BluRay/DVD Review: Friday the 13th 1-3

Friday the 13th is now available on BluRay in gorgeous 1080p and that might not necessarily be a good thing. The biggest highlight here is that the film has been released uncut. That means that about 10 seconds or so of footage has been restored to the film. Yeah, 10 seconds. For the most part the film looks nice. There is still some grain and I noticed a few pops but over all the picture was pretty clean. This does not help the make up effects at all. This is especially true in the famous Kevin Bacon death scene. You can clearly see where the makeup ends. It's a completely different color than his face. I never noticed this on the old DVDs but it is blatant on the BluRay.

The movie is just as I remembered it, I'm not a fanatic of these movies so I really couldn't tell you where the gore was restored to. It seems kind of worthless when you can see the make up on the kill spots though. The acting is passable the movie is still fun to watch though by now its scare factor is significantly less than in years past.

The BluRay is loaded with special features some great, some kinda worthless. The good stuff is the interviews with Sean Cunningham, Victor Miller (he actually states Sean wanted a Halloween ripoff), and Tom Savini. There is also a commentary track with Sean and some cast and crew, trailer, secrets to the gore of the film, most of which are presented in HD.

The bad is this Lost Tales of Camp Blood. I don't understand the point of it. It's just a short film of some guy killing two people. Was this some contest I was not aware of? It's not even Jason doing the killing. Utterly pointless.

Is the BluRay worth buying? Honestly, probably not. The clarity takes away from the make up effects and the special features aren't special enough to warrant spending the extra money. If you are a die hard Jason fan then yes, pick this up. Otherwise, you're fine sticking with the DVD version.

Friday the 13th Part 2 is not on BluRay but has been remastered in HiDef with a new 5.1 audio mix and new special features. This time we get Inside "Crystal Lake Memories", Friday's Legacy: Horror Conventions, Jason Forever, and the trailer. Oh and another Lost Tales from Camp Blood which I didn't even watch. I had enough with part one.

Friday 2 brings us the bag headed Jason Vorhees on a rampage avenging his drowning and the beheading of his mother.

It's basically the same movie as part one. Except it's Jason this time running around with a pillowcase over his head. Still though, it is enjoyable. Retro glasses will serve these films well because if you're seeing them for the first time I really don't think you'll appreciate them.

Friday the 13th Part Two 2 is not uncut so the only bonus here is the remastered picture, which looks great, and the 5.1 sound which sounds well...great.

I didn't notice any of the make up issues that I saw with the first one so that's a bonus.

Friday the 13th Part 3, 3-D. I was extremely interested in this. I had never seen this film in 3-D before and was itching to watch it. Unfortunately, I got a splitting headache five minutes into the movie. When the 3-D kicked in it felt like someone was trying to scoop out my eyes while hammering a nail into my temples. Sounds like something right out of the movie. That put an end to my 3-D adventures with Jason.

That said, switching over to the standard version proved a much more pleasant experience. Not that pleasant though, this movie is a stinker. It's the same as the first two. More kids in the woods getting high, having sex, and getting eviscerated. This is an important film in the franchise only because it's where Jason obtains his iconic hockey mask.

I think I might have watched these movies too close together because I noticed that A they're almost exactly the same movies and B part three reused some kills in part one, most notably the Kevin Bacon scene. The only difference was that it was a hammock in part 3 and not a bed that the arrow was shoved through.

The print on this must have been a disaster because even with remastering there was some serious imperfections in the picture. I don't know if they just did a rush job on this or they just couldn't clean the film. It sort of gives it that retro feel though but still its noticeable when you see a brown sheen come over one of the scenes.

Friday 3 is devoid of special features outside of the unwatchable (at least for me) 3-D version and a trailer.

Are these new versions necessary? Absolutely not. The DVD artwork is gaudy and a giant step down from the artwork on the original releases. It would be worth while if Paramount continues to release the films uncut as the fans have been demanding for years. I am not aware of any plans to continue with the series at this point but I hope they do.

Why stop with the first three?

I also noticed that the only movie of the first three that takes place at Crystal Lake is part 1. The rest are set in areas nearby. I never realized that before.

Anyway, Jason fans are sure to enjoy revisiting these films before seeing the remake that hits theaters next week. I can't really justify the double dip considering part one is the only one presented as Uncut. We'll see what happens with the next ones. I'm curious if they will return Part 7 to its uncut glory.

Friday The 13th Uncut is available on DVD and BluRay now. Friday the 13th Part 2 and Friday the 13th Part 3 3-D are available on DVD now.