Intro
It’s amazing the effect that the passage of time has. It was hard to find a series that had a cheaper and nastier reputation than the Friday the 13th films back when they were first released. Now, in the wake of the slick postmodernism of Scream and its ilk, these slashers seem oddly quaint and innocent. Watching one is an exercise in Generation X nostalgia, and not at all an unpleasant one at that.
Synopsis
If you really don’t know what happens in a Friday the 13th flick, then you should be reading a different review. But for those of you who tuned in late, Tommy, who killed Jason at the end of Part IV, is now a seriously disturbed young man. He is taken to Pinewood, a halfway house altogether too close to Crystal Lake. Before long, the entire (large) cast of characters is being hacked up. Is Jason back?
Audio
This is a bit of a disappointment. The sound is mono. Crisp, clean mono with zero distortion, it is true, but still mono. It would have been wonderful for the soundtrack to be remastered into stereo so we could have the “Jason-son-son-son” effect coming at us from everywhere, but oh well.
Video
If the sound is not all I could have wished, I have no complaints with the picture. The presentation is 1.85:1 widescreen, and is beautiful. The contrasts are sharp, the print looks perfect, and there is zero pixilation. There is no visible image enhancement either – the night scenes look wonderful, with the black’s pitch-black, the blood blood-red, and no loss of clarity. The climax, with all its thunder and lightning, darkness and blood, is a real treat to look at. A very nice job done by Paramount.
Features
The extras are as minimalist as the audio options: one trailer. Not much more I can say.
Closing Thoughts
It would have been nice for a few more extras and a stereo mix, but the picture quality is terrific, and given that most of the VHS copies of the series are now only available in the EP mode, this is a nice little treat to get just before Halloween.
