His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th

Anchor Bay

2 DVD

R1

In 1980 Jason Voorhees hit the big screen in Friday the 13th and carved his way into pop culture and the history of horror cinema. Even today some thirty years later he is still one of the most recognized killers in cinema with his trademark Hockey Mask (even though it didn’t appear until Friday the 13th III). Created by the combination of Victor Miller, Ron Kurz, Sean S. Cunningham and Tom Savini, Jason took various forms as the films developed reaching nearly superhuman status by the final incarnation. The films triggered horror, terror and sometimes even sympathy from the audience.

His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th is a two disc set loaded with over four hours of bonus material. This film is a behind the scenes look at the franchise that broke horror box office records and made Jason a horror film icon. With over one hundred interviews from the cast and crew including the new Friday the 13th film, these firsthand accounts of never-before-told stories and rare behind the scenes photographs offer the ultimate look at the history of Friday 13th. All the films are given comprehensive coverage right up until the 2009 remake.

The feature itself is hosted by makeup effects master Tom Savini, whose significance to Jason should never be underplayed. He introduces the various segments of the documentary while following an intended victim through a dilapidated cabin. The documentary then follows the entire 11-film series through all of its various incarnations, from the first film to Freddy versus Jason and, eventually, the Friday the 13th remake.

On disc one there is also “The Men Behind the Mask”, which offers interviews with everyone who embodied the Jason persona, from Ari Leehman to Derek Mears. It’s enjoyable and interesting to see each actors take on the character, especially when so often you wouldn’t have known them behind the mask !

Disco two is packed with the extras and there is so much here it is unbelievable. Yes, they have taken it way too far. I love the films but found it difficult to sit through so many interviews, reflections, memories and stories. But at least they are here for prosperity.

“Final Cuts” is a compilation of the interviews done with all the Friday directors except for a couple of buggers who did not show up !

“From Script to Screen” covers the scriptwriters and it is actually rather fascinating to hear some of their ideas and realize what did not make it to the screen.

“Dragged From the Lake” is a bit of a ad-hoc mixture covering all sorts of things that did not fit neatly into the various thematic docos in the series.

“Fan Films” – umm yea ! Great idea folks.

”Friday the 13th in Four Minutes” is a rather amusing summary of the whole series into four minutes. Rather fun I may add.

“Closing the Book on The Final Chapter” is a tour of the cabin where the story began. It seems that the area is fairly untouched so we get a good look at where it started and recollections of the actors from the series. This continues in “Fox Comes Home” which looks at the barn and has Gloria Charles offering memories and reflections.

“Jason Takes Comic Con” offers various interviews with the cast and crew of the remake.

“The Camp Crystal Lake Survival Guide” looks at whether you can survive Jason’s attentions and gives you some survival tops. We know they won’t work, don’t we !

“Inside Halloween Horror Nights” is a tour of the Camp Blood attraction at Universal Studios

“Shelly Lives” is a comedy skit/infomercial which features Larry Zerner, who played Shelly in Part III, pretending to be a personal injury lawyer.

This is really a very packed guide to Friday 13th. The quality of the content varies and to be honest it is the main feature which is really the drawcard. It is a product which has been a “little packed” to create a sort of “ultimate guide to Friday 13th” and I think this dilutes the value of the main documentary. Anyway, it is a comprehensive product, watch the sections that interest you and ignore the rest !

This review will appear in Volume 2 No.3 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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