Friday The 13th
Part IV, Part V, Part VI
Directors: Joseph Zito, Danny Steinman, Tom Mcloughlin
Starring: Kimberly Beck, Crispin Glover, Corey Feldman, Melanie Kinnaman, John Sheperd, Shavar Ross, Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, Tony Goldwyn
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released Date: June 16, 2009

In case you’ve yet to notice Paramount Home Entertainment has been putting out new Deluxe Editions of the Friday the 13th movies. First they released parts I, II, and III (Read: DVD Reviews: ‘Friday The 13th’ 1-3 Deluxe Editions), and now we have IV, V, and VI!

As I’ve said before: when it comes to Friday the 13th, it’s almost impossible to review them as single movies. Again, the franchise as a whole and the character Jason Voorhees is more of its own life force than a bunch of movies. You either hate Friday the 13th, or you love every cheesy, gory second of it.

With this set of three flicks, we move out of the realms of the earliest Friday the 13th movies, and into some of the ones that required them to try and shake things up and add some fresh elements and stories to the mix. We also come to the point where Jason transforms from a horrifying and seemingly unstoppable killer, to an undead and definitely unstoppable killer!

Let it begin…again…after it had ended!

Friday the 13th, Part IV: The Final Chapter

The fourth movie in the franchise, Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter picks up with police cleaning up the devastation from the end of Friday the 13th Part 3 and sending old Jason Voorhees to the morgue, finally. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he rose once again, not as dead as it was once thought. When he does indeed arise, he wreaks a little havoc before heading back to Crystal Lake, where a new group of kids has rented out a house on the lake next door to a happy little family consisting of a mother and her two children — the youngest of whom is to become Jason’s rival: Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman). A man named Rob also shows up at one point, and it turns out that he’s there to get revenge on Jason, who killed his sister in the second movie. Of all of the chapters, this one may be the closest in resemblance to the most recent Friday the 13th remake that came out in 2009.

My favorite of the franchise used to be Part 6, but watching these again, I believe this could now be my favorite of the bunch. It has all the elements you want in a Jason movie without going too crazy trying to mix it up. The Tommy Jarvis character is a fun one, and it’s cool that they set up a kid that Jason can see himself in to become his biggest enemy. However, after this chapter, Tommy ended up being played by multiple different actors, and was set up to possibly becoming a psycho killer himself — a twist many fans hated, including myself. More on that in the next movie.

Special Features

Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 4 — The fourth installment of the mini short films that were made just for these DVDs. This one confused me a bit. Of the first three movies that we reviewed, the first two had Part 1 and Part 2, but the third didn’t have Part 3. So where the hell did Part 3 go?! I’m not sure if I should report this or start a search party or what. Very odd.

Slashed Scenes — These are some really old outtakes from the movie. They’re not so much the ha-ha outtakes we’re used to, but scenes that were cut shown as they were filmed with a look at the filming of the scenes.

Jason’s Unlucky Day: 25 Years After Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter — This is basically a look back at The Final Chapter, and how it was supposed to be the last time we ever saw Jason Voorhees with interviews with the cast and crew talking about their part in it all.

The Lost Ending — An old alternate ending that they filmed and ultimately chose against.

The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part 1 — This is a mock documentary created as if the story of Crystal Lake was a real one. It interviews multiple locals and other figures who discuss their theories on the killings.

Jimmy’s Dead Fuck Dance Moves — Perhaps the greatest title to a DVD special feature ever concocted. As advertised, it shows Jimmy (played by a young Crispin Glover) showing off his dance moves while filming the movie. Let’s just say that if he and Elaine Bennis got together and started dancing, the world would undoubtedly implode. That fate would be acceptable though, because this is one of the funniest dances I’ve ever seen, and a prime example of why I just don’t bother.

Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning

Even I, going back and watching these movies, have to scratch my head from time-to-time wondering where they were going with some movies. I’ve come to terms with the fact that most Friday the 13th movies are pretty much the same, and the ones that had little “twists” were the least popular of the bunch. Another testament to sticking with what works, I guess.

In Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (Anyone notice how they jumped from number to Roman numerals randomly? Wacky.), it’s assumed that Jason Voorhees is finally dead. They pick it up in a mental institution where Tommy Jarvis is being delivered to. Eventually, people begin dropping dead left and right, and no one knows why. It’s not long before two of the characters come face-to-face with what appears to be Jason, alive again and responsible for all of the killing; this is where Jason gives chase and the intense last stand takes place. While giving chase, Tommy Jarvis appears out of nowhere to confront Jason, but ends up severely injured before one of the other characters is able to knock Jason onto some metal spikes, which of course kills him. In this death blow, Jason’s mask comes off and we realize that it’s not Jason, but just some dude pretending to be Jason to get revenge for his dead son. The movie ends with another hint toward Tommy Jarvis becoming the new Jason.

This was probably the worst-received movie of the bunch. People (myself included) weren’t as receptive to the whole movie because you think you’re seeing a Jason movie, and it turns out he’s not even in the damn thing — it’s just a bitter paramedic on a mission. This is extended with the hints at Tommy Jarvis becoming a killer; just as we don’t want to see a paramedic as Jason, we also don’t want to see a Jason-survivor turn into Jason. In fact, it was The Final Chapter‘s director, Joseph Zito’s intentions to make Tommy the new Jason, which, followed by this movie, almost destroyed the franchise. But alas, like its fictional killer star, the franchise will never die. Kind of poetic, in a sickly way.

While watching the making of featurette for this movie, there’s even more evidence as to why A New Beginning didn’t far so well. The director admits that he had no idea who Jason was when he was offered the job. One of the actresses admits that she was shocked by how big of a following the movie had when she went to see it in a theater. Basically, no one involved had any idea what it was — they were just there for the paycheck.

Strangely enough, this doesn’t mean you should just ignore this movie. As I’ve said, you either love the franchise or you don’t, and if you do, then all of them are a fun time in their own ways.

Special Features

Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 5 — Part five in the short movie collection.

The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part 2 — The second part to the mockumentary that interviews people about the murders at camp Crystal Lake as if they actually happened in real life.

New Beginnings: The Making of Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning — The making of special for the fifth chapter in the Friday the 13th series.

Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives

Jumping from one of the worst Friday the 13th movies, to one of my personal favorites, where Jason finally shows up as an undead killer, making him a truly immortal force in the world of horror movie slashers.

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives opens again, with Tommy Jarvis, only this time he’s with another mental patient at the grave of Jason Voorhees where Tommy wants to end it once and for all. He stabs Jason’s corpse with a metal rod (why would you do that!?), which backfires just a tad as lightning strikes and reanimates Jason in true Frankenstein style. He kills the companion, but Tommy is able to escape once again and Voorhees makes his way back to Crystal Lake again, which is now called Forest Green so people aren’t too scared to go there. The rest of the movie is Tommy trying to convince people that Jason is alive, while Jason slices and kills his way back to the lake. To make things difficult, most people refuse to believe the less-than-sane Tommy is telling the truth. Never a good decision. It all comes to a peak with one final showdown between Jason Voorhees and Tommy Jarvis in the lake.

Jason Lives used to be my favorite in the franchise, but as mentioned above, I think it has now been dethroned by The Final Chapter. Watching it this time around, there was something missing for me. Maybe it was because this is the first time I’m watching them all bunched together, but there might have been too much hokey and not enough scare. This is the movie before my favorite Jason, Kane Hodder, first shows up, and while I like undead Jason, the one in this movie also might have been a tad too small.

It’s interesting that my favorites are Parts IV and VI and not the originals. I didn’t see these movies until most of them were already out, so I discovered myself enjoying the middle bunch of flicks the best. As soon as this one starts, though, you know you’re in for it, and the man does not let us down. I’m also more of a fan of Jason Voorhees than the movies themselves, so this could explain my love of the middle. It’s also worth note that it’s been a long, long while since I’ve seen Parts 7 through 10, so one of those could become my new favorite upon new viewings. Of course, I somewhat doubt Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell, or Jason in space have a chance of doing so.

Special Features

Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 6 — Part six in the short movie collection.

The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part 3 — Yet another chapter in the mockumentary accounts of those who are familiar with the Crystal Lake massacres.

Jason Lives: The making of Friday the 13th Part VI — The making of special for the movie.

Meeting Mr. Voorhees — A storyboard alternate scene in which Jason Voorhees’ father is introduced in a scene with the caretaker who takes care of Jason and Pamela Voorhees’ graves.

Slashed Scenes — Just like for The Final Chapter, some scenes that weren’t used in the movie.