Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (Special Edition) (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)First, the DVD, it's not the greatest in the world, No Dolby 5.1 Surround, not letterboxed, but nice to complete the series on DVD at last. This is technically the unrated version of the film, 2 added minutes, which is mostly extended gore...Great stuff! There are NO extras either, oh well. It's available, I guess that's what counts and as originally a Paramount Pictures release I wouldn't look for a Collector's Edition any time soon. As for the movie itself, I loved it. With the introduction of new Cenobites, CD head the coolest of them all, gave us a fresh perspective of Pinhead's abilities to replace his former troup. Unfortunately they didn't give his new cohorts a lot time to explore. Pinhead does get more screen time (unlike Hellraiser Inferno) and finally Doug Bradley (not Doug Stewart as mentioned in another review) gets screen time without makeup, gives us a broader view of his backstory and how he became this monstrosity. ("Bloodline" gives us the Lament Configuration Box history). All in all a pretty good film except for some cheesy effects, the melding of Pinhead and Elliott at the end is a good example. Here's hoping for Hellraiser six, although when I met Doug Bradley he told me not to hold my breath for number 5, but I think he needs to redeem himself after "Inferno". To me Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth was Heaven on Earth.

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The Canyon (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)In "Open Water" (2003), a pair of scuba divers (who were also a couple) got stranded in the middle of the ocean and found themselves imperiled by a school of sharks. Well, in "The Canyon", we have a newly-married couple stranded somewhere in the Grand Canyon and hunted by wolves. It's basically a survival-type drama with some twists, but on the whole is quite formulaic. What makes this watchable (though more as a rental and not a purchase) is the acting, which I thought was quite alright, considering this is a low-budget indie flick. The story centers around Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) who are a pair of newly-weds and eager for adventure (well, Nick mainly) - Nick's idea of a perfect honeymoon is to explore the deepest recesses of the canyon via muleback. Unfortunately, Nick did not have the foresight to apply for a permit for their excursion and the pair decide to take on the proffered services of a grizzled old guide Henry (Will Patton).
Will Patton makes the initial part of this movie quite watchable with his dry humor and vast knowledge of the canyon - he really is quite a hoot to watch in his role as guide. Unfortunately, his role is rather shortlived, and it is left to Nick and Lori to carry the rest of the movie through as the stranded pair are forced to rely on their wits to stay alive and make it out of the canyon, even as tragedy and danger stalk them in the form of a pack of determined wolves. Eion Bailey's Nick is quite average in his role as the smart ass new husband who uses his persuasive skills in getting Lori to agree to his adventure - a plan that seems doomed from the beginning considering his lack of planning and foresight.His character as such is hard to empathize with. Lori as portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski has more of a screen presence and manages to convey a wider range of emotions convincingly and had me rooting for her all through the movie. The highlight of this movie is actually the gorgeous cinematography of the canyon - simply breathtaking. On the whole, this is basically a been-there-done-that sort of survival drama, and I'd recommend it as a rental at best.

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Honeymooners Nick and Lori head off to the Grand Canyon for adventure and time alone together. Upon arriving, they hire Henry as their guide, who seems to have his own idea about the outdoor excursion. When tragedy strikes, the newlyweds must fend for themselves. Discovering they areprey being hunted by something orsomeone, they desperately fight forsurvival to escape the canyon alive.

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Halloween: 30th Anniversary Box Set (1978) Review

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(More customer reviews)Halloween. What a perfect title for a Horror movie. It's hard to believe back in 1977 that there had never been any movie, let alone a Horror film, that incorporated that title. And what good usage it got. Written, directed, and even musically scored by John Carpenter (with great assistance by then girlfriend Debra Hill), this was truly a film that brought Horror to it's roots, leaving an impact that only George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead did ten years earlier. Showcasing a deranged killer by the name of Michael Myers who in childhood murdered his sister in cold blood on Halloween night, only to escape his asylum to return to his Illinois home to hunt down babysitter (and eventually known little sister) Jamie Lee Curtis 15 years later, was truly an amazing film that never exploited the genre, keeping the imagination and terror flowing within the viewers mind rather than blatantly on the screen. For it's time it was the number one profitable independent film ever made, and after almost thirty years, it still terrifies and never grows old. A true classic film. Every single DVD collector should own it....
But which one?
Not in the sense of sequels, but rather in which version of the original should you add to your collection. You see, this film has had the DVD distribution rights by Anchor Bay Entertainment (now known as Starz), and they have re-released this classic now a total of six times. So I would like to compare the two most popular versions to see which one should be for you, the "Restored" or the "25th Anniversary"
Starting with the "Restored" version, this DVD was authored way back in 1999. However, it was personally restored by Halloween original cinematographer Dean Cundey, trying to preserve as much of the look of it's original theatrical run. This version has been released a whopping three times. But for the film's "25th (2003) Anniversary", Anchor Bay remastered the film yet again for another release "Halloween 25", this time taking the remastering process in their own hands, something of which Cundey was not happy with. You see, comparing the two's video, you'll notice that each are different. One point is brightness and sharpness. In the Cundey version, overall picture is dark and not as sharp while for 25 the white levels have been raised and it's overall color saturation has been lowered. To me, while the original with it's dark blue hue running throughout looks good, at times it's hard to see certain shots in the dark. The 25th version has fixed that, even going as far as making the film look more natural. As for sharpness, the 25th beats it by far. Audio wise, each film seems on the same level, so a tie there, but it's the video that should be considered when purchasing: the Cundey-more true to the original film/the 25-a sharper, more realistic picture.
Next would be the use of the disc space. Restored is one of those discs that wanted to cater to the early 2000's audiences of giving them both a widescreen and a fullframe on the same disc. Because of this, the bitrate is pretty small for both presentations. However, the 25th is a 2 disc set that only offers on Disc One the Widescreen presentation, and it's Divimax as well. But to be honest, it's bitrate isn't up to say Superbit quality. It's better, but with a total of four audio tracks to choose from, the entire dual layer disc is only used by 75%, and that other 25 could have went to more video bitrate, but alas it's not. But to me, the bitrate still is higher on the 25, not to mention it's compression is four years younger than Restored, so 25 wins again.
Finally is Extras, Restored has a 30 minute documentary called Halloween Unmasked 2000, narrated by Twisted Sister's Dee Snider. Why is he on here than just being a popular fan, beats me. But on 25's second disc is a whopping 87 minute documentary called A Cut Above The Rest which expands on the original and gives much greater detail on the film. 25 also includes another ten minute featurette called On Location, going back to view all the houses and such that were used in the film that Restored does not include either. And if that wasn't enough, 25 has the original Laserdisc commentary by John Carpenter with additional vocals with Jamie Lee Curtis and Debra Hill. This might be the best extra 25 has over Restored, because it's got to be one of the most personal commentaries I've ever heard. Carpenter doesn't hold anything back, a must listen. And sure, both have the same trailers, TV Spots, and such, but again to me 25th Anniversary wins this one too.
But the main reason why I'm writing all this is because back in 2007, Anchor Bay decided to stop releasing the 25th Anniversary and instead re-issue the Restored version. Why, I'm not sure. Dean Cundey was never happy with 25, and maybe his name on the back of Restored's box was a selling-point, I don't know. Maybe the 25's cover was confusing buyers because it looks a little like sequel H20's version? But I do know for your money, the 25th Anniversary is still the best way to go. What's sad is to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the classic film, Anchor Bay is yet again double-dipping it's audience by releasing a six disc collection featuring Parts 1, 4, 5, the NBC-TV edit, the 25 Years Of Terror special and a Blu-Ray version of the original. But again, both the DVD and Blu-Ray (BD version rumored to be a video-hybrid of both) are from the 1999 Cundey master (but the Blu does have the Cut Above special and commentary too). It would have been nice if the DVD was the 25 so fans could have both versions, but no, 25th Anniversary seems lost now.
In conclusion, if you want the best overall 1978 Halloween package, go with the 2003 25th Anniversary Edition. More extras, a more realistic picture, and a commentary to die for. Ratings-wise then from me is:
Restored: (8.5/10)
25th Anniversary: (9.5/10)
Thanks for reading,
RedSabbath

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Titles Included:Halloween Restored original 1978 filmHalloween Extended Edition Halloween 4 The Return Of Michael Myers Halloween 5 The Revenge of Michael Myers Halloween 25 Years Of Terror SPECIAL BONUS DISC Halloween release

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The William Castle Film Collection (13 Frightened Girls / 13 Ghosts / Homicidal / Strait-Jacket / The Old Dark House / Mr. Sardonicus / The Tingler / Zotz) Review

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(More customer reviews)Some of my favorite 60's horror films show up in this boxed set due out this fall. William Castle always had a gimmick with his films. Sometimes these had him appearing onscreen himself such as in Mr. Sardonicus, and sometimes it involved theatre tricks such as wiring the seats to deliver a mild shock during the Tingler or issuing life insurance policies during Macabre. Eight of the films Castle made for the then Columbia Pictures are included here.
Homicidal (1961), begins with a woman paying a hotel bellhop to marry her and murdering the justice of the peace who performs the ceremony. She sucessfully flees the scene. She also just happens to work in a large mysterious house where there seem to be a multitude of family secrets, dominated by the late owner's obsession with obtaining a male heir.
Mr. Sardonicus (1961) is the tale of a 19th-century villager who obtained a fortune by retrieving a lottery ticket from the pocket of his dead father's vest pocket. Problem is, dad had been dead for some time and the sight of him shocked Sardonicus into having the same death grin himself. Now he'll stop at nothing to retrieve his normal facial expression.
Zotz! (1962) - A mild-mannered college professor finds an ancient amulet that can make people move in slow motion, and when enemy spies learn about it, a hilarious chase ensues.
The Old Dark House (1963), is Castle's version of the J.B. Priestley novel. It follows an American car salesman to a spooky old Welsh estate where the members of an eccentric family begin to get picked off one by one.
The Tingler has Vincent Price as a scientist looking for a live creature that he thinks is the basis for all fright and also has the power to frighten people to death.
13 Ghosts (1960) - Has a penniless man inheriting a mansion from his late uncle. It turn out that it is inhabited by 12 ghosts which special glasses enable the family to see. It also turns out that Uncle Cyrus left his fortune somewhere in the house.
13 Frightened Girls! (1963) - A bunch of priveleged teenagers at a boarding school intersect with a tale of espionage. Silly but fun stuff.
Strait-Jacket (1964) - Twenty years ago Lucy Harbin (Joan Crawford) found her husband with another woman and did them both in with an ax. After being locked up for twenty years she is now free and supposedly sane. However, strange occurances begin that make it look like Lucy has gone over the edge again. Joan gives a great performance here. Well, let's face it, she never gave a bad one regardless of the movie itself.
Several of these films have been on DVD before, and when they were released several came with featurettes, so I'm hoping at least that much gets carried over into the new boxed set. Specifically there were short featurettes on the original Sardonicus, Homicidal, 13 Ghosts, Tingler, and Strait-Jacket.
Now if only whoever it was who owned the rights to the 1958 Castle film Macabre would issue a DVD release.

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Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll always be remembered for his horror films from the late 50s to the mid-60s. And now Sony presents all eight of his Columbia features - three making their DVD debut, the rest newly-remastered - in one "spook-tac-ular" collection. And as a bonus, it includes the award-winning feature-length documentary, Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.

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Friday The 13th (1980) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was working in a cinema in 1980 when this film was first released, No one expected it to take a light and it opened in one of the complex's smallest screens. Big mistake. From day one queues formed for this film and many wannabe punters were somewhat peeved for being turned away. Those who got in though experienced a genuinely scary horror film and it remains one of the best audience participation films that I have ever seen. Throughout the film, the suspense runs along and builds up to a crescendo prior to each slaying or to a false moment of fear.
The ending, however is something else. Sure it ain't exactly original but boy is it effective. I have never seen an audience scream so loudly and in total unison, and have some people visibly shaken and in tears sometimes afterwards.... Night after night, the result was the same and Friday The 13th became one of the 'sleepers' of 1980. Watch out too for a young Kevin Bacon as one of the teens in peril.
The passage of time has seen it take its place in the pantheon of really scary horror films and deservedly so. If you have not yet seen this film, then give it a go. Enjoy and be prepared to be scared.

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Terror and suspense abound in this 24-hour nightmare of blood. Camp Crystal Lake has been shuttered for over 20 years due to several vicious and unsolved murders. The camp's new owner and several young counselors are readying the property for re-opening despite warnings of a "death curse" by local residents. The curse proves true on Friday the 13th as one by one each of the counselors is stalked by a violent killer. This film is widely acclaimed for its horrifying and creative murder sequences.

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Dawn of the Dead (Ultimate Edition) (1979) Review

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(More customer reviews)Its about time. What more can we say? Anchor Bay has decided to release its ultimate DVD edition of George A. Romero's epic Zombie film, Dawn of the Dead. Here are the specs.
DISC 1: The origian unrated director's cut. NOT THE EXTENDED EDITION, which is not truly Romero's director's cut. This disc includes commentary with George Romero, Tom Savini, and Chris Romero along with Theatrical trailers and radio spots.
DISC 2: The extended edition, often mistaken for a 'director's cut.' This disc includes an additional 12 minutes of glorious footage. Also includes commentary by producer Richard Rubinstein, who also helmed the recent Dawn of the Dead remake. The disc has a commercial for the Monroville Mall and a memorabilia gallery.
DISC 3: The Dario Argento cut. This version of the film has less humor and more drama, released in Europe with additional music from Goblin. This version includes commentary by all four stars of the film.
DISC 4: This disc contains several documentaries including the all new THE DEAD WALK (75 min) and the classic DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD; a feature-length documentary shot during the making of Dawn of the Dead. This disc also includes home movies from the set and a tour of the Monroeville Mall with actor Ken Foree.
Buy this DVD set, you won't be sorry. Even if you haven't seen the film, for any zombie fan, this is a must own.

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No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: DVDArtist: DAWN OF THE DEADTitle: DAWN OF THE DEADStreet Release Date: 09/07/2004

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Vampires (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)Vampires is one of my all time favorite movies, but to be fair, I could not give it five stars. However, I think anyone who likes horror, vampire movies or spaghetti Westerns MUST see this film at least once.
Vampires has almost everything it needs to be a truly great horror flick -- and it is good enough that I've been obsessing over owning the video ever since it left the theaters. It has great performances -- James Woods, of course, can always make me cringe, laugh or melt with startling ease, and it looks like he had a lot of fun with his role as obsessed vampire slayer Jack Crow. Supporting cast was solid, direction was crisp and snappy, the camera work was wonderful, costuming and props were cool (love the slayers' tools and Valek's coat!), and Carpenter's score suits what's going on onscreen perfectly.
Ironically, two of the best performances in the flick -- Thomas Ian Griffith as Valek, a genuinely scary and sensual vampire badguy, and Sheryl Lee as Katrina, a nascent vampire being used by the slayers to track Valek down -- had the least to work with where the script is concerned. Neither were given enough lines, but managed to do more with expression, tone and body language to make their characters believable than many people could have done with ten times that amount of dialog and screen time. Griffith especially was given short shrift in this department, but still manages to terrify and enthrall.
Vampires is also daring. Jack Crow (many of whose lines Woods improvised, to great effect) is absolutely uncompromising -- tough, flawed, mean, hot-tempered, and nearly as vicious as his quarry. He's the kind of person who will literally do whatever it takes to get the job done, and that's hard to look at at times. And no, he's not a nice guy. He's not PC (thank GOD!), which apparently irritated a lot of movie critics when Vampires came out. In fact, Jack Crow is a real bastard. He's also the only kind of person who would actually have the guts, and the bloodthirst, and the near suicidal singlemindedness, to actually go and hunt vampires. He's not here to charm us or even spare our feelings; he's here to save our butts. He's unnervingly fun to watch.
So, too, is his archnemesis, Jan Valek, who is right up there among my top ten Favorite Movie Badguys. Valek grabs the insipid, "vampires as lonely, romantic figures bemoaning their lost humanity and constantly falling in love with mortals they can never be with" image that has infected the vampire mythos of late and rips the living $^%$%^$@# out of it. He's a cold, scheming, vicious, arrogant, merciless, occasionally sadistic killer to whom humans are either tools, or food. He doesn't give interviews. He doesn't romance women who bear a resemblance to his lost love. He doesn't go clubbing or get embroiled in human politics or keep human 'pets'/servants. He is every inch the intelligent, cunning predator, completely alienated from human kind, and is undeniably a threat. He's also disturbingly alluring, which in a strange way just makes him even more frightening. And, like Crow, he doesn't do things halfway. Piss him off, he'll seduce your woman, tear all your friends apart and chase you down no matter how fast you run or how far you go. The movie illustrates this with a gory directness which is both disturbing and refreshing.
Ok, so that's what Vampires has going for it. Here's what it is lacking: real studio backing and funding. I don't know who dropped the ball on this one, but Vampires definitely needed a bigger budget. It needed to be about half an hour longer for character development's sake, the effects needed cleaning up in a few places, and the scriptwriter needed to be taken to a deserted area and had a gun held to his head til he revised out the cornier lines ("Unstoppable unless we stop him"?!? "I'll snap your neck like a twig"?!? Come ON!) and put in about three or four more revisions to even out the general story pacing, fix some of the dialog and GIVE KAT AND VALEK MORE LINES AND SCREEN TIME! :).
Sony/Largo/whoever also screwed up where promotion is concerned. There was almost NO advertising of Vampires once the movie actually came out, even though it was #1 nationwide its first week in theaters. The planned second soundtrack (with Marilyn Manson, etc) was to my knowledge never released, nor was there a 'book of the film', a 'making of' or any posters, etc. created besides the movie poster version you see on the front of the video box. Hello?!? Vampires made it to #1 for that week pretty much on its own merits. With some real support from its studio and distributor it could have done a lot better and also been a better movie.
Just my $0.02.

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The House of the Devil Review

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(More customer reviews)"The House of the Devil" is an assured little film that fondly invokes horror films from the 1970s and 1980s. Many people are going to complain that this movie is slow and boring, but they are missing the joys of this type of film making completely. The best horror is a slow burn leading up to the proverbial poo hitting the whirling blades. You have time to begin to care about these characters, before something terrible happens to them and it cuts deep.
The plot: a college student is ready to move out of her dorm and into a nice rental home, but needs to make some quick cash to pay the first month's rent. Responding to a flyer requesting a babysitter, she will get much more than she bargained for.
The final twenty minutes, while rapid-paced and bloody, do not live up to the promising tension built up by the rest of the movie. However, if the end was a bit of a letdown, overall the movie was very well done. This is not the action-packed gore fest that some people might be expecting. Instead, it is a solid throwback to horror films that used setting, tone, atmosphere, character-building, and music to build up to the scary!

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The Horror Film of the Year available on DVD.Sam (Donahue) is a pretty college sophomore, so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby. Mr. and Mrs. Ulman (cult actors Noonan and Woronov) are the older couple who lure Sam out to their creaky Victorian mansion deep in the woods, just in time for a total lunar eclipse. Megan (Gerwig) is Sam's best friend, who gives her a ride out to the house, and reluctantly leaves her there despite suspecting that something is amiss. Victor (Bowen) at first seems like just a creepy guy lurking around the house, but quickly makes it clear that Sam will end this night in a bloody fight for her life...2009 Top 10 List Selections:TimeOut New YorkThe OnionAMCtvSound on Sight

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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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The Blair Witch Project (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)It seems like everyone now enjoy's ripping on "The Blair Witch Project", and I don't get it?! It's almost like when you scare the hell out of that kid when you are in 6th grade, and he might have been screaming wide-eyed with fright, only to tell you a couple minutes later "Hey, You Didn't Scare Me", just to repair his pride or ego. When I first saw "Blair Witch", it did scare me, and left me a little rattled at the end.....why? Because when I went to see it in the theater, there was still a strong buzz about the movie that it was either really an aborted documentary, or was a film based on true events...we were supposedly seeing the genuine article. Sure, I may have been duped by a clever marketing campaign that involved TV mocumentaries, internet gossip and radio buzz.....and looking back I think that was great. "Blair Witch" if nothing else, is a wonderful homage to William Castle, who back in the day of "The Tingler" would wire theater seats to shock select members of the audience to induce a well timed scream, or his film "The House on Haunted Hill", where skeletons would buzz the audience, or his movie "Straight Jacket" in which he offered the audience a chance to buy life insurance in case the film scared them to death. That is great stuff that put butts in the theater seats, and with the advances in technology, and modern communication, "Blair Witch" and it's marketing campaign did the same thing, only the updated version. It worked, the movie made a ton of dough and was the water-cooler talk around theoffice for weeks. Did I feel let down when I learned "Blair Witch" was just a movie? No. I applauded the idea behind the movie, and only wish more films would do the same. As far as the actual movie goes when I watch it on dvd....well it doesn't pack the same punch as when you might think these were actual events, but I still get a kick out of it. And it's obvious this film hit's a nerve with quite a few people, I mean at this time there are over 1700 reviews posted here at Amazon about this movie...most are ripping the film apart....but there just seems to be a hint of that 6th grader saying "Yeah....you didn't scare me" as they rush over to turn on the lights after the movie ends.

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Friday the 13th, Part 3, 3-D (Deluxe Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)If Paramount's A-movie franchise was Star Trek, then their B-movie franchise would definitely be Friday The 13th. A total of eight were made and, with the exception of '83, there was a Friday The 13th for every year in the Eighties, with the TV series debuting in '87.
They were tacky, badly made and infrequently showed any professionalism, or dynamic filmmaking. But they sure had their moments and Part 3 is definitely the best of the first four, Part 5 being the joker in the pack and 6-8 the second instalment of the Jason Voorhees legacy.
Apparently, not getting enough of butchering teenagers with the first sequel, director Steve Miner returns for more unlucky day murders. While his first outing was almost the exact same as the original, only with a different killer, Part 3 reinvents the franchise and totally solidifies Jason as a horror movie icon.
Chris (Dana Kimmel) has had a difficult past few years and she decides to spend a long weekend at Higgins Haven with her friends. Too bad for them that Jason (Richard Brooker) is lurking in the woods. He and Chris have had a scuffle in the past and she's afraid to go out there alone.
Her friends are an unusual bunch. There are a couple of stoners, Shelly, a fat kid who just wants to be loved (Larry Zerner), a pregnant friend (Tracie Savage) and her hunky squeeze (Paul Kratka). These are not the typical goofball sex-mad teenagers of the early Eighties. For some reason, the writers have made them somewhat subdued and realistic. They seriously want a quiet weekend - no partying, no loud music. It helps that we like them, because in most other occasions we can't wait for them to get slaughtered.
And they aren't the only ones in trouble. A non-threatening biker gang plan to cause havoc at Higgins Haven, because Shelly knocked over their scooters, and end up regretting it. If anything, they make for some light comedy - intentional, or not.
Halfway through, Shelly pulls a joke on the girl he fancies. He leaps out of the water wearing a hockey mask and brandishing a harpoon. Five minutes later Jason gets his hands on them. And ever since, the image of the hockey mask has been the trademark of the series.
In every other sequel, Jason is a walking monolith. [...], show Michael Myers a thing or two about the art of teenage massacre and somehow be able to maintain his cool and make it all seems effortless. This is the only time you will see him for what he really is - a retarded hillbilly. He evens smiles! Twice!!
Miner would return later to the same location in Lake Placid. Here, he successfully portrays Crystal Lake as a tranquil, peaceful place and manages, in the final scenes, to infuse it with atmospheric excitement, all without the use of rain, or lightning.
It wouldn't be hard to make a sequel superior to the original Friday The 13th. Miner failed with Part 2, but excels in Part 3. It has a lighter tone and different feel from the others. In fact, it shouldn't be viewed as a horror film at all. It's an adventure movie, set in the woods, with one of the best villains ever.

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The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection (The Wolf Man / Werewolf of London / Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / She-Wolf of London) (1943) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had never really thought of The Wolf Man as being in the same league as Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster - I was wrong. Watching Lon Chaney, Jr.'s portrayal of Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man has opened my eyes. Chaney's Wolf Man is by far the most sympathetic of Universal's three major monsters. Dracula loves being Dracula, Frankenstein's monster is a full-time monster made out of dubious body parts, yet Larry Talbot is a victim of cruel fate. Rushing in to help a damsel in distress, he sustains a bite from a werewolf - hardly the type of reward a hero deserves. Doing the things a werewolf does is bad enough, but Talbot knows he is a werewolf and has to spend all of his normal waking hours wallowing in mental agony, knowing he can do nothing to contain the hairy monster lurking within. Beginning with his resurrection in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Talbot's overriding ambition and sole wish is to die and be freed from the curse forever, yet he now knows he can never die- not by conventional means, anyway. He truly is a lost soul trapped in a nightmare from which there seems to be no escape. This was the role Chaney was born to play, and he delivered one amazing performance after another in his five werewolf films. The Wolf Man Legacy Collection contains only two of them, the original The Wolf Man from 1941 and the sequel/monster crossover film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942). Chaney's Wolf Man also appears in House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, each of which can be found on the Frankenstein and Dracula Legacy Collections, respectively.
The Wolf Man has exerted a huge influence on the art of horror for over six decades now, thanks to the heralded make-up prowess of Jack Pierce, the tight and powerful script of Curt Siodmak, some impressive photography work, a moving musical score, and wonderful performances from a truly stellar cast of actors and actresses (including Claude Raines in the role of Larry Talbot's father, Maria Ouspenskava as the gypsy woman and surrogate mother figure to Larry, and the great Bela Lugosi in a somewhat minor yet crucial role). Chaney's Wolf Man appearance is amazingly vivid and, one supposes, somewhat frightening to moviegoers of the early 1940s. His emotional performance adds to his character's tragic status; his strange and slightly awkward manner, tempered by a sort of gentle slowness always leaves me mesmerized.
With the success of The Wolf Man in 1941, it didn't take Universal long to trot out a sequel; the following year, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man not only capitalized on the success of everybody's favorite werewolf, it also brought in Frankenstein's monster, thus becoming one of the first Universal monster cross-over films. Lon Chaney, Jr., returns as the ill-fated Larry Talbot, and the legendary Bela Lugosi dons the makeup of the Frankenstein monster - this fact alone makes the film intriguing. Talbot, now afraid he cannot die, longs to be killed and put out of his misery. He ends up at the castle of Frankenstein, where a helpful young doctor promises to help him and destroy Frankenstein's monster in the process - things don't quite work out that way, and the film ends with a monster grudge match between the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster.
Werewolf of London (1935) and She-Wolf of London (1946) could not be more different, and both are unmistakably distinct from the Universal werewolf films starring Lon Chaney, Jr., yet I think they both work marvelously. Many fans don't care for them, especially She-Wolf in London, but I find both films quite compelling. They differ significantly from the storyline running through Chaney's Wolf Man films, but these two films have a great deal of their own to offer fans. Often overlooked and unduly dismissed by some reviewers and horror fans, these are two classic werewolf films.
In terms of extras, you get trailers for three of the four films, a truly excellent commentary of The Wolf Man by film historian Tom Weaver, a well-made 1999 documentary called Monster By Moonlight, and comments on the Wolf Man character by Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers. With only four movies and relatively few extras, The Wolf Man Legacy Collection falls a little short in the value department compared to the Dracula and Frankenstein Legacy Collection sets, but nothing can change the fact that this is must-have material for fans of classic horror movies.

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For the first time ever, the original The Wolf Man film comes to DVD in this extraordinary Legacy Collection. Included in the collection is the original classic, starring the renowned Lon Chaney Jr., and three timeless sequels, featuring legendary actor Bela Lugosi and others. These are the landmark films that inspired an entire genre of movies and continue to be major influences on motion pictures to this day.

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Jeepers Creepers (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Boy, do I feel slow on the uptake...I've seen this film twice now, and I just got the 'other' meaning of the license plate on the Creeper's truck. I guess if it were a snake, it would have bit me...oh well...I may not get there the quickest, but I will get there...eventually. Jeepers Creepers (2001) is a fun, interesting, stylistic film that runs out of gas about halfway through, but still had enough going for it to earn critical and commercial success, spawning a sequel, Jeepers Creepers II (2003) which broke Labor Day box office records for that year. Written and directed by the controversial Victor Salva, who also did the chilling horror film Clownhouse (1988) and Powder (1995), Jeepers Creepers brings to life (or death) a new figure in the Hollywood creature pantheon with the Creeper, a demonic looking figure that awakens every 23 years and feeds for 23 days, according to legend.
The film stars Gina Phillips as Trish and Justin Long as her brother Derry, traveling together by car a lonely and desolate country highway on their way home from college. After a scary incident with an old truck, the two witness a sinister, cloaked figure unceremoniously dumping what appears to body sized parcels wrapped in cloth and rope down a large, corrugated metal pipe next to a boarded up church. Also parked nearby is the same truck that nearly ran them off the road earlier. Once past the old church, the two begin to question what exactly they saw, but are soon joined again by the mysterious truck, more intent than ever now to ram their car, and drive them off the road. After losing the truck, the two go back to the church, despite Trish's protests, to investigate. Derry proceeds to do something stupid, and see something no human was mean to see...oh, he did confirm what they originally thought, that the figure was indeed dumping bodies down this large drain, but that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. What other secrets are uncovered? What is the nature of the creature? Do Trish and Derry survive long enough to get help?
I thought the makeup and such on the Creeper looked quite good and suitably malevolent. And the revelations revealed about this character came at a nice, even clip as the plot unfolded. There were a number of minor points where one could argue that the plot is weak or very thin, and I would have a hard time disagreeing, especially during the last half hour of the film. I really enjoyed the scenes that focused on something in the foreground, but provided enough leeway on the screen to see something in the background, even if it was fuzzy and out of focus, before the characters on the screen understood what was happening. Cheap scares are had here, as things pop out `and go boo!' but there is also a nice build up of real tension throughout the film, along with a smattering of comedy, usually of the sarcastic kind, to temper the horror. The weakness of the film comes from the predictability of the second half of the film. The original beginning had brought forth high hopes, but these hopes diminished slightly as the film eventually tread the path repetition as most end up doing, but at least this one did so with style and professionalism most uncommon with those in the same genre. You may recognize Justin Long from TV's Ed were he plays Warren Parker Cheswick. It's pretty much the same affable character played in this film, but a little bit older and a little more cynical. Gina Philips is quite lovely, with her flowing, brownish hair and doe eyed appearance that conflicts with her more cynical than her brother attitude. Both actors did a wonderful job, showing a mixture of inherent and hard earned talent, the kind gained through lots of work and dedication.
The picture here, available in both wide screen and full screen, looks wonderful and crisp. Special features include theatrical trailers, a photo gallery, deleted, extended, and alternate scenes, behind the scenes featurettes (six), and a commentary track with director Victor Salva. Many of these features are located on the flip side of the disc, with the film being on the other side. I guess the one thing I took away from this film more than anything else is if you see a darkened figure dumping what appears to be bodies down a sewer pipe next to an abandoned church, just keep on moving. You can make a report at the next town, for sure, but avoid actually crawling into the pipe to confirm what you already know.
Cookieman108

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You can keep your doors locked. You can keep your eyes closed. But still, he'll get what he wants and what he wants is you. Brace yourself for "90 minutes of steadily mounting horror [that] delivers more than its share of honest chills" (The Baltimore Sun). From "the scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory" (Los Angeles Times) to "one of the gutsiest endingsto a film this year" (Dallas Morning News), Jeepers Creepers is the real deal in terror!On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens (Gina Philips, Living Out Loud and Justin Long, TV's "Ed") are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat-up truck and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe. But when they stop to investigate,they discover that the grisly reality at the bottom of that pipe is far worse than they could have ever suspected and that they are now the targets of an evil far more unspeakableand unstoppable 'than they could have ever imagined!

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Hatchet (Unrated Director's Cut) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)it says it right on the cover "oldschool american horror." if you go into this expecting an Oscar winner, you are obviously gonna be disappointed. this is a no frills, no holds barred slasher flick. on the other hand, the villain's appearance among other things really keep me from taking it very seriously. part homage, part spoof, Hatchet deffinitely gets the job done.
the killer is one Victor Crowley. born with various deformities all over his body, he grew up secluded in his home with his father. that is, until the day some local kids accidentally start a fire in the house. Victor's father accidentally killed him with a hatchet while trying to get through the door to save him. now he wanders those same woods and swamps looking to dish out some pain in return for his own.
starts off with a relatively traditional horror intro (you know what im talking about)
cut to a couple days later. the main character("villain" from Grandma's Boy! also in Accepted) of this movie is highly unhappy at Mardi Gras and looks into a haunted swamp tour for some alternative entertainment. most of the characters are fairly cliched. you got the paris hiltonish girls (eh), the hero, the token back dude, the sensitive guy, the completely helpless old couple, and the sleaze. traditionally, it doesnt take too long for the chaos to begin.
a fairly over-used formula at this point, but just like "The Tripper", "Hatchet" manages to be supremely entertaining with an extremely interesting kill or two thrown in for good measure. plenty of blood and guts to satisfy any horror fan, but probably not grisly enough for the most jaded of gore hounds. kills with nothing but bare hands, kills with the ominous hatchet, and a power tool may even just get thrown in there. the action does not disappoint. while i didnt find it genuinely scarey at any moment (they hardly ever are), you feel a little tension at times, it has very satisfying death sequences(victor can be so creative!) and some surprisingly good humor, its an extremely entertaining horror movie. recommended to fans of the genre, especially slasher fans. most others wont get it.

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Get ready for one of the most talked-about, red- blooded American horror movies of the past 20 years: When a group of New Orleans tourists take a cheesy haunted swamp tour, they slam face-first into the local legend of deformed madman Victor Crowley. What follows is a psycho spree of seat-jumping scares, eye- popping nudity, skull-splitting mayhem and beyond. Joel David Moore (DODGEBALL), Deon Richmond (SCREAM 3) and Mercedes McNab (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) star – along with horror icons Tony ‘Candyman’ Todd, Robert ‘Freddy Krueger’ Englund and Kane ‘Jason’ Hodder – in this screamingly funny carnage classic that Fangoria hails as “a no-hold-barred homage to the days when slasher films were at their reddest and wettest!”

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Freddy vs. Jason (New Line Platinum Series) (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been a bigger Friday the 13th fan than a Nightmare on Elm Street fan. The woods simply seem more inherently frightening and dangerous than a suburban street for horny teens. In any event, I feel that both of these series, especially Friday the 13th, have lost their lure in recent years. Trying to find ways to bring back our favorite slashers and attempting to do it in contemporary fashion have fallen short, in my opinion. I've remained a fan through it all, yet when they took Jason out of Camp Crystal Lake and brought him to New York City, he somehow became less imposing and some of the mystery was lost.
Freddy vs. Jason was an idea borne years before this film began pre-production. The premise of the film (Freddy calling on Jason to strike fear back into the children of Elm Street) is decent, but it seemed to me that something was missing...
I enjoyed the movie, especially the dream sequences, but I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong with the film. It just didn't feel like Friday the 13th to me. It felt more like a Nightmare on Elm Street film, but even those movies were scarier. This movie bordered on absurd at times and much of what we had come to know about Freddy and Jason was betrayed in this film by way of contradiction (i.e. Jason suddenly having a phobia of water after he had, on many occassions in the past, pursued people into the water to kill them).
I am glad that this movie was made and I will always remain a fan, but I feel that with all of the time and writing that went into this idea, it could have been a hell of a lot better. The story was not bad, but the movie was simply not scary or suspenseful at all. It's a must see for any fan of either series, if for no other reason than to see what your favorite classic slasher is up to - but don't expect to get that good old feeling you used to get when watching a Friday the 13th or a Nightmare on Elm Street film back in the 80s and 90s.
The bonus material is extensive and quite exhaustive. They cover every aspect of the film, including pre-production, direction, stunts, visual effects, make-up, audio commentary, deleted scenes, storyboards and galleries, etc.... The bonus disc amounts to a few hours of extra viewing, which is actually pretty informative and insightful. With cool, animated menus, this is a great DVD edition for something of a letdown film.

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It's the battle everyone's been DYING to see! Teenagers find themselves caught in the middle of a battle between two legendary boogeymen: Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Who will win in the bloodiest and goriest showdown in history? DVD Features:3D Animated MenusAlternate endings:Alternate opening and EndingAudio Commentary:Commentary with Director Ronny Yu, Actors Robert Englund (FREDDY) & Ken Kirzinger (JASON)Comparison ScenesDVD ROM FeaturesDeleted Scenes:18 Deleted Scenes with optional commentary from Director Ronnie Yu and Executive Producer Douglas Curtis Documentaries:--Behind the scenes coverage of the films development - including screenwriting, set design, make up, stunts and principle photography --Visual effects exploration FeaturetteFull Screen Version:Both fullscreen and Widescreen on one discInterviewsMusic Video:Ill Nino "How Can I Live"StoryboardsTV Spot:Lots of TV spotsTheatrical Trailer

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Dead Alive (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)As you likely know, if you're reading this, Dead Alive is fairly widely regarded as the goriest movie ever made. Having not seen every movie ever made I'm not prepared to declare it as such, but it's certainly the goriest movie I've ever seen. By far. To give you a bit of perspective, I would say Day of the Dead and Riki-Oh probably come closest of the films I've seen, and Dead Alive has got to be at least 5 times gorier than either of those films.(And that's probably a conservative estimate) This fact alone should make it mandatory viewing for anyone interested in Horror films.(Of course, this isn't actually a horror film; I don't think it genuinely tries to be scary even once. But, the gore-comedy is primarily of interest to horror fans, naturally)
As one would expect, this film has it's roots in Re-Animator and the Evil Dead films, but it manages to find it's own style and tone. Evil Dead II was wildly over-the-top and energetic while Re-Animator was pretty subdued and deadpan much of the time. Dead Alive, directed by the now highly famed and lauded Peter Jackson, is somewhere in between, certainly not as controlled as Re-Animator, but nowhere near as flat out weird and kinetic as Evil Dead II.(at least not from beginning to end.) And yeah it's pretty funny, though perhaps the majority of the non-gore related humor tends to fall flat. It's also more purely good-natured and fun-loving than any of those films.(Perhaps this is related to their New Zealand accents) I don't know if it's necessarily better than any of those films, it's a tough call, but they're all in the same league, and fans of one ought to like the others.
Inspiration is frequently in short supply in the non-zombie related scenes, but their are enough zombie scenes that it doesn't matter too much. The characters are extremely broad caricatures, including the cute, naive love interest, the dorky, buttoned down hero, the evil controlling mother and the conniving, greedy and chauvinistic uncle. Naturally characters don't matter a whole helluva lot in this film, but, for what it's worth, both Paquita and Lionel are reasonably likable as the protagonist. The film ain't much on plot either, as it's pretty much just a series of comic scenes involving Lionel's attempts to keep the zombie outbreak a secret, and then their collective attempts to simply destroy them. Personally, I find this structural format to be perfectly fine. The less plot the better, when it comes to this sort of film.
The gore is so ridiculous and over-the-top that it's hard to imagine how anyone could be offended by it, though it is quite gross at times. The gore itself particularly reminds of the original Evil Dead, as it emphasizes goo and moistness, and the zombies look fairly reminiscent of the demon-possessed individuals from that film. Although the gore isn't nor is it trying to be realistic, the execution is often more professional and well done than I would've anticipated. Going into too many specifics would be terribly time consuming, but their are a few things that demand pointing out. The single best gore effect would have to be towards the beginning of the film, when the nurse gets her head ripped off. (most of the way, anyway) And, the much famed lawnmower massacre towards the end of the film is classic, and has some surprisingly nicely done effects to go along with the sheer over-the-top insanity of the scene.(The effects I'm referring, in specific, to some of the shots of the limbs getting shredded into nothingness) And, the stop-motion animated sumatran rat monkey is quite fun as well.
Yeah, this movie is pretty great. Not quite the all time highpoint in gore, in my mind, however. I think that Riki-Oh is funnier on the gore front, and am more impressed by some more serious films that display more realistic gore. But Dead Alive still does what it does very well.

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DEAD ALIVE - DVD Movie

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Friday the 13th - From Crystal Lake to Manhattan (Ultimate Edition DVD Collection) (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Paramount truly are quite shameful, lazy, and contemptable. Everything about this 'Ultimate' release screams "cheap-a$$" quite loudly. And here's why.
I think it is forgiveable that Paramount didn't see fit to release these movies in their uncut forms. It would lose them money in some circles if this boxset were to not be stocked in Blockbuster. So for this release, uncut death scenes have been prepared.
Here are the catches, and they are quite significant: 1) gore footage for the original Friday the 13th and Part 6 are presented in horizontal SPLIT SCREENS alongside the R-rated versions. That's right, Jason fans- it's squeezed into only HALF the screen space. That's 2 out of 3 movies. 2) The gore footage from Part 7 looks quite bad, in a very rough made-for-video way in which the age shows a lot of wear and tear. There's bonus footage here as well from Part 4, but it's made-for-tv deleted scenes that don't include any gore.
Also, remember when Paramount put out the first Friday on DVD? You could finally see Annie's throat-slitting in it's entirety. Well, Paramount's decided to cut that back out. So that means if you ever want to see it again, you have to buy the original on DVD separately. Which I'll be doing, you can bet.
Here are some other things you might like to know. The set contains 4 discs of movies. Each disc has 2 movies on each disc side. I'm sorry, but my DVD players freeze erratically whenever a disc has more than 3 hours and 10 minutes of stuff on them. 20th Century Fox released The Family Guy TV seasons in these very slim single cases- why didn't Paramount have this brainstorm too?! That way, we could get 1 movie a disc, like we deserve. At least that would show Paramount thought about someone else.
The 1 Bonus Disc contains a few truly bogus featurettes. Paramount didn't even get half the cast members that would have been willing to do interviews and commentaries. They just had some people go off to a convention 1 year and get a mere handful of people there on camera. They neglected to put effort into contacting actresses Kimberly Beck and Melanie Kinnamon, who have been very outspoken about their enthusiasm onset and their appreciation for the series fans. Also, director Steve Miner is absent from participation on the featurettes or commentaries. Yet he's been on bonus features for the House, Halloween H20, and Last House on the Left DVDs. So sorry, I don't buy that he didn't want to participate here.
The only real work Paramount did here was on the commentaries. The commentaries for only 4 movies. The directors of Friday the 13th's 6, 7, and 8 do commentaries. Jason actor Kane Hodder joins the director on Part 7, and the cast of Part 3 do a commentary. But there's yet another catch! These commentaries - at least the one I heard for Part 3, have the worst sound quality I've heard from a big studio commentary since John Waters track for the Cecil B Demented DVD. And even that was less TIN-can sounding than this.
This boxset is the biggest insult to fans of this series. And even at $57, this is overpriced. I urge everyone here to pay attention to the rumors I'm hearing about future re-re-releasing of these movies on yet another boxset or individual uncut releases. At the very least people, don't buy this until you hear it's about to go out of print. The Star Wars boxset is worth more than this.

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DISC 1: FRIDAY THE 13th - The film takes place years after a young boy named Jason drowns in a lake while attending Camp Crystal Lake and shortly thereafter, the camp closes.Flash forward to the present, where the owner decides to re-open the camp and one by one, the counselors have mysteriously been murdered by an unseen person. PART 2 - The second installment picks up with Jason Voorhees, presumed dead from drowning years ago, exacting revenge on the innocent campers at "Camp Blood."Living as a hermit in the woods all these years, Jason witnesses the graphic murder of his mother and decides to wreak havoc on everyone at the camp - killing each camp counselor one by one. DISC 2: PART 3- Vacationing teenagers take off for a weekend of relaxation at Camp Crystal Lake.Planning a few days of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, they are in for a series of frightening surprises when a local motorcycle gang follows the teenagers back to their campsite, only to find a persistent Jason with an agenda of his own. Adorned with his trademark hockey mask for the first time in the series, Jason delivers non-stop chills and thrills as everyone on the lake must fight for their lives.Part III includes cast commentary by author Peter Bracke and actors Larry Zerner, Paul Kratka, Dana Kimmell and Richard Brooker. PART IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER - Jason resurfaces from a seemingly deadly massacre and returns to Camp Crystal Lake to a new set of prey.Starring a young Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis, it seems Jason has finally met his match in the 12-year old horror movie maven.Enlisting the help of a local hunter, Tommy and his sister must rely on one another to help defeat Jason, while also trying to avoid their own demise.DISC 3: PART V: A NEW BEGINNING - With Jason dead, someone new has begun a killing spree of their own, using Jason's M.O. and preying on inhabitants of a sanctuary. PART VI: JASON LIVES - Tommy returns to the grave to ensure that Jason is indeed dead.Instead of remaining dead, Jason is accidentally brought back to life by Tommy and now Tommy must stop all the mindless killing and make sure Jason dies for good this time.Part VI features commentary by director Tom McLoughlin. DISC 4: PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD - The film centers on Tina Shepard, a young girl with telekinetic powers who believes she drowned her father in Crystal Lake.Returning to the site as a method of supposedly helping her cope with her grief, Tina accidentally frees Jason from his watery grave, only to lead to more killing sprees by the man in the infamous hockey mask.Part VII features commentary by Kane Hodder and director John Carl Buechler and Part VIII features commentary by director Tom McLoughlin. PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN - A graduating class of a local high school vacation on a cruise ship and unbeknownst to them, Jason is a stowaway on the same ship. Slowly killing students one at a time, Jason eventually sinks the boat, stranding the few lone survivors in Manhattan.Among those survivors, is Rennie, who believes Jason attempted to drown her as a child.Fighting for her their lives, Rennie and the other survivors must make sure Jason dies once and for all.A featurette "Tales From the Cutting Room," in which exclusive deleted scenes and footage is revealed for the first time. An 8-part featurette "The Friday The 13th Chronicles," which looks at the legacy of the films throughout their history, featuring cast and crew commenting on each film and why they appeal to audiences.Includes Adrienne King, Amy Steel, Corey Feldman, Kane Hodder, Lar Park Lincoln, Betsy Palmer, Tom Savini and directors Sean Cunningham, Tom McLoughlin, Rob Heddon, Joseph Zito and John Carl Buechler. A 3-part featurette "Secrets Galore Behind The Gore," which looks at the work of master make-up effects designer Tom Savini in Part 1 and Part IV and John Carl Buechler in Part VII.Includes rare and never-before-seen footage, drawings and stills illustrating the make-up techniques used to create Jason and achieve elaborate death scenes. A featurette "Crystal Lake Victims Tell All!" in which cast and crew from various films share amusing anecdotes.Includes Corey Feldman, Larry Zerner, Adrienne King, Amy Steel, Lar Park Lincoln and directors. A featurette "Friday Artifacts and Collectibles," which looks at props and collectables from the films. The theatrical trailers from all 8 movies except Part VI, which is represented by the teaser trailer.

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