Friday the 13th 8-Movie Collection (Blu-ray Review)

This 8-Movie collection of Friday the 13^th brings together the remastered first four films of the popular horror franchise plus Parts V-VIII. Since these films are well known to most horror fans and this is a rather massive collection and somewhat beyond the scope of this review to go into a detailed film review of each film, I’ll give an overview of the basics.

The franchise began in 1980 with the title Friday the 13^th, directed by
Sean S. Cunningham as basically a copycat of Halloween, but quickly grew into its own schtick. This film didn’t even feature the franchise’s trademark antagonist, Jason Voorhees, but it did feature his mother, as a group of kids at a summer camp, Camp Crystal Lake or Camp Blood, as it would come to be known because of all the murders, are stalked by an unknown assailant. Part II finally brings in Jason Voorhees, but without the famous hockey mask and kids in a camp next to the infamous Camp Blood are stalked by Jason. Part III is where the franchise really starts to hit its stride as Jason Voorhees stalks a group of college kids in a cabin near Crystal Lake. Shot for 3D, this one may look a little strange today watching it in 2D with all of the obvious “made for 3D” camera angles and objects sticking out at the camera, but it still works. Finally (sort of) is The Final Chapter that is both bloody, funny, and the most exploitative of the first four. We get full-on Jason, hockey mask, back from the dead, and on a killing spree on his way back to Crystal Lake. After this the franchise goes on a bit of cruise control and reinvention, basically relying on its horror bona fides and the draw of Jason Voorhees. It’s a brand now. The New Blood brings in a girl with telekinesis, going paranormal, Jason Takes Manhattan, well, puts the slasher in Manhattan as high school students inadvertently bring him to the Big Apple where he can wreak havoc. It’s all gimmicky after Part IV. I guess the same amount of thought that went into the films after the first four went into this collection from Paramount as they haven’t even bothered to remaster the last four in the set.

Friday the 13th 8-Movie Collection

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The Video

Only the first four films in this collection have been remastered. The last four films are repackages of the Warner Bros. double feature releases although all signs of Warner logo and startup screen have been stripped. They obviously have the old-style Warner Blu-ray menus.  That said, one through four look pretty darn good, with their AVC 1080p encodements and OARs. I would give the edge out of all four to Part IV since it looks the cleanest and crispest of the group, probably due to expanding budgets and the updated production techniques. Although it has a solid transfer, the look of Part III suffers from the soft focus of much of the scenes due to it having been shot originally for 3D. Anything to high contrast would likely cause ghosting.

Moving on to Parts V-VIII, all I can say is they look as they did when they first hit Blu-ray, which isn’t great. Part V looks about the best of the bunch, but it is sort of soft and dull with background detail quickly falling off. Part VI looks the worst with a lot of frames where dirt and scratches are very evident.

The Audio

Each film has an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix but only two through four are also supplied with the original English mono in Dolby Digital. There are also various foreign-language dubs and subtitles supplied. The monaural mixes will be the most authentic, but also pack the least punch. They have done a great job expanding the soundstage, especially on the remastered discs. The score, especially the now-famous “choo-choo-choo-ha-ha-ha” sound effect pans back and forth and through the surrounds. Rainstorms, which occur rather frequently in this franchise, also surround one nicely and thunder hits with good low end.

The Supplements

The bonus features will be familiar to most who have owned these films on various formats or own the Camp Crystal Lake Blu-ray release and different releases of these films over the years, such as the most recent Scream Factory collection or the Warner Bros. double-feature discs.  Most disappointingly about this collection from Paramount is Part IV’s bonus features are all in SD. Digital copy codes are included for each film in the collection as well.

Friday the 13^th

• Fresh Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13^th (00:14:07)
• The Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham (1080p; 00:08:58)
• Friday the 13^th Reunion (1080p; 00:16:44)
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood Part 1 (1080p; 00:07:30)
• The Friday the 13^th Chronicles: Friday the 13^th (SD; 00:20:33)
• Secrets Galore Behind the Gore (SD; 00:09:32)
• Theatrical Trailers:
  • Friday the 13^th
  • Friday the 13^th, Part II
  • Friday the 13^th Part III
  • Friday the 13^th, Part IV: The Final Chapter
  • Friday the 13^th, Part V: A New Beginning
  • Friday the 13^th, Part VI: Jason Lives
  • Friday the 13^th, Part VII: The New Blood
  • Friday the 13^th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

Friday the 13^th, Part II

• Inside “Crystal Lake Memories” (1080p; 00:11:14)
• Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions (1080p; 00:06:49)
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood Part II (1080p; 00:08:54)
• Jason Forever (SD; 00:29:27)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p)

Friday the 13^th Part 3

• Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror (1080p; 00:12:51)
• Legacy of the Mask (1080p; 00:09:33)
• Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular (1080p; 00:07:09)
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood Part III (1080p; 00:04:49)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p)

Friday the 13^th Part IV: The Final Chapter

• Commentary by director Joseph Zito, screenwriter Barney Cohen, and editor Joel Goodman
• Fan commentary by Adam Green and Joe Lynch
• The Friday the 13^th Chronicles Part IV (SD; 00:13:13)
• Secrets Galore Behind the Gore Friday the 13^th Part IV (SD; 00:13:00)
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 4 (SD; 00:06:19)
• Slashed Scenes with Commentary by Director Joseph Zito (SD; 00:15:18)
• Jason’s Unlucky Day: 25 Years After Friday the 13^th: The Final Chapter (SD; 00:11:01)
• The Lost Ending (SD; 00:03:19)
• The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited: Part I (SD; 00:18:06)
• Jimmy’s Dead Dance Moves (SD; 00:02:05)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD)

Friday the 13^th Part V: A New Beginning

• Commentary by director/co-writer Danny Steinmann with cast and crew
• The Friday the 13^th Chronicles Part V (SD; 00:05:51)
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 5 (1080p; 00:07:09)
• The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II (1080p; 00:10:11)
• New Beginnings: The Making of Friday the 13^th: A New Beginning (1080p; 00:11:04)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD)

Friday the 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives

• Commentary by writer/director Tom McLoughlin with cast and crew
• The Friday the 13^th Chronicles Part VI (SD; 00:14:41)
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 6 (1080p; 00:07:17)
• The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part III (1080p; 00:09:36)
• Jason Lives: The Making of Friday the 13^th Part VI (1080p; 00:12:56)
• Meeting Mr. Voorhees (1080p; 00:02:46)
• Slashed Scenes (1080p; 00:06:05)
• Original Theatrical Teaser Trailer (SD)

Friday the 13^th Part VII: The New Blood

• Killer commentary by director John Carl Buechler and actors Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder
• The Friday the 13^th Chronicles Part VII (SD; 00:11:38)
• Secrets Galore Behind the Gore – John Carl Buechler on Part VII (SD; 00:11:10)
• Jason’s Destroyer The Making of Friday the 13^th Part VII – The New Blood (1080p; 00:15:07)
• Mind over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis (1080p; 00:07:25)
• Makeover by Maddy: Need a Litter Touch-Up Work, My Ass (1080p; 00:02:42)
• Slashed Scenes (1080p; 00:17:00)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD)

Friday the 13^th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

• Commentary by director Rob Hedden
• Killer Commentary by actors Scott Reeves, Jensen Daggett, and Kane Hodder
• The Friday the 13^th Chronicles Part VIII (SD; 00:14:31)
• New York Has a New Problem The Making of Friday the 13^th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1080p; 00:18:01)
• Slashed Scenes (1080p; 00:12:55)
• Gag Reel (1080p; 00:04:54)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (SD)

The Final Assessment

This collection may be fine for fans who missed the Scream Factory set which not only offers more films but also has them in better picture quality. This set may be only worth it for the remastered versions of I-IV, which look and sound great but also don’t offer any new bonus features. For completists only.

Friday the 13th 8-Movie Collection is out on Blu-ray August 10, 2021 from Paramount

• Rating Certificate: Unrated | R
• Studios & Distributors: Paramount Pictures | Paramount Home Entertainment
• 6-Discs
• Street Date: August 10, 2021
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 | 1.85:1 | 1.78:1
• Video Format: AVC 1080p
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: English DD Mono | English Audio Description | German DD Mono | Spanish (Castilian) DD Mono | French DD Mono
• Subtitles: English | English SDH | German | Spanish (Castilian) | French