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Friday the 13th: Limited Edition
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Arrow Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (20th September 2024). |
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The Film
 Camp Crystal Lake has been long-abandoned since the night Pamela Voorhees murdered several camp counselors she held responsible for the drowning death of her deformed son Jason. The sole surviving counselor managed to decapitate Pamela with her own machete, but rumors persist that anyone who goes missing in the area is the victim of her son who either did not really die or returned from the grave to avenge his mother's death. A quintet of youths have set up camp nearby; however, they are not curious about the legend. Richie (As Above, So Below's Ben Feldman) and Wade (Chernobyl Diaries's Jonathan Sadowski) are searching for a hidden marijuana crop, hoping to pilfer and profit. Amanda (Bitch Slap's America Olivo) is just looking for a partner who eats fish. Mike (Rob Zombie's Halloween's Nick Mennell) is trying to provide a distraction for girlfriend Whitney (The Mentalist's Amanda Righetti) who was convinced to get away for the weekend from looking after her cancer-stricken mother. When all five of them never return home, Whitney's brother Clay (the House of Wax's remake Jared Padelecki) is the only one convinced that his sister did not simply take off with her boyfriend; furthermore, unlike the relatives of the other kids, he is convinced that their trail stopped at Camp Crystal Lake despite the assurances of Officer Bracke (Hostel: Part II's Richard Burgi) that the camp was thoroughly-searched. Clay is still canvassing the area with missing persons posters when he runs into another group of weekenders: fratboy douche Trent (Transformers' Travis Van Winkle) whose parents own a swanky summer cabin across from Camp Crystal Lake, his girlfriend Jenna (The Flash's Danielle Panabaker), Trent's equally douchey bro Nolan (G.I. Joe: Retaliation's Ryan Hansen), interchangeable bimbos Bree (Crazy, Stupid, Love.'s Julianna Guill) and Chelsea (Impulse's Willa Ford), Asian stoner "Chewie" (Disturbia's Aaron Yoo), and Green Day-listening would-be rapper Lawrence (Final Destination 5's Arlen Escarpeta). Trent's alpha male act puts off Jenna who decides to join Clay on his visit to the abandoned camp, Nolan and Bree decide to take Trent's boat around the lake, Chewie and Lawrence decide to get high, and Chelsea decides to make a video with Trent. The scene is set for slaughter and a few more surprises. For all but the uninitiated, the original Friday the 13th was not a "Jason" film and hinged entirely on a Psycho-esque shock reveal, so the New Line/Michael Bay-produced remake/reboot likely would not have been able to surprise viewers with the same reveal (and even those who had not seen the film might have had the ending spoiled for them with the killer's "trivia" question in the opening sequence of Wes Craven post-modern slasher Scream). Opening with an unnecessary monochrome reenactment of Pamela Voorhees' defeat followed by the sequence featuring the initial five two-dimensional youths that moves along at enough of a clip that the viewer may not realize that it too is a teaser with the title card finally appearing at the twenty-three minute mark signaling the actual story proper, the true model of them film appears to be mostly Friday the 13th, Part 2 – what with the "shrine" and Whitney exploiting her resemblance to Jason's mother during the climax – along with sequences that vaguely call back to highlights of the other sequels as well as possibly more subtle references to the likes of Mario Bava's proto-slasher A Bay of Blood, a Silent Night, Deadly Night antler impalement, and even a possible homage to the shopping center slasher Hide and Go Shriek with rich kid ringleader Trent turning out to be a killjoy when it comes to looking after his family's property. It also might have been an opportunity for music video director Marcus Nispel to indulge in more The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-isms reducing all rural areas to Southern backwoods more so courtesy of handyman Donnie (The Hitcher remake's Kyle Davis) than Burgi's nondescript police presence – although this film does not explicitly set Camp Crystal Lake in upstate New Jersey – while Jason's improbably underground lair may have been his chance to reference New Line Cinema's signature franchise A Nightmare on Elm Street (that being the only Platinum Dunes remake he did not get to helm). The film does not hold back the reveal of Jason – in his part two sackcloth garb then-recently homaged in the likes of Timecrimes and Triangle before coming across a suitable replacement a la Friday the 13th, Part III – but does not really get into whether he survived his drowning or is undead, but like his counterparts in the aforementioned "Texas Chainsaw" remake and Zombie's Halloween, he is played by another hulking stuntman in Derek Mears (Predators) who gets the physical part across but is just a ciper compared even to the multiple stuntmen who embodied Jason in the Paramount series. The rest of the performances are functionally adequate but none of the actors can make anything of their characters or the tired humor (Padelecki's Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles did not fare much better with his own slasher vehicle remake My Bloody Valentine 3D). Given the relaxed standards of the MPAA from the mid-nineties onward, the kills are suitably brutal – both the theatrical version and the extended "killer cut" which does include more gore managed to secure R-ratings – and the cinematography of Daniel Pearl – who photographed both the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its remake – has some attractive imagery and lighting – although a few sequences are rather murky-looking to the extent that it is hard to tell what is going on (and this does not appear to be a means of making the prosthetic effects more convincing). The scoring of Steve Jablonsky d – whose first feature score was Nispel's previous horror franchise reboot – lacks the character of the Harry Manfredini score, only briefly "quoting" the iconic motif when Jason discovers the hockey mask. While Zombie's Halloween was not intended to be sequel-ized, the 2009 Friday the 13th like the aforementioned "Elm Street" remake, was intended to be a rebooted franchise but proved to be a non-starter at worst and a slick homage at best (even before the recent lawsuits over the ownership of the franchise, the proposed sequel to the 2009 film was in development purgatory) while the "Texas Chainsaw" follow-ups had to resort to dull variants of origin stories to frame their body counts. 
Video
Following the film's theatrical release, Friday the 13th hit Blu-ray from then-New Line home video distributor Warner Bros. in a branched presentation of the film's theatrical cut (97:14) and the extended "Killer Cut" (105:30), both rated R. The same disc appeared in Warner's Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection steelbook set while the VC-1 encode and Dolby TrueHD audio for both cuts as well as all of the extras were directly ported by Shout! Factory for their disc of the film in the mammoth Friday the 13th Collection (which dropped the French dub included only on the theatrical cut). As such, the Dolby Vision/HDR10-compatible 2160p24 HEVC 2.40:1 widescreen transfers of the theatrical cut (97:14) and the extended "Killer Cut" (105:30) on Arrow Video's 4K UltraHD release are both the film's first remaster as well as their first new encode. Mastered from the 2K digital intermediate, the new encodes feature a different grade from the earlier editions. The image is generally brighter while retaining the deep shadows. Detail is still subject to the original photography which was often deliberately soft due to shallow focus, frenetic camerawork and blocking, as well as heavy use of smoke as diffusion (the monochrome opening seems to have been shot without such tricks with the knowledge that it would be manipulated in post-production). On the commentary track, Nispel expressed dislike of the color red in his films to the extent of favoring grading that made the blood look more rust brown. The blood is redder here than the on the earlier version and some of the textures of the prosthetic effects suffer a bit, looking as unconvincing as the severed head seen in the ungraded deleted scenes but the "effect" of the deaths is more through the brutality of the editing (which may have been why Nispel did a commentary for the theatrical release rather than the "Killer Cut"). Some of the murkier scenes are more readable here while the brighter daylight and well-lit night interiors reveal better detail in skin and clothing, giving the "local color" of the film's supporting cast and rustic environments even more of a sense that Nispel is indulging in more Texas Chainsaw-isms.  Screen shots are from the 2009 Blu-ray edition for purposes of illustrating the film review not the video quality.
Audio
Both cuts are accompanied by English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks which feature clear dialogue and a playful effects track that makes full use of the fronts and rears – particularly entertaining during the opening sequence when Jason is stabbing his machete through the floor while potential signs of Jason's presence meld together with atmospheric effects elsewhere – while Jablonsky's bombastic score pummels the viewer as much as the unsubtle use of needle drops as musical commentary. Optional English SDH subtitles are also included. 
Extras
The theatrical cut on disc one is accompanied by the bulk of the extras, new and archival, starting with a new audio commentary by director Marcus Nispel who reveals that he and Bay had often bid on the same music video projects. While Bay went into film, Nispel went into commercials, resisting movies until Bay "dragged" him in. While he was eager to do the film – partially due to his having been a boy scout and recalling campfire ghost stories – he felt that there were too many cooks and nearly took his name off the film until he saw Ken Blackwell's rough cut; indeed, he attributes Blackwell's editing decisions to saving the movie from himself. Having attended conventions since his retirement, he defines Jason as the film's hero and Trent as the villain, noting the "fanboy army" and their identification with the "underdog" as well as describing writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon – who previously scripted Freddy vs. Jason for New Line – as both the franchise insiders and the "epitome of the audience" while he and the producers were the "tourists." He also discusses the film's casting, noting that he had to hide on camera the fact that Padelecki was taller than Mears, and that Olivo replaced another actress who backed out of doing nudity, meaning that the opening sequence had to be reshot causing the film to be five days behind schedule. He also discusses the Texas location shoot including lighting the found locations – as well as noting that film's shadow play was inspired by Night of the Hunter which he admired, as well as his conception of Jason as a hunter and survivalist rather than an undead monster – noting that he was a disciple of Pearl during his music video days and acknowledges his contributions to the film. The theatrical cut also includes a new audio commentary by writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon who discuss the film's various callbacks to the original franchise, including some of the more overt ones – including a scene in the script where a house is revealed to be from the fourth film with the discovery of a photo of Corey Feldman's character – which makes sense halfway through the track when Swift states that he sees the film as a sequel rather than a remake or reboot, that Jason had worn the hockey mask before he "discovered" it in the film, and they considered using footage from the 1980 film rather than the new "flashback" which was intended to be placed in the middle of the film until post-production. They also credit Nispel with some of the innovations to the script including the weed subplot, the addition of "visual signposts" and the director's fetishistic interest in production design details, as well as twisting some of their callbacks to make them less predictable. They acknowledge that there were too many homages, and that they were cut back along with some "overwritten" dialogue and character scenes – particularly ones better distinguishing blondes Bree and Chelsea – to keep the pace moving while also acknowledging that some bits were better conveyed by the actors without dialogue. They reference two drafts of their script but sometimes have trouble recalling what made the final film, including the many variations on the death of the Donny character (the variant that appears in the deleted scenes was deemed too comical).  The disc also includes a trio of new interviews starting with director Marcus Nispel (28:39) who provides an analysis of the appeal of Jason and other slasher film killers as relatable to outsiders in contrast to the victims, his working methods with Pearl in only lighting the important elements of a shot and employing literal smoke and figurative mirrors to evoke atmosphere. He also goes into more detail about the actress who Olivo replaced and revealing that close-ups were retained from the first shoot but all of the group shots had to be reshot. He also discusses his preference for shooting quickly, trying for twenty pages per day rather than one or two, which allows him to shoot material for multiple versions of scenes to satisfy both himself and the demands of the producers. Also interviewed are writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (37:09) who recall someone at Platinum Dunes calling them about the project, having already suggested them to Bay, their session pitching the film to both New Line and Paramount executive with active involvement from Bay who was excited about the sleeping bag scene, and having to pitch scenes again on the set as Nispel and the production were cutting material to keep on schedule. They also discuss the rules of the franchise, honoring and subverting them, and their continuing disagreement over whether the film was indeed a sequel or a remake/reboot. They also discuss the sequel which was supposed to have been set in the snow, with Jason having been frozen in Crystal Lake, while also averring to the disagreements between studios and copyright issues as well as the lawsuit by the first film's screenwriter Victor Miller (A Stranger is Watching). Most welcome is an interview with cinematographer Daniel Pearl (23:00) who discusses his earlier work with Nispel on television commercials, using smoke and darkness in the lighting and finding a balance between grit and beauty, a more humorous accounting of the incident with the actress who backed out of doing the nude scene, and resisting the transition to digital cinematography for three years, turning down a number of projects until he shot a Drake music video for Rick Ross using the RED camera. "A Killer New Beginning" (18:22) is a video essay by film critic Matt Donato that discusses the film's connection to the earlier franchise and its differences – noting that it is an amalgamation of the first four films (the sibling angle having been inspired by the fourth film) – but comes across as a little defensive, taking swipes at the detractors of remakes in general as well as suggesting that fans of the series are unaware that it is "canonically ridiculous" and had no idea where it was going when much of the series' fans probably accepted the inconsistencies given that each entry were written and directed by different people, and that there never was a "direction" for the series other than to get another entry onto the screen. Ported from the 2009 Blu-ray are the archival extras including excerpts from the "Terror Trivia Track" (43:13) which had been a picture-in-picture extra on the older disc, "The Rebirth of Jason Voorhees" (11:24), "Hacking Back/Slashing Forward" (11:41), "The 7 Best Kills" (22:32), and deleted scenes (8:20) which includes the alternate "comical" version of Donnie's death and a variation on the climax. The first disc also includes a gallery of selection promotional materials: teaser trailer (1:28), the theatrical trailer (2:25), TV spots (6:34), the original electronic press kit (35:10) from which some of the material in the archival extras was derived, and an image gallery. The second disc features the "Killer Cut" (105:30) and its sole extra in a new audio commentary by film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson which makes a better case than Donato's video essay for the remake, the remake cycle of the 2000s as a perceived threat to nostalgia and the pushback before the film's release and with each remake announcement, periodic tonal resets in horror moving from the smug and self-referential towards more brutality, and the pleasures of repetition with the entire franchise both restaging with variations and the slasher genre as a whole as a variation on campfire stories and ancient oral traditions. They also note that producer/original film director Sean S. Cunningham tried to get a film version of "Hansel & Gretel" off the ground amid some other unsuccessful children's films before trying the profitable horror genre and the film was his variation on the tale which had also influenced both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-screenwriter Kim Henkel, and Nispel on both of his remakes. They also note that unlike Scream and the camp aspect that crept into the Friday the 13th franchise with the later entries, Nispel's film takes the material seriously, plays the game with the knowing audience and subverts expectations, and that its callbacks work for the franchise's fans who get the references while standing on their own for newcomers. 
Packaging
The two discs come in a slipcover with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin, an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Matt Konopka and Alexandra West, a "Greetings from Crystal Lake" postcard, and double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin.
Overall
Friday the 13th is a franchise non-starter at worst and a slick homage at best but it has improved with subsequent viewing and has gained an appreciative audience (which may or may not overlap with the original franchise fanbase).
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