Friday The 13th Part 2

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: June 16, 2009

Rated: R

Runtime: 87 Minutes

The Movie:

This 1981 film takes place two months after the conclusion of where the first movie ended. Alice, who was the only remaining survivor at Camp Crystal Lake, is murdered by an unknown person.

Fast forward five years after the horrible events at Camp Crystal Lake. All that remains is the legend of Jason Voorhees and his psycho mother, who was responsible for murdering the camp counselors. Now at a nearby summer camp, a new group of counselors ignore the warning they receive to stay away from the infamous "Camp Blood," but of course they roam around not realizing there is someone lurking in their presence.

While this movie finally finally introduces the "Jason" character as your serial killer, he is still without the hockey mask (which he doesn't get until Part 3). Instead he is wearing a burlap sack over his head, which is actually just as creepy as the infamous hockey mask. This is also the movie where Jason picks up the machete for the first time.

The Acting is cheesy and, for the most part, forgettable, but thankfully Amy Steel is able to carry herself and provide a memorable performance. Although it was for a brief moment, it was still nice to see Betsey Palmer return as well.

This sequel would become the first of many sequels (and an unfortunate remake) to come. All of them providing more death scenes, and more nudity. This movie continues where the original ended and then starts up fresh. And later in the films, the series heads into some crazy directions with Jason going to Hell, to Manhattan, into outer space, and eventually to take on Freddy Krueger in a movie that fans had waited ten years to see.

Is the film overly predictable and campy? Absolutely! And that's what made this such a fun and enjoyable experience. Almost 30 years later, this movie still holds up just as well as you remember seeing it for the first time.

Presentation:

Don't expect to be wow'ed when viewing Friday the 13th Part 2 on blu-ray. While it does look better than its dvd counterpart, it's still nothing to get excited over. Sure, in the day scenes the colors appear strong, with object detail consistently providing clarity to the background, but during the darker shots there is plenty of grain on top of the image. Skin tones do appear to look accurate, and black levels are deep. There are some specks that appear throughout the film. Even though there is alot of grain present on this film, it actually works to provide that "gritty" effect for the home viewers experience. The film may not be reference quality, but it definitely is strong and probably the best this film is going to look.

Audio:

Friday the 13th Part 2 provides a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack that sounds as good as the film looks. The dialogue is clear but at times can sound lower and be a little difficult hearing. The sound effects that are used do come through sounding real and crisp. Just like with the image, the audio is definitely a step up from the dvd, but is not gonna blow you away.

Bonus Material:

• Inside Crystal Lake Memories (1080p, Runtime 11:15) - Author Peter Bracke discuss certain parts of his book and some details from Part 2.
• Friday's Legacy: Horror Conventions (1080p, Runtime 6:50) - Allows viewers to see the look of the horror conventions.
• Jason Forever (480p, Runtime 29:27) - Kane Hodder, Ari Lehman, Warrington Gillette, C.J. Graham (all have played Jason) join together for a Q&A at the Fangoria Convention from 2004.
• Lost Tales From Camp Blood (1080p, Runtime 8:54) - Another short film which is suppose to pay homage to the Friday the 13th Franchise.. Nothing too exciting here, but the death at the end makes this watchable.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p)

Bottom Line:

One of the better movies in the Friday the 13th series, this movie gets a fair release on blu-ray from Paramount. It looks and sounds good, and the special features are definitely worth a look. The first three movies of this series have been released on blu-ray, but the question you want to ask yourself is do you want to have all the films individually or wait for the inevitable box set in the future? If you are a die-hard fan, then buy it, otherwise give it a rental.