Thursday, March 28, 2013
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday Uncut Review
The first uncut version available of a Friday film in the U.S. was Jason Goes to Hell. You already know how much I despise this film, but here it goes. The biting of the heart and spitting of the black blood is extended. There's a few extra beats before the sex scene when the couple enters the tent. The doctor stabs the girl outside the tent two more times. The sex scene is extended. The girl's death is actually shone and it is by far the most violent moment in all of Friday the 13th history. This moment is extraordinary. The melting man has an extra beat. The killer in the police office gets shot an extra time. The killer gets shot a few more times in the dinner. The waitress has an extended death which is also spectacular. There's also a few more seconds with Duke and Diana before the climax. In total there's an entire 2 minutes and 8 seconds more in the unrated cut. Unlike the original film, the better version of Jason Goes to Hell is by far the unrated cut. This movie sucks in either version, but the impact is much stronger and carries a lot more punch in the unrated cut. Next up: the killer extended cut of Friday the 13th (2009).
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Friday the 13th Uncut Review
Having uncut, unrated versions of the Friday films has always been a Friday the 13th fans dream. There are three officially released uncut versions of the films. The first one is for the iconic original film. This version has been widely available overseas for quite a while, however it wasn't released in America until February 3, 2009. There's not too many changes to note in this version. This version is only 10 seconds longer. Annie's death in the beginning is extended. We don't fade to white quite so quickly. There's an extra beat in the sex scene. Jack's death gets a whole new shot added in which showcases the great gore effects of Tom Savini brilliantly. Marci's death has a few more beats to it. Mrs. Voorhees death also has a few more moments in the film. The added gore affects work fine with the film. The film flows great with it's uncut version. However, the longer gore affects have made it more obvious where to spot the make up effects. This has greatly been enhanced by the blu-ray. It's much easier to tell that they're just effects. The magic gets a little lost with the uncut version on blu. Which version is the better cut? I'm in the minority on this I'm sure, but I prefer the theatrical cut. I like the shorter version of Jack's death, I think it has more impact with the shorter version. I like not dwelling too long on the deaths. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE the uncut version of the film and I'm stoked that of all the Paramount films, the original, my personal favorite is the one that has the uncut version available. Having said that, I think the theatrical cut flows better. It may just be a nostalgia thing for me, but I really think the theatrical cut is the more effective cut of the film. Only two more cuts to go! Next alternate cut: the unrated cut of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday the 13th (2009) Review
Slasher movie franchises appeared dead. Torture movies had taken over and created a whole new generation of horror fans. Movies like Cabin Fever, Hostel and the Saw series set the bar for graphic violence and what was acceptable to show extremely high. Friday the 13th had always been fun. In 1980, when the original came out it was shocking how violent it was. The remake could not compare to the common trend in horror. With the Freddy Vs. Jason sequel movie in development hell and New Line losing their brilliant maverick Bob Shaye, Warner Brothers who now owns New Line Cinema teamed up with Paramount and Michael Bay to bring Friday the 13th and more importantly Jason to a brand new audience.
As always we begin with the trailer. The trailer is very old school. It's a throw back to the carnival attraction that the first three films trailers were like. It was great fun, but I don't know if it gained a new audience using that technique. The tagline: Welcome to Crystal Lake. is really stupid. I think the tagline just plain sucks.
Here's the thing: with the blu ray release of the film, it is nearly impossible to find the theatrical cut. I did find it, but it was super hard to navigate to. If you have trouble finding the theatrical cut, go to amazon and look at frequent questions on the blu ray page for this film.
I must say, the first time I saw this was on Friday the 13th, 2009 in the movie theatre and it was an AWESOME experience. I instantly gave the film 9/10 on IMDb. I couldn't remember the last time I had had so much fun at a movie. Rewatching it, however, it doesn't fare as well. It is by far the best film since The Final Chapter. Friday got really really jokey and hokey in the subsequent zombie Jason sequels. But this film really really drags. It's actually quite boring. I was shocked when I rewatched it. Granted, this is the Friday film I've seen the least, so I don't know it nearly as well as the others, but still...it's really boring.
I now understand why everyone said the best part of the movie was the opening scene. That opening scene is also long, but it gets to the point fairly quickly and the deaths are really cool. The gore affects are great in this film and for the first time in ages, there is a creative and more importantly SHOCKING death sequence. I still jump when that arrow goes through the boat driver's head.
Let's be straight, Derek Mears as Jason rocked. He was the perfect casting decision. He's such a fan boy and that's perfect for the character. Let's get one thing straight: the controversy over Jason running in this movie is uneducated and stupid. Jason runs in Part 2, and Part III in 3D. Jason running is nothing new. I guess some people just want to complain about everything even things that were alluded to in the first entries of the franchise. Jason also gets a moment when he actually puts on the mask for the very first time. We never saw that in Part III. It's a great moment for the fans.
As far as following the original film's plot line, they do a fairly decent job, but it's only given 2 minutes of screen time. Let's face it, the replacement for Betsy Palmer is very poor in comparison. Betsy just OWNED Mrs. Voorhees. It's a calmer take with this film, but I gotta go with the original on their take on Mrs. Voorhees. The rest of the film departs from the original storyline and plays more like a sequel than a remake, but I'm fine with that. Expanding on what audiences responded to in a remake is never a bad thing. Take the 1956 remake of The Ten Commandments. Cecil B. DeMille just expanded on the Moses storyline from his 1923 original film. Now, Friday the 13th is no Ten Commandments, but the basic idea still applies. However, I just can't say that the 2009 remake is a better film than the 1980 original. Film quality, it's a ton better. Storywise, character moments, acting, the 1980 film is better.
This movie tries to explain how Jason appears out of thin air. This movie put tunnels underneath Crystal Lake. I still like this idea. This, to me, brought it back to the realness of the first film. It's still not as realistic as the original classic, but it's a vast improvement over previous entries.
With so much going for it, why does it feel so slow when you watch it? I think the problem lies in two fundamental areas: our main character is a dude and the ending is cliche. Our final heroine spends a good amount of the film chained in the underground tunnels. We don't know much about Whitney at all. We do know this: Whitney has a strong heart. She cares for her mother who is dying from cancer. She goes missing in Jason's woods, but Jason doesn't kill her. Jason feels like she is his mother. So he keeps her chained underground. What is interesting about our final heroine to date is that she doesn't seem like she's a virgin. She has a boyfriend who she goes out to the woods with. Her friends were all screwing, so who knows what Whitney has done with her boyfriend in the past. However, like it's stated before, Whitney is MIA for the majority of the film and that is not ok.
The ending is really bad. There's no way of getting around it. We've seen it all before. Jason jumps out of the water again, only this time we don't get an iconic, horrifying jump scene, we get a scene that's so forgettable you'll forget it within an hour. The ending ended on such a cliche note that I think it screwed the course of the remake series.
Friday the 13th, the remake, premiered on Friday the 13th, February, 2009. On a budget of $19 million, the film grossed $64,997,188. I do enjoy the remake. A lot of complaints are said that I don't think carry much weight at all, but it does drag and the ending sucks. So there you have it, but we're not done just yet. There's three officially released alternate cuts. Those will not be a typical review, they will only compare with the theatrical cut and I'll determine which cut I feel is the better cut. Until next time...
As always we begin with the trailer. The trailer is very old school. It's a throw back to the carnival attraction that the first three films trailers were like. It was great fun, but I don't know if it gained a new audience using that technique. The tagline: Welcome to Crystal Lake. is really stupid. I think the tagline just plain sucks.
Here's the thing: with the blu ray release of the film, it is nearly impossible to find the theatrical cut. I did find it, but it was super hard to navigate to. If you have trouble finding the theatrical cut, go to amazon and look at frequent questions on the blu ray page for this film.
I must say, the first time I saw this was on Friday the 13th, 2009 in the movie theatre and it was an AWESOME experience. I instantly gave the film 9/10 on IMDb. I couldn't remember the last time I had had so much fun at a movie. Rewatching it, however, it doesn't fare as well. It is by far the best film since The Final Chapter. Friday got really really jokey and hokey in the subsequent zombie Jason sequels. But this film really really drags. It's actually quite boring. I was shocked when I rewatched it. Granted, this is the Friday film I've seen the least, so I don't know it nearly as well as the others, but still...it's really boring.
I now understand why everyone said the best part of the movie was the opening scene. That opening scene is also long, but it gets to the point fairly quickly and the deaths are really cool. The gore affects are great in this film and for the first time in ages, there is a creative and more importantly SHOCKING death sequence. I still jump when that arrow goes through the boat driver's head.
Let's be straight, Derek Mears as Jason rocked. He was the perfect casting decision. He's such a fan boy and that's perfect for the character. Let's get one thing straight: the controversy over Jason running in this movie is uneducated and stupid. Jason runs in Part 2, and Part III in 3D. Jason running is nothing new. I guess some people just want to complain about everything even things that were alluded to in the first entries of the franchise. Jason also gets a moment when he actually puts on the mask for the very first time. We never saw that in Part III. It's a great moment for the fans.
As far as following the original film's plot line, they do a fairly decent job, but it's only given 2 minutes of screen time. Let's face it, the replacement for Betsy Palmer is very poor in comparison. Betsy just OWNED Mrs. Voorhees. It's a calmer take with this film, but I gotta go with the original on their take on Mrs. Voorhees. The rest of the film departs from the original storyline and plays more like a sequel than a remake, but I'm fine with that. Expanding on what audiences responded to in a remake is never a bad thing. Take the 1956 remake of The Ten Commandments. Cecil B. DeMille just expanded on the Moses storyline from his 1923 original film. Now, Friday the 13th is no Ten Commandments, but the basic idea still applies. However, I just can't say that the 2009 remake is a better film than the 1980 original. Film quality, it's a ton better. Storywise, character moments, acting, the 1980 film is better.
This movie tries to explain how Jason appears out of thin air. This movie put tunnels underneath Crystal Lake. I still like this idea. This, to me, brought it back to the realness of the first film. It's still not as realistic as the original classic, but it's a vast improvement over previous entries.
With so much going for it, why does it feel so slow when you watch it? I think the problem lies in two fundamental areas: our main character is a dude and the ending is cliche. Our final heroine spends a good amount of the film chained in the underground tunnels. We don't know much about Whitney at all. We do know this: Whitney has a strong heart. She cares for her mother who is dying from cancer. She goes missing in Jason's woods, but Jason doesn't kill her. Jason feels like she is his mother. So he keeps her chained underground. What is interesting about our final heroine to date is that she doesn't seem like she's a virgin. She has a boyfriend who she goes out to the woods with. Her friends were all screwing, so who knows what Whitney has done with her boyfriend in the past. However, like it's stated before, Whitney is MIA for the majority of the film and that is not ok.
The ending is really bad. There's no way of getting around it. We've seen it all before. Jason jumps out of the water again, only this time we don't get an iconic, horrifying jump scene, we get a scene that's so forgettable you'll forget it within an hour. The ending ended on such a cliche note that I think it screwed the course of the remake series.
Friday the 13th, the remake, premiered on Friday the 13th, February, 2009. On a budget of $19 million, the film grossed $64,997,188. I do enjoy the remake. A lot of complaints are said that I don't think carry much weight at all, but it does drag and the ending sucks. So there you have it, but we're not done just yet. There's three officially released alternate cuts. Those will not be a typical review, they will only compare with the theatrical cut and I'll determine which cut I feel is the better cut. Until next time...
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