
usual… but still far from perfect.
“Friday the 13th” is a series that
has its ups and downs, but any completist will
certainly want to collect these films on Blu-ray.
Friday the 13th Part 2:
Directed by: Steve Miner
Starring: Amy Steel, John Forey, Adreienne King
Extras: Inside Crystal Lake Memories, Friday's
Legacy: Horror Conventions, Lost Tales From Camp
Blood - Part 2, Jason Forever, Theatrical Trailer
Friday the 13th Part 3:
Directed by: Steve Miner
Starring: Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Richard Brooker
Extras: Fresh Cuts: 3D Horror, Legacy of the Mask,
Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular, Lost Tales
from Camp Blood: Part 3, Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen 1080p High Definition
(2.4:1); English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 6/16/2009
MPAA Rating: R
http://www.paramount.com/homeentertainment
We'll give Friday the 13th: Parts 2&3 (Blu-ray)
both a B-.
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