The
audience goes to hell is probably a more fitting title for this piece
of drek. Without a doubt, JASON GOES TO HELL- THE FINAL FRIDAY
($20) is got to be one of the worst films in the entire FRIDAY THE 13TH
franchise. Now I try to find something redeeming in every film
because I understand that every movie has its audience, but this
particular opus just left me wondering how it got in front of the cameras.
Don't get me wrong; JASON GOES TO HELL is a professionally made
film, it's just that the screenplay has an interesting premise, but
doesn't do anything interesting with it. The movie just seems to lumber
from one graphic killing to the next. Heck, the screenplay is so poorly
conceived that it kills off the one character that had the potential to
add something new and interesting to the Jason Voorhees mythology. Still,
I'm sure this movie has its fans, although I don't know who they are, or
what they see in JASON GOES TO HELL (other than the really cool
final shot of the movie)
JASON
GOES TO HELL opens with the hockey-masked serial killer getting blown
to pieces, following a government sting operation conducted on Jason's
Crystal Lake stomping grounds. During an autopsy of Jason's jigsaw puzzle-like remains, the disembodied heart begins beating and transfixes the
coroner in such a way that he devours it. Instantly, the essence of Jason
Voorhees takes possession of this new body and begins a murderous rampage
that places him on a path directly back to Crystal Lake. From here, things
really begin to get silly with the addition of a preposterous supernatural subplot… and where did that copy of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis come
from??? The movie also introduces to a badass bounty hunter named
Creighton Duke (Steven Williams), who knows that Jason isn't really dead,
and that his family ties will either allow machete-wielding killer to be
reborn or destroy him for all eternity. The cast of JASON GOES TO HELL
also includes Kane Hodder, John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Steven Culp,
Richard Gant and Erin Gray (who had to be desperate for a paycheck to take
this thankless role).
New
Line Home Entertainment has made JASON
GOES TO HELL available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Both the R rated cut and an unrated version are
seamlessly branched on the DVD. Viewers can select the version they wish
to see from the menus before the film begins. New Line has done a really
good job with this low budget offering, making it look a lot better than
it should on DVD. Although pretty dark, the image is sharp and well
defined. Colors are strongly rendered and flesh tones look good. There are
no signs of chroma noise or fuzziness in the hues, although the reds tend
to bleed all over the characters. Blacks appear pure, contrast is good and
shadow detail is decent. Digital compression artifacts are well concealed
on the dual layered DVD.
JASON
GOES TO HELL is presented with 5.1 channel soundtracks in both Dolby
Digital and DTS. One thing I'll say for the soundtrack is that it is good
and loud- the stingers seem to be at such a high level that they will have
viewers jumping out of their seats. The track is also fairly aggressively
mixed, with sound effects being well deployed in all the discrete
channels. Dialogue is cleanly rendered and always understandable. The bass
channel is definitely pumped up on testosterone and will give one's
subwoofer a good workout. The differences between Dolby Digital and DTS
isn't particularly pronounced on this release, with DTS have only a very
slight edge in terms of spaciousness and fidelity. An English Dolby
Surround soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English
subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as some extras. Director Adam Marcus and
screenwriter Dean Lorey are on hand for a running audio commentary that
only plays along with the unrated version of the film. The audio
commentary proves to be quite entertaining, probably more so than the
film, and is worth a listen for any diehard Jason fan. Some alternate
footage to pad out the TV version's running time is also included on the
DVD, along with a theatrical trailer and a Jump To A DeathScene
feature.
In
my opinion, JASON GOES TO HELL is a real dud. However, I am willing
to acknowledge that almost every film has its own fan base, and those that
like JASON GOES TO HELL are getting a good quality DVD release from
the folks at New Line. The disc looks and sound pretty darn good, plus it
offers an entertaining audio commentary that I though was more enjoyable
than the movie.
The
audience goes to hell is probably a more fitting title for this piece
of drek. Without a doubt, JASON GOES TO HELL- THE FINAL FRIDAY
($20) is got to be one of the worst films in the entire FRIDAY THE 13TH
franchise. Now I try to find something redeeming in every film
because I understand that every movie has its audience, but this
particular opus just left me wondering how it got in front of the cameras.
Don't get me wrong; JASON GOES TO HELL is a professionally made
film, it's just that the screenplay has an interesting premise, but
doesn't do anything interesting with it. The movie just seems to lumber
from one graphic killing to the next. Heck, the screenplay is so poorly
conceived that it kills off the one character that had the potential to
add something new and interesting to the Jason Voorhees mythology. Still,
I'm sure this movie has its fans, although I don't know who they are, or
what they see in JASON GOES TO HELL (other than the really cool
final shot of the movie)
JASON
GOES TO HELL opens with the hockey-masked serial killer getting blown
to pieces, following a government sting operation conducted on Jason's
Crystal Lake stomping grounds. During an autopsy of Jason's jigsaw puzzle-like remains, the disembodied heart begins beating and transfixes the
coroner in such a way that he devours it. Instantly, the essence of Jason
Voorhees takes possession of this new body and begins a murderous rampage
that places him on a path directly back to Crystal Lake. From here, things
really begin to get silly with the addition of a preposterous supernatural subplot… and where did that copy of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis come
from??? The movie also introduces to a badass bounty hunter named
Creighton Duke (Steven Williams), who knows that Jason isn't really dead,
and that his family ties will either allow machete-wielding killer to be
reborn or destroy him for all eternity. The cast of JASON GOES TO HELL
also includes Kane Hodder, John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Steven Culp,
Richard Gant and Erin Gray (who had to be desperate for a paycheck to take
this thankless role).
New
Line Home Entertainment has made JASON
GOES TO HELL available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. Both the R rated cut and an unrated version are
seamlessly branched on the DVD. Viewers can select the version they wish
to see from the menus before the film begins. New Line has done a really
good job with this low budget offering, making it look a lot better than
it should on DVD. Although pretty dark, the image is sharp and well
defined. Colors are strongly rendered and flesh tones look good. There are
no signs of chroma noise or fuzziness in the hues, although the reds tend
to bleed all over the characters. Blacks appear pure, contrast is good and
shadow detail is decent. Digital compression artifacts are well concealed
on the dual layered DVD.
JASON
GOES TO HELL is presented with 5.1 channel soundtracks in both Dolby
Digital and DTS. One thing I'll say for the soundtrack is that it is good
and loud- the stingers seem to be at such a high level that they will have
viewers jumping out of their seats. The track is also fairly aggressively
mixed, with sound effects being well deployed in all the discrete
channels. Dialogue is cleanly rendered and always understandable. The bass
channel is definitely pumped up on testosterone and will give one's
subwoofer a good workout. The differences between Dolby Digital and DTS
isn't particularly pronounced on this release, with DTS have only a very
slight edge in terms of spaciousness and fidelity. An English Dolby
Surround soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English
subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as some extras. Director Adam Marcus and
screenwriter Dean Lorey are on hand for a running audio commentary that
only plays along with the unrated version of the film. The audio
commentary proves to be quite entertaining, probably more so than the
film, and is worth a listen for any diehard Jason fan. Some alternate
footage to pad out the TV version's running time is also included on the
DVD, along with a theatrical trailer and a Jump To A Death Scene
feature.
In
my opinion, JASON GOES TO HELL is a real dud. However, I am willing
to acknowledge that almost every film has its own fan base, and those that
like JASON GOES TO HELL are getting a good quality DVD release from
the folks at New Line. The disc looks and sound pretty darn good, plus it
offers an entertaining audio commentary that I though was more enjoyable
than the movie.
