Blu-ray Review: Friday the 13th (Uncut)

Release Date: February 3rd, 2009
Running Time: 95 minutes

The Film

SPOILER WARNING: This review contains discussion of common knowledge plot points from the film. If you have never seen the film I advise you to skip this portion of the review.

Jason Voorhees is the undisputed king of slasher films. With ten films and countless bodies under his belt, including a showdown with fellow icon Freddy, Jason has more than carved his place in cinema history. With New Line rebooting the series, it was only a matter of time before another edition of the original film hit home video, this time in High Definition. Friday the 13th: Uncut on Blu-ray is a true treat for fans and the perfect way to celebrate Jason’s latest resurrection.

The film revolves around events taking place at Camp Crystal Lake, aka Camp Blood. After an accidental death in 1957, and a string of murders in 1958, the camp is finally being reopened in 1980, and the counselors are gathering to make the necessary preparations before the kids arrive. The meat, er counselors, includes: Jack (Kevin Bacon), Ned (Mark Nelson), Marcie (Jeannie Taylor), Bill (Harry Crosby), Brenda (Laurie Bartram), and Alice (Adrienne King). They are led by owner, Steve (Peter Brouwer), who orders everyone to begin work as soon as they arrive.

With a torrential storm coming, the counselors batten down the hatches and begin to pair off. One by one they are picked off by an unknown assailant as they are drawn out on their own by strange occurrences around the camp grounds. Soon Alice finds herself the only survivor and has a run in with Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer). It turns out her son Jason was the one who drowned in 1957 because the counselors were too busy having sex to watch him properly. As a result Mrs. Voorhees has been exacting her revenge ever since, and is determined to catch Alice and finish the job.

Friday the 13th may be tame by today’s horror standards, but you cannot deny its influence. Sure the kills aren’t drastically gory, but the effects are well-done and hold up today. This new “Uncut” version also includes extended shots of the gore. The additions are minimal, but certainly noticeable to hardcore fans. Performances remain strong, especially Betsy Palmer’s creepy utterings of “kill them, Mommy!” The nudity, drinking, and goofing off by counselors that have become slasher clichés all originated here as well. So while Friday the 13th may not be the most intense horror experience, it is a veritable classic that deserves every ounce of recognition it has received over the years.

The Disc

The video is offered in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. This is easily the best the film has ever looked. Detail is vastly improved, most notably the depth of the image in the forest backgrounds. The final scene in the lake is breathtaking considering the age and budget of the film. Night scenes do suffer from some softness and loss of clarity, but it is hard to be annoyed due to the vast improvements elsewhere. Colors are distinct and faithfully reproduced. The print has some minor, forgivable damage, but compression/video errors are much less of an issue than before.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital TrueHD Surround Sound and English/French/Spanish Dolby Digital Mono with English/French/Spanish subtitles. Dialogue is clear and centered. Ambient sounds from the rears aren’t the best I’ve heard, but are still very much appreciated. My one complaint is that the music is way too loud in the overall mix. Thankfully the dynamic range is capable of relaying the crystal clear highs of the strings, but the music is still more assaulting than I’d like.

The Extras

A fantastic selection of special features gives proper tribute to the film.

A Commentary track is hosted by Peter Bracke and includes a collection of comments from the cast and crew, including Sean Cunningham, Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, and more. There is a lot covered here, but the fact that the comments were recorded separately and spliced together gives the track a disjointed feel. You are better off watching the rest of the supplementary material.

“Fresh Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13th” features 14-minutes of new interviews with anecdotes and behind-the-scenes information. At this point there is very little die-hard fans haven’t heard, but the piece is still a better alternative than the commentary for hearing production stories. Likewise, “Friday the 13th Reunion” is a 17-minute Q & A with Palmer, King, and more discussing similar material.

“The Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham” is a 9-minute retrospective interview with the man who began the terror.

“Lost Tales from Camp Blood” is a short film about a couple getting murdered. Outside of the iconic music, it shares nothing with the overall lore of the series. The low budget video look is fun, but the quality of the feature from a filmmaking standpoint is unimpressive.

Two features are carried over from the previous box set:

“The Friday the 13th Chronicles” contains even more stories from the cast and crew, while “Secrets Galore Behind the Gore” is an awesome piece with Tom Savini explaining his make-up techniques that were ground-breaking for the time.

Lastly, the Trailer is offered in HD.

Final Thoughts

Friday the 13th: Uncut is the definitive version of the film: cleaned up and restored in HD, loaded with special features, and featuring precious seconds of unseen gore. This is a must-buy for any slasher film fan.