Friday the 13th Part 2 – Blu-ray Review

The Flick

After watching Friday the 13th I didn’t think another slasher flick would be able to deliver the same kind of thrills and kills as this landmark movie.  Sure, Halloween kicked major butt in 1978 and I have lots of love for the flick, but I always enjoyed the first Friday the 13th more than I did the awesome John Carpenter opus.  So you can imagine my my surprise after watching Friday the 13th Part 2.  I couldn’t believe how awesome the flick was.  Jason was so pissed off at his mother’s killer that he left Crystal Lake and wondered into the suburbs so that he could relish the sweet taste of vengeance.  Hell Yeah!  Jason lives baby!  Part 2 was always one of my favorites in the Friday franchise.  It took the if-it-aint-broke-don’t-fix-it approach and upped the ante by adding more carnage, nudity, and bad ass slasher extraordinaire; Jason.  The first time I saw the potato sack wearing maniac I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Not only was Jason a massive killer, he was brutality incarnate.  There was no obstacle he couldn’t break in half.  He was the ultimate horror super hero, the king of the slasher killers.  I was hooked from the very first frame and by the time the credits rolled I was ready to see it again.  That’s pure horror goodness wrapped in a potato sack of awesome.  

Director Steve Miner is probably my favorite of the Friday directors, I love his style and how awesome Jason is when acting under his instruction.  The guy just understands what it takes to make a great horror film.  Watching his slasher masterpiece on wonderful 1080p blu-ray was like hitting the candy jackpot on Halloween.  Friday the 13th Part 2 is an ass kicking killer film!  

 

The Blu-ray

Audio/Visual

The HD transfer looks good, but don’t expect it to be perfect.  It is absolutely an improvement over previous releases, but still looks grainy in some spots.  But overall in my opinion a slasher flick is supposed to look grainy, so for my buck the improvement offered up by the blu-ray is worth every penny.  The audio is amazing and sounds better than any prior Friday release, and once again the mono track is there for the purists out there.  

Special Features

Inside Crystal Lake Memories – Presented in beautiful HD, writer Peter Bracke talks about his amazing book and offers the goods on how he researched the book.  He also talks about what roll fans played in the creation of the book as well.  This is an awesome feature but it is carried over from the deluxe edition.  

Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions – An HD feature that focuses on horror conventions and why many of the Friday alumni are almost always in attendance.  

Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 2 – Sue me but I don’t care for these short films that are inspired by the Friday franchise.  I find them weak and boring.  By far my least favorite feature on the disc.  Oh, and it’s also in HD.  

Jason Forever – Peter Bracke moderates a panel with former Jason alumni Ari Lehman, C.J. Graham, Warrington Gillette, and Kane Hodder.  Each actor talks about his experience playing the menacing character.

Theatrical Trailer – Of course the theatrical trailer is presented in 1080p, but in my opinion it doesn’t benefit all that much from the HD treatment

I’d advise any fan of the franchise to pick up this disc immediately, it’s totally worth it.  

 

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