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Movie Reviews:

His Name Was Jason
Anchor Bay Entertainment - 2009

Directed by Daniel Farrands
Written by Thommy Hutson and Anthony Masi

Hosted by Tom Savini

12 Films.  3 Decades.  It's hard to believe it's been thirty years since Mrs. Vorhees returned to Camp Crystal Lake to dispatch of the camp counselors who were going to re-open the camp.  Keep in mind that this was over twenty years after the camp was shut down when counselors were killed back in 1958.  So story wise it's been more like fifty years of terror.

Disc One
The feature presentation, a hour and a half documentary HIS NAME WAS JASON looks at the entire history of F13th film series and is the main draw to this killer DVD set.  Tom Savini hosts the doc and he's a great choice because he was the man who first created Jason and then ended up killing him in THE FINAL CHAPTER.  Close to one hundred people speak out about all of the films, how they were made, and what they think of the movies now.  The interviews are very insightful and there are some excellent still photos, some I'd never seen anywhere before.  It's pretty cool seeing cast and crew from the films how they look now.  I thought Jensen Dagget from JASON TAKES MANHATTAN looked great and Danny Steinman the Director of the NEW BEGINNING is a borderline a nut job.

The Men Behind The Mask is also on the first disc.  All the guys who ever played Jason speak out about their involvement.  You hear about the somewhat controversial pairing of Steve Dash and Warrington Gillette from Part 2.  For my money, Richard Brooker, Ted White and CJ Graham played the big killer best.  I haven't seen Derek Mears yet but I'm anxious to check out what he's going to do.

Disc Two
Anchor Bay loads up the second disc, which is honestly just as valuable as the first.  First up you have Final Cuts, which includes every director from the series except for Steve Miner (the only director to make two FRIDAY films).  Sean Cunningham breaks down his initial approach and genesis of the first movie.  You have to respect how simple he approached the film and his honest surprise of how it's all turned out.  Joseph Zito comes across as one of the most sure handed guys to helm a FRIDAY film.  Tom Mcloughlin, just has it man.  He is cool, collected and talented.  John Carl Buechler explains how a female executive producer basically controlled the outcome of his film and Marcus Nispel already has my respect from his TCM remake.

From Script To Screen gives five writers a chance to talk about what the did in constructing the films they worked on .  Victor Miller comes a cross as guy unafraid to mix in with today's look, despite his age.  Barney Cohen has to be one of the most likable people to have worked on the series.  He also tells a funny story when he got the job to write THE FINAL CHAPTER, he went to see the first three FRIDAY film in one sitting.  He said after he watched all three films, he realized $he covered in his eyes during the kills and had to go back a second time to view what happened.

Dragged From the Lake contains thirteen little chapters on scenes, behind scenes stories and real life events that are connected to the FRIDAY THE 13th series of films.  "The Stalker" is a very disturbing story of how Adrienne King survived an overzealous fan terrorizing her life, which had a negative effect on her for many years.

There are four Fan Films.  My favorite being Freddy vs. Jason in 30 seconds with bunnies.

Joseph Zito and actor Erich Anderson go back to the filming location of THE FINAL CHAPTER, to talk about how they made the film and how the location hasn't changed much in twenty-six years.  This chapter is called Closing he Book on The Final Chapter.

Fox Comes Home is a cool little piece where actress Gloria Charles, who played the character Fox in the third movie, takes us back to the location where they made the movie in 3D.  We see that the barn that was used in that film is pretty much unchanged, the house used unfortunately burned down a few years back and the infamous dock where Jason first came out with the iconic hockey mask is still there.

Friday The 13 in 4 Minutes is a quick breakdown of the entire series told by an assortment of filmmakers and journalists who admire the series. 

Jason Takes Comic-Con has the new film's cast hitting this convention to help promote the new film.

A bunch of folks who worked on the film, as well as some admiring fans speak out about what you shouldn't do in a FRIDAY film in The Camp Crystal Lake Survival Guide.  Fun and entertaining.

We get to peak into Universal Studios FRIDAY themed tourist attraction in Inside Halloween Horror Nights.

Shelly Lives gives actor Larry Zerner a chance to combine his acting skills with the experience he's  developed as a real life lawyer.

I have to say the $5.00 coupon towards the ticket price of the new FRIDAY THE 13th is also very cool, especially in today's difficult economic environment.

HIS NAME WAS JASON is worth every penny and a forerunner for BEST DVD of 2009.

www.anchorbayentertainment.com