Friday the 13th
8-Film Collection
review by Bobby Blakey
In the world of horror there are only a true handful of iconic movie killers that have stood the test of time. One of the most recognizable and has the most diverse history is that of the hockey mask, machete wielding Jason Vorhees. Now Paramount is bringing the first 8-films together in an all-new collection.
Friday the 13th kicked off with a group of young counselors preparing for the reopening of Camp Crystal Lake, where a boy drowned years earlier. One by one, the counselors are stalked by a mysterious and violent killer. The film stars Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, and Kevin Bacon in one of his earliest roles. From here the series evolved to bring Jason to the forefront from bag head covered killer to the hockey mask icon we know and love today. Throughout his first 8 films he made the transition from the bottom of Crystal Lake all the way to Manhattan leaving a trail of bodies and mayhem along the way.
I recognize not all of the film in the franchise are as great as the original, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t love every single one of them. The evolution and changes from his mother being the killer to the variation we love today and even the space version later kept it fresh and new with very installment. Every film brought a fun variety of clever kills that has continued to entertain the gorehounds since the first film debuted in 1980.
This series really set the tone and changed a lot of the horror slasher genre over the years. It’s always amusing to me how most of what we tend to remember from these franchises often didn’t happen until later installments such as Jason not getting the iconic hockey mask until Part III, but it’s the most recognizable feature of the entire franchise. The twist ending to the original is fun and still one that I love right alongside that of films like Sleepaway Camp.
This new collection is awesome featuring the first 8 films of the series including Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989). The first four films have been newly remastered to look better than ever.
Having all these films in one collection is awesome enough, but it also features hours of bonus content including slashed scenes, making of featurettes, killer commentaries and so much more. The films also include the uncut edition of the original film and digital copies of all 8 films making it a must have for fans of the franchise.
Grab your copy of Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection available now on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment.