JASON GOES TO HELL (1993)
Director: Adam Marcus
New Line

By the end of the 1980's, Paramount Pictures seemingly had enough of Jason Voorhees and the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN didn't put up as good of box-office numbers as the earlier entries in the series had become accustomed to (despite the fact that it's one of my favorite movies of the series). New Line had been interested in a potential Freddy and Jason crossover film for years, so it was only natural that they would be the company to pick up the series that Paramount no longer deemed profitable.

JASON GOES TO HELL was released in 1993 to dismal reviews, by both die-hard FRIDAY fans and critics alike. Some appreciated the new, more unique story that this entry took, while others were upset that it was radically different than what had come before. It makes no connection to the end of Part VIII, so no one really knows how Jason gets back from New York. I've often heard that they wanted to tie the story together, but that Paramount was asking way too much money for the use of clips from their previous films. So, how Jason winds back up at Crystal Lake remains a mystery for fans to argue about and dwell upon.

When I first saw JASON GOES TO HELL, I really didn't care a whole lot for it. I'll admit I was in the "It's much too different" crowd. It just didn't "feel" like a FRIDAY THE 13TH film. Its story revolves around hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees getting blown apart by a SWAT team in the opening of the film, and his soul jumping from body to body for the remainder of the running time. See, he's trying to find a relative of his of which to be reborn in. Where did this come from? It didn't make sense to me either. Still doesn't, really. However, watching the Unrated version can be quite a bit of fun. The Unrated version contains some of the series' most unrestrained gore FX, provided by KNB, as well as some of the most interesting nude scenes in the history of the franchise. The film's ending is neat, but I wish a friend of mine hadn't spoiled it for me before I saw it. Of course, I'm not even sure if I would've gone to see it if he hadn't, so maybe that's a good thing too. Over time, JASON GOES TO HELL has grown on me a little. The magic dagger stuff is still really silly and has no place in the franchise, series composer Harry Manfredini's musical score is purely laughable, and Jason himself is only in the film for around 10-15 minutes, tops. I do, however, love the Creighton Duke character. His role should've been expanded on. I'd like to see a prequel that explains how he knows so much about Jason and why he has such a vendetta against him.

JASON GOES TO HELL has been given an excellent treatment on DVD. Paramount should be ashamed. A lackluster sequel, like this one, getting better treatment than the better offerings from the franchise that they control is just embarrassing. There is no excuse that Paramount can't or couldn't do the same with their FRIDAY films. This DVD includes both R and UNRATED versions of the film, in 16x9 Anamorphic widescreen. But that's not all. Also included is a series of scenes added for the film's TV showings. I was fairly impressed with the transfer. For a film from 1993, it shouldn't be hard to make it look good, but the previous VHS editions always seemed to look kind of dated. So in watching the disc, I was happy to see that it looked about as good as it possibly could. Another neat feature on this, as well as on JASON X, is an option to just view the death scenes from the film. You can watch each individually or view "Kill All" to see each death played out in order, without the "plot" and everything. You can even click on "Random Kill" to go through them in a random order. Very inventive feature, and should've been a MUST on every Friday disc. At least New Line got it right.

The highlight of the added material is an audio commentary with writer Dean Lorey and director Adam Marcus. Now, from just watching the film, you may think, "Whoever made this didn't even watch the previous films at all!" Not true, according to the commentary. Both Lorey and Marcus come across as huge fans of the series, and simply wanted to try something new and different. The commentary track is both informative and hilarious at times. You can tell that they had their hearts in the right places when they wrote and directed the film, even if the final product isn't everything it could've been. Marcus and Lorey make a good duo, and I'd like to see the two of them collaborate on another project sometime in the future (if for no other reason, than to give us another great commentary track to listen to). Other audio options include a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Track, DTS surround, and Stereo surround. English subtitles and closed captions have been included for those who are hard of hearing.

If there's one thing I wish the disc had included, I do wish they would've shown some behind the scenes stuff of the guys at KNB doing the gore FX for the film. But considering this is a FRIDAY film, with ANY special features at all, I will not complain.

Simply put, this is a great disc. While not absolutely crammed with stuff, this has enough special features to satisfy even the most spoiled FRIDAY THE 13TH fans (and thanks to Paramount, there AREN'T many of those around). In fact, after New Line's impressive treatment of JASON GOES TO HELL and JASON X, FRIDAY fans are likely to toss their old Paramount discs to the side, or maybe not even purchase them at all. It seems the New Line discs are actually selling really well. Maybe Paramount will notice this and step up to the plate. Maybe they will decide to milk us for more money, and double-dip next year to take advantage of FREDDY VS JASON. Go ahead, Paramount, milk us for all you can. I dare you. I triple-dog dare you. Take advantage of us, and FVJ next year, just so you guys can make a lousy buck...just please give us the Unrated discs! (Wes Ray)

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