| "The body count continues....” |
| |||||
Friday the 13th Part II - Special Edition
DVD/APPROX. 83 MINS/1981/USA R18+
DVD/APPROX. 83 MINS/1981/USA R18+
10
| All written material is © from 2006 to Present at DVD Resurrections. This website is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The opinions which are expressed within these pages are solely those of DVD Resurrections. No copyright infringement is intended or implied. |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After the surprise success of FRIDAY THE 13TH in 1980 PART II was a sure thing: it got the green light just days after the release of PART 1. At
first Sean S. Cunningham had planned for each installment to be a stand alone film with only the FRIDAY THE 13TH title in common but the studio
suits had other ideas, so with PART 1's associate producer Steve Miner moving up to the director's chair we returned to Crystal Lake.
It’s 5 years after the massacre at Camp Crystal Lake, Alice (Adrienne King) is still haunted by memories of the night she defeated the insane
Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) but little does she know that Jason (masked:Steve Daskawitz/ unmasked: Warrington Gillette) is going to turn up
to settle the score for dear old mum, all this in a great pre-credits sequence.
A group of young adults have come to Crystal Lake to attend a counselor training centre that has been set up near the now-condemned Camp. We
meet all the ‘soon to be typical of slasher films’ characters, who all have their fun while exploring the grounds and getting to know each other. The
first night we are introduced to another slasher film tradition: the camp fire story where the legend of the villain is told, in this case Jason Voorhees
(who is lot different to the Jason we all know and love, he is a lot smaller and no hockey mask but still a creepy bastard) and how his mother was
found to be the infamous murderer of “Camp Blood.” The next day some of the soon to be counselors have a little too much fun and are banned
from that night’s outing to the local pub. Once the lucky ones leave, those left behind separate (some alone, some in pairs) not sensing the
ominous lurking presence and then the bloodbath starts.
First time director Steve Miner gives us a fast moving film that covers all the slasher bases, including one the best 3rd acts in the whole series
(scary and edge of your seat). FX make up man Steve Kirshoff does well in the gore department (pity a minute or so of his work fell victim to the
MPAA: bastards) but I am sure I am not alone in thinking “What if Tom Savini had worked on PART 2?” and as always Harry Manfredini gives us a
killer score.
The cast do well and Amy Steel gives, in my opinion, the best performance by a leading lady in the entire series.
After years and a bare bones release Paramount gives us a special edition but how special is it? The answer is it's better than a bare bones
release but still not the release we fans are screaming for, the extras we get are:
- INSIDE “CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES” - a David Crosby look-a-like interviews “Crystal Lake Memories” author Peter M. Bracke. In this - way too
short but interesting none the less - piece we learn some interesting tidbits about PART 2 (alt ending, what got cut etc.)
- FRIDAY'S LEGACY: HORROR CONVENTIONS - as the title suggests gives a look at the impact the series has had on fan conventions (would love to
check one some day) in this case SCAREFEST. We get to meet cast and crew members from various FRIDAY's but again it's way too short but still
interesting.
- LOST TALES FROM CAMP BLOOD - PART 1 - an 8 minute short that reminds one of those fan made films that turn up on YOUTUBE all the time,
seems to be on the disc for the sake of an extra and do not think many will watch it more than once.
- JASON FOREVER - the best extra by far, a half hour panel from a FANGORIA WEEKEND OF HORRORS that features four of the actors who have
played Jason over the years: Ari Lehman (PART 1), Warrington Gillette (PART 2),C.J. Graham (PART 6), Kane Hodder(PART 7, 8, JGTH, JX) plus a
cameo of sorts from PART 3's Shelly: Larry Zerner, all four men share interesting stories and information about what it’s like to play such a modern
icon of horror and they also answer fanboy questions like “What is your favourite kill?” “Would you play Jason again?” “Is it true that ......?” and so
on. All the actors come across as class acts and are very fan friendly, Kane seems a little bitter to lose the role (can't blame him) but says he would
play Jason again plus would love to see Jason mix it up with the Shape in a movie and play both roles.
The extras are rounded out with a great trailer.
Gripe time now - why the hell has Paramount not given us an uncut release of this and the other films (PART 3, 5, 6, 7, 8)? After all these years we
FRIDAY fans deserve the uncut versions considering all the support we have given this series. Paramount suits if you are reading this “GIVE US
UNCUT NOW!” It's a license to print money and I am sure most of us would be more than happy to double-dip (or in my case triple-dip) for uncut
versions - gripe over.
So if you don't own this classic or you just own the bare bones version, head out now and grab this special edition.
first Sean S. Cunningham had planned for each installment to be a stand alone film with only the FRIDAY THE 13TH title in common but the studio
suits had other ideas, so with PART 1's associate producer Steve Miner moving up to the director's chair we returned to Crystal Lake.
It’s 5 years after the massacre at Camp Crystal Lake, Alice (Adrienne King) is still haunted by memories of the night she defeated the insane
Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) but little does she know that Jason (masked:Steve Daskawitz/ unmasked: Warrington Gillette) is going to turn up
to settle the score for dear old mum, all this in a great pre-credits sequence.
A group of young adults have come to Crystal Lake to attend a counselor training centre that has been set up near the now-condemned Camp. We
meet all the ‘soon to be typical of slasher films’ characters, who all have their fun while exploring the grounds and getting to know each other. The
first night we are introduced to another slasher film tradition: the camp fire story where the legend of the villain is told, in this case Jason Voorhees
(who is lot different to the Jason we all know and love, he is a lot smaller and no hockey mask but still a creepy bastard) and how his mother was
found to be the infamous murderer of “Camp Blood.” The next day some of the soon to be counselors have a little too much fun and are banned
from that night’s outing to the local pub. Once the lucky ones leave, those left behind separate (some alone, some in pairs) not sensing the
ominous lurking presence and then the bloodbath starts.
First time director Steve Miner gives us a fast moving film that covers all the slasher bases, including one the best 3rd acts in the whole series
(scary and edge of your seat). FX make up man Steve Kirshoff does well in the gore department (pity a minute or so of his work fell victim to the
MPAA: bastards) but I am sure I am not alone in thinking “What if Tom Savini had worked on PART 2?” and as always Harry Manfredini gives us a
killer score.
The cast do well and Amy Steel gives, in my opinion, the best performance by a leading lady in the entire series.
After years and a bare bones release Paramount gives us a special edition but how special is it? The answer is it's better than a bare bones
release but still not the release we fans are screaming for, the extras we get are:
- INSIDE “CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES” - a David Crosby look-a-like interviews “Crystal Lake Memories” author Peter M. Bracke. In this - way too
short but interesting none the less - piece we learn some interesting tidbits about PART 2 (alt ending, what got cut etc.)
- FRIDAY'S LEGACY: HORROR CONVENTIONS - as the title suggests gives a look at the impact the series has had on fan conventions (would love to
check one some day) in this case SCAREFEST. We get to meet cast and crew members from various FRIDAY's but again it's way too short but still
interesting.
- LOST TALES FROM CAMP BLOOD - PART 1 - an 8 minute short that reminds one of those fan made films that turn up on YOUTUBE all the time,
seems to be on the disc for the sake of an extra and do not think many will watch it more than once.
- JASON FOREVER - the best extra by far, a half hour panel from a FANGORIA WEEKEND OF HORRORS that features four of the actors who have
played Jason over the years: Ari Lehman (PART 1), Warrington Gillette (PART 2),C.J. Graham (PART 6), Kane Hodder(PART 7, 8, JGTH, JX) plus a
cameo of sorts from PART 3's Shelly: Larry Zerner, all four men share interesting stories and information about what it’s like to play such a modern
icon of horror and they also answer fanboy questions like “What is your favourite kill?” “Would you play Jason again?” “Is it true that ......?” and so
on. All the actors come across as class acts and are very fan friendly, Kane seems a little bitter to lose the role (can't blame him) but says he would
play Jason again plus would love to see Jason mix it up with the Shape in a movie and play both roles.
The extras are rounded out with a great trailer.
Gripe time now - why the hell has Paramount not given us an uncut release of this and the other films (PART 3, 5, 6, 7, 8)? After all these years we
FRIDAY fans deserve the uncut versions considering all the support we have given this series. Paramount suits if you are reading this “GIVE US
UNCUT NOW!” It's a license to print money and I am sure most of us would be more than happy to double-dip (or in my case triple-dip) for uncut
versions - gripe over.
So if you don't own this classic or you just own the bare bones version, head out now and grab this special edition.
| BUY DVD @ EZYDVD.COM.AU |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||
| Search Review Database: |