Jason Goes to Hell (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)Elizabeth Marcus (Julie Michaels) is being chased through the woods by Jason. Typical Friday The 13th movie, right? Wrong. A bunch of bright lights flash on, startling Jason. The FBI comes out of hiding and shoot Jason numerous times. In fact, Kane Hodder, as Jason, had the most squibs ever on an actor. Jason is then blown to smithereens, causing body parts to go flying. It's a pretty cool opening sequence, but how are they going to finish the movie?
Jason's tattered remains are being examined by a professional. The man is hypnotized by Jason's black heart so much so that he eats it (there's some interesting acting). This brings the spirit of Jason into him. He continues to go from body to body, searching for his living family members (his sister, his niece, and his niece's baby). If he can get one of them to host his spirit, he will be reborn with into his old body, complete with mask and all.
He switches bodies multiple times throughout the movie, which is kind of cool. The downside of this is that there aren't many scenes with Jason as Jason -- that is, Kane Hodder as Jason. This is his third of four times playing Jason in a row. Hodder does have a short appearance as an FBI agent, but he gets killed.
The ending is pretty lame with the 'heart creature' and the giant hands from Hell. However, the sequence right before the credits is very exciting. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but let's just say that there's a very special cameo.
Aside from the cameo I just mentioned, there are some other interesting appearances. The book in the old Voorhees house is the Book Of The Dead from the Evil Dead movies. Additionally, the dagger used to kill Jason was the same daggeer used in Evil Dead. This didn't have anything to do with the movie, but it was cool that they used the same props.
This movie leaves many unanswered questions. Why does a movie titled Jason Goes To Hell never have a scene in Hell? How did Jason come back from the ending of the eighth movie? If the bounty hunter has been chasing Jason for his entire life, why doesn't he show up until the eighth installment? How did he find out how to kill Jason? More importantly, why is he even after Jason? Why was Jason's family never mentioned before this? Oh well, it's a movie. It's bound to have some plot holes.
On the plus side, there is actually some character development here, which most Friday The 13th movies lack. People are actually in relationships and have lives until Jason interrupts.
It was interesting to see how New Line went in a different direction with this film. The didn't do the same 'campers getting killed in the woods' thing, although they did include a few camper deaths in the movie, which was a good idea on their part. Let's face it: people complained about the lack of that, but if they would have done the same old plot again, people would have complained about it being boring and unoriginal.
The DVD is pretty good for this movie. It has some cool special features. One of those is the funny commentary from director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey, both of whom play small roles in the movie. They poke fun and make jokes but also tell interesting facts, so it's entertaining. Other features include alternate scenes from the television version, the original theatrical trailer, and jump to a death. The only thing missing would be a cool 'making of' segment.
The best part about the DVD is that it contains both the R-rated version and an unrated director's cut. The R-rated version is the one you saw in theaters. It shows a lot of deaths off screen. Sure, that adds a sense of mystery, but if you're a gore hound like myself, you'll want to watch the unrated version. It has a lot of bloody deaths that were so bad, they couldn't be shown in theaters. It's much better than the original, in my personal opinion.
It's not the Final Friday, as the title states, but neither was the fourth one, which claimed to be 'The Final Chapter'. They will continue to make movies as long as they can get money out of it. At least this one isn't a bad movie, like the next to come.

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Scare yourself into purgatory as the body count continues. The relentless, hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees returns for more bloody cranage in this ninth chapter of the frightfully successful Friday the 13th series. Year: 89 Director: Adam Marcus Starring: John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Erin Gray DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDVD ROM FeaturesInteractive MenusOtherTheatrical Trailer

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What Dreams May Come (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)There is such a profound sense of drama, magic and emotion behind the story in "What Dreams May Come," a film based on the novel by Richard Matheson. There is a strong story with which anyone who loves someone else can identify, as well as an austentatious and elegant scope of visual and auditory imagery that jumps right for your eyes onscreen. Matheson's visions of heaven and hell are magnificently realized here, as well as the love between two people that is unbreakable, even after death.
The movie begins with the chance meeting of two American tourists traveling in Switzerland. Soon after, Chris and Annie become inseperable, and after their wedding, they bear two children. Many years later, Ian and Marie are killed in a car collision, leaving their parents distraught yet overcoming. Another couple of years later, Chris dies in a car accident as well, on his way to celebrate the "Double D" anniversary of his wife's emotional recovery from their childrens' deaths. This begins his trip into heaven, which is rocky at first during his attempts to console his living wife, then graduating into his acceptance of his immortality and ascemding into heaven, which turns out to be the creation of his own thoughts and settings. When he realizes that he is not completely happy without Annie, he becomes depressed, so it is no surprise that when Annie commits suicide and is sent to hell, he readies himself to rescue his wife from her emotional confines that keep her in her prison of eternal darkness.
The story for this movie is very ambitious, as are the filmmakers who bring it to life. There is an abundance of vivid memories in the form of flashbacks, many of which are precisely used to move the plot along and keep the story moving. Instead of becoming bored with the ongoing story of Annie and Chris's married and parental life, I found myself becoming more and more entranced as their lives unfolded, and say what you will, but the only way to tell a story like this is through flashbacks. If you were to take all of the memories and place them in order at the beginning of the movie, the audience would forget about the important moments that have an effects on the actions and events that take place in later instances of the film. Each one is a separate piece of the puzzle, and they all fit together quite well.
This film is one of those movies that showcases the possibilities for filmmaking in the future. Really, when you think about it, there is no way that the movie could have been made thirty years ago and still have the same impact as it does now. The settings and scenery play the most important role of the movie, for they provide the reason for the emotion and action that affects our characters. The beginning shots in Switzerland show us beautiful vistas of mountains and lakes, which will later become the inspiration for Chris's heaven, as well as many of the paintings Annie creates. Their home bursts forth with color and brightness, proving that color plays a big role in the film. When everyone is alive, everything seems light and airy. After Chris's death, all is dark, and the walls of the home seem dismal and gray. One scene in particular is a scene in which Chris watches his children being driven away in their van down a long line of lilac trees, a slight fog covering the scene. Their is that brilliance of color, yet the dark fog makes us uneasy, hence the accident that kills their children.
Heaven is elegantly portrayed in this film, and is done so with a new twist: that each person has their own private heaven created in the image of their own personal desires and thoughts. Chris's heaven is based on the paintings of his wife, from the mountains of Switzerland to a small island in the middle of a mountain lake with an opulent, airy house. The filmmakers give each scene the precise look of a painting, even after the special effects fade, using vivid colors, lots of flowers and mountainous backdrops, to transport us into Chris's new world. This is one of the most incredible film achievements ever, taking us to a special place that is warm, inviting, and personifies every thought we, as an audience, have ever had for beauty and vision.
Hell is given a truly horrifying and intense treatment, displaying visions of suffering as well as the personal and emotional pain of life that haunts us all. Somewhat like the way in which Heaven is created, Hell is seen as a persons's "life gone wrong," which allows for the creation of their pain-driven eternity. The gateway to hell is a stunning visual image, a vast, smoky graveyard of smoldering shipwrecks that creak and groan. There is also a dismal, endless sea of decrepit faces of hell's inhabitants, that groan and scream at one another. The most striking of all the settings is the overturned cathedral, where Annie resides. The columns rise from the ceiling and go on forever into the darkness, which gives the whole place a sense of the neverending.
There is a unique chemistry between the two leads that carries on the film's emotion and power. Robin Williams is charming, humorous and bold as Chris Nielsen, and through his acting and talent, he is able to make us believe in the love that Chris holds for Annie. Annabella Sciorra is moving as Annie, embodying all of the emotions and grief that set the stage for the second half of the story. When the two are together onscreen, they are happy and in love, and we buy it because they make it appear very authentic. Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays the angel that brings Chris to heaven, doing well in his performance of helping Chris through his struggle to realize his death. Max von Sydow, whose part is not as big as others he has had, is the tracker who takes them all to hell, and his words of wisdom keep the film's informative angle moving.
"What Dreams May Come" will go down in history as one of the most innovative and spectacular films ever made, full of ambition and inspiration. In its story, we are taken on a journey of the human heart, as well as a striking vision of what may lie in store for everyone under God's eye.

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WHAT DREAMS MAY COME - DVD Movie

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