JASON Steps Out Of His Comfort Zone in 4K

JASON GOES TO HELL (4K Limited Edition) 

JASON X (4K Limited Edition)

From Arrow Video

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat

Here they are, the two blackest sheep of the Friday the 13th franchise, courtesy of New Line Cinema, now on 4K from Arrow Video. Still, both have their share of fans (one probably a lot more than the other), who will certainly appreciate the UHD upgrades.

"You guys hear something?"

When New Line acquired the Jason character from Paramount, the ultimate goal was to eventually pit him against Freddy Krueger. Laying the groundwork for this clash of terror titans was Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993/91 min), and if nothing else, there’s an admirable attempt to do something a little different. In fact, Jason is blown to bits in the very first scene, but is now able to possess others into continuing his killing spree.

That means ol’ Voorhees ain’t actually on-screen all that much, which apparently didn’t sit too well with fans. But that’s not the problem with this one. The story is too much like The Hidden, the performances are pedestrian (even by the franchise’s lowly standards) and the characters are terribly written. Though there are some great kills (especially the unrated cut, which is included), this one is just for completists.

The backstory of Jason Goes to Hell is far more interesting and entertaining than the movie itself, and this set is loaded with scores of bonus features, both new and carried over from the recent Shout Factory editions. I especially enjoyed the interviews with director Adam Marcus, whose unbridled enthusiasm is quite charming. God bless him…he honestly thought he was making a great film.

EXTRA KIBBLES: THEATRICAL & UNRATED CUTS; NEW INTERVIEWS with make-up effects creator Robert Kurtzman, actor Julie Michaels, composer Harry Manfredini. ARCHIVAL INTERVIEWS (mostly carried over from the recent Shout Factory releases) with director Adam Marcus, actor/stuntman Kane Hodder. TV FOOTAGE with optional commentary by director Adam Marcus; 3 AUDIO COMMENTARIES -  1) by historians Michael Felsher & Steve Barton (NEW); 2) by director Adam Marcus & author Peter Bracke; 3) by director Adam Marcus & screenwriter Dean Lorey; TRAILER/TV SPOTS; STILL, POSTER & BEHIND-THE-SCENES GALLERIES.

"Surely you guys heard that."

Confession time, folks…I never really cared for the Friday the 13th franchise. I know the first one is considered a classic, but catching it in theaters as a teenager, all I saw was a crude Halloween ripoff and couldn’t fathom what my peers thought was so scary. Still, I’ve seen all of them…because sometimes you just wanna watch horny, pot-smoking  teenagers die.

There are two exceptions, however…one was Jason Lives, which was often an intentionally funny send-up of slasher tropes (long before Scream), and Jason X (2002/91 min). Man, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when this screenplay was being developed, where someone must have thrown up their hands and said, “Ah, fuck it, let’s just launch him into space.”

This is film knows it’s ridiculous…and simply doesn’t care. But unlike other slashers-in-space debacles like Hellraiser IV and Leprechaun in Space, Jason X is both self-aware and satirical. It’s a hell of a lot of fun watching Jason awakening from cryo-sleep and picking up where he left off 500 years earlier (and the nano-enhanced ÜberJason is a real hoot). Not only does this one have the highest body count of any previous Friday the 13th film, setting it in space allows for some awesomely creative kills Jason could never have done in the woods (like the somewhat legendary liquid nitrogen scene). 

Needless to say, Jason X also has an interesting backstory, which is provided by numerous featurettes and interviews, though fewer actual new ones. Most of the best stuff is also carried over from the recent Shout Factory editions.

EXTRA KIBBLES: NEW INTERVIEW with composer Harry Manfredini; ARCHIVAL INTERVIEWS (mostly carried over from the recent Shout Factory releases) with screenwriter Todd Farmer, actor Kristi Angus, original F13 director Sean S. Cunningham; DOCUMENTARIES - Outta Space: The Making of Jason X and By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X; 3 AUDIO COMMENTARIES -  1) by historians Michael Felsher & Steve Barton (NEW); 2) by screenwriter Todd Farmer & author Peter Bracke; 3) by director Jim Isaac, screenwriter Todd Farmer & producer Noel Cunningham; BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE; EPK; TRAILER/TV SPOTS; STILL, POSTER & BEHIND-THE-SCENES GALLERIES

The 4K restorations for the films are quite good, and both feature original 2.0 lossless stereo and DTS-HD 5.1 audio options. Maybe it’s the way my system is set-up, but I was far more impressed with Jason X’s audio quality than the other (where the dialogue seemed a lot muddier). As usual for Arrow’s Limited Editions, each set comes with physical goodies, but since we were only sent promo discs, they weren’t available for review.