AVC MPEG4

This is one of the best of the series to benefit from the high definition Blu-ray release. You might recall that I had some serious reservations about the 3D work on the last DVD release. That kind of 3D depends entirely on a completely true color reproduction. With unstable reds and blues or greens, the effect becomes somewhat difficult to appreciate and more than a little bit of a strain on the eyes. This release offers you for the first time what was only promised on the DVD. You finally get a print clean and detailed enough to make the effect worth checking out in your own home theater. It still doesn’t fix the fact that most of the effects were obvious and quite gimmicky. Still, it’s the best chance you’re ever going to get in this technology to experience HD at home. There is progress being made on potential 3D capable monitors and a newer process, but let’s be honest. Ralph Kramden was waiting for 3D television for 60 years. There’s still some time to wait, but this release is an inch closer to that reality. So put those campy paper glasses on (2 are included with the disc) and have a little fun with Jason and his Camp Crystal Lake playmates.

It didn’t take the Friday The 13^th film series long to reach down into the gimmick bag. The sad thing is that the franchise didn’t really need a gimmick. Steve Miner returned to the director’s chair, and he delivered an important, if not great, entry into the franchise’s history. Jason would, for the first time, don the hockey mask that would make his image the iconic horror visage it remains today. This was also an important film because a young makeup artist from this staff would break out to become one of the best in the business. Stan Winston was an uncredited artist on this film. Of course, I have no way of knowing what was his, but can there be any doubt that he left his mark throughout the film? Winston didn’t often talk about the film at all. It’s almost as if he never considered it a part of his resume, but he’s likely the biggest thing to come out of the movie.

“You may only see it once but that will be enough.”

That was the marketing slogan for the first Friday The 13^th film in 1980. Apparently they couldn’t have been more wrong, because most of us have seen the film countless times, and no, it was never enough. The franchise would thrive with over 10 sequels or affiliated films, taking us right up to the present remake/reboot of that very first outing at Camp Crystal Lake. No, my friends, once was never going to be enough.