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PARAMOUNT

MOVIE INFO

Director:
John Carl Buechler
Cast:
Kane Hodder, Lar Park-Lincoln, Kevin Spirtas, Terry Kiser, Susan Blu, Susan Jennifer Sullivan, Heidi Kozak, William Butler
Writing Credits:
Manuel Fidello, Daryl Haney, Victor Miller (characters)

Tagline:
On Friday the 13th, Jason is back. But this time, someone's waiting.

Synopsis:
They comprise the most successful and shocking tales of terror in cinema history. Now, for the first time, the first eight classic Friday The 13th movies are available together in this killer DVD collection.

Beginning with the picture critics have called the original slasher flick, this collection spans nine years and includes seven additional blood-soaked, suspense-filled sagas starring one of the most horrifying characters ever to wear a hockey mask and wield a machete: Jason Voorhees. It's a splatterfest of fan favorites that follow the unstoppable Jason as he cuts and hacks a swath of fear all the way from Crystal Lake to the mean streets of Manhattan. In addition, the collection includes a special disc filled with never-before-seen footage and fabulous extras that will slay even the most jaded horror film aficionado!

Box Office:
Domestic Gross
$19.170 million.

MPAA:
Rated R

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
French Dolby Digital Stereo
Latin Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:
English
Latin Spanish
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English

Runtime: 88 min.
Price: $129.95
Release Date: 9/13/2013

Available Only as Part of “Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection”

Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Director John Carl Buechler and Actors Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder
• “The Friday the 13th Chronicles, Part VII” Featurette
• “Secrets Galore Behind the Gore” Featurette
• “Jason’s Destroyer: The Making of Friday the 13th, Part VII – The New Blood” Featurette
• “Mind Over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis” Featurette
• “Makeover by Maddy: Needs a Little Touch-Up Work, My Ass” Featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Trailer


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
Panasonic TC-P60VT60 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV; Sony STR-DG1200 7.1 Channel Receiver; Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player using HDMI outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Kenwood 1050SW 150-watt Subwoofer.

RELATED REVIEWS


Friday The 13th, Part VII: The New Blood [Blu-Ray] (1988)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (May 20, 2015)

With 1986’s Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, the titular psycho returned to action. He continues his violent ways with yet another in the apparently never-ending series, 1988’s The New Blood.

Although the prior couple of movies lacked this feature, Blood starts with a staple of the first few sequels: a recap of the preceeding effort. We see the ending of Jason Lives to witness how murderous monster Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) ended up at the bottom of Crystal Lake. A little girl named Tina Shepard (Jennifer Banko) wishes for the death of her abusive father John (John Otrin). This sets events into motion that collapse the pier on which he stands and apparently kills him.

The flick jumps to Tina as a young woman (Lar Park Lincoln). She wakes up from a nightmare about this event and we see her as her mother (Susan Blu) takes her to Crystal Lake, where paranormal psychologist Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) runs a study of psychokinetic abilities. Not coincidentally, this location is where Tina last saw her father.

We meet some kids at a neighboring cabin. That group includes hunky Nick (Kevin Blair), and he takes an instant interest in Tina. Dr. Crews meets with Tina and we watch as he tests her skills. Between Crews’ pressure on her and her negative associations with the location, Tina gets upset and runs back to the pier where her dad died. She wishes she could bring him back, which inadvertently triggers the resuscitation of Jason.

Tina sees Jason emerge from the lake, but no one believes her. At least she gets to spend some time with Nick, who invites her to a birthday party. In the meantime, Jason goes back to his old antics and starts to kill again. Tina senses this and starts to see visions of Jason’s violent ways. The rest of the movie follows his attacks as well as Tina’s reactions and the other kids. We also learn more about Dr. Crews and his motives.

The first few Friday flicks essentially retold the same story repeatedly, and I complained about the lack of creativity. This may be an example of “be careful what you wish for”, as the more the Friday movies deviate from their source material, the less effective they become. Blood presents a more imaginative take on the events, but it goes down such a silly path that it makes me miss the gory simplicity of the earlier movies.

Actually, the series went to crap when it totally lost touch with reality. No, the flicks never maintained a perfect connection with the real world, especially as Jason’s abject refusal to die became more and more absurd. I guess the movies excuse this by viewing him as a zombie; I don’t recall that the flicks ever explicitly stated this, but they follow that concept.

I will admit that Blood has some potential, mainly because it was the first Friday flick to offer a character with the apparent ability to battle Jason as an equal. This isn’t just another teen with ineffectual weapons. Tina’s psychic abilities mean that she can fight Jason in a meaningful manner.

Unfortunately, the climax fails to live up to that potential. Actually, the movie’s conclusion may well be the dumbest of the whole series. The concept is inherently ridiculous anyway, but it doesn’t even manage to take care of business in any form of satisfying manner.

With each new movie, it becomes more and more absurd that anyone hangs out at Crystal Lake. How stupid are these people? The films try to eliminate this problem as they communicate that people regard Jason as an urban legend. How is this possible? Even if no one believes in the Jason bogeyman, all the killings are a matter of record. I think a tourist trap with so much blood on the ground would be an awfully tough sell, but each movie brings more and more teens back to the killing grounds.

While Blood attempts more character definition than the first couple of flicks, the personalities remain one-dimensional at best. Much of the problem with this movie comes from the lead role of Tina. She’s genuinely screechy and annoying, which makes her one of those participants we hope Jason will kill.

The New Blood continues a Friday the 13th trend that takes the movies farther and farther from what made the series successful. It seems desperate to shake things up but it lacks much to make it worthwhile. It’s one of the least interesting of the Friday flicks.


The Blu-ray Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B+/ Bonus B

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I felt pleased with this solid presentation.

Sharpness was positive. A smidgen of softness occasionally interfered with wide shots, but those issues remained minor. Instead, the movie usually appeared distinctive and detailed. The image suffered from no problems with jagged edges or shimmering, and it also lacked edge enhancement. Grain remained appropriate, and the image showed no print flaws.

Colors came across as very good. The film utilized a fairly broad palette, and the Blu-ray replicated those tones with accuracy and vivacity. Blacks seemed similarly tight, and shadows showed reasonable clarity. This was a consistently appealing transfer.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundfield usually stayed with a forward bias. In that realm, elements were accurately placed and meshed together pretty nicely. The music demonstrated fine stereo presence and the effects helped create a good feeling of atmosphere. The surrounds largely just reinforced matters and didn’t add much unique audio, but they managed to bring nice support to the track.

Audio quality continued to seem strong. Dialogue always came across as natural and concise, as the track lacked edginess or other concerns. Effects sounded dynamic and bold, with clean highs and fairly deep low-end. Music also showed good presence and range. Nothing about the mix floored me, but it worked very well for a movie of this one’s vintage.

How did the Blu-ray compare to the 2004 DVD? Audio was peppier, and the visuals seemed tighter, cleaner and more film-like. Expect a good upgrade here. (A 2009 “Deluxe Edition” of the film also exists, but I never saw a copy of that one.)

The Blu-ray mixes extras from the two prior DVDs, and we open with an audio commentary from director John Carl Buechler and actors Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder. Buechler and Hodder watch the film and chat with the latter available via speakerphone, while Lincoln’s remarks are edited in from her own, separate screen-specific discussion. This leaves us with a commentary that edits together the two – and does so awkwardly. For instance, at one point Buechler states “we wanted to but we couldn’t afford to do one”. Wanted to but couldn’t afford one what? The track leaves out the introduction, so we’re left with no idea to what Buechler refers.

Across the commentary, we learn about cast and performances, sets and locations, stunts and action, and a few other production elements. In truth, we don’t get much information here. Lincoln talks the most and seems engaging, but she spends more time on general thoughts of how the film affected her life than she discusses New Blood itself.

Still, Lincoln gives us decent notes, which is more than I can say for Buechler and Hodder. Though they toss out the occasional nugget, they tend to just idly chat much of the time. Neither segment of the commentary becomes especially stimulating, so this ends up as a slow, mediocre discussion.

Excerpted from a long documentary on a 2004 bonus disc, The Friday the 13th Chronicles, Part VII runs 11 minutes, 39 seconds and includes remarks from Hodder, Buechler, and Lincoln. We hear of casting yet another new Jason, the character’s new physical redesign, locations and production notes, and stunts. Some of the commentary’s material gets repeated here, but we still find a reasonable amount of good information.

Also trimmed from a 2004 piece, Secrets Galore Behind the Gore lasts 11 minutes, 11 seconds and features Buechler and Hodder. The show covers the design and creation of the movie’s version of Jason as well as how Hodder brought him to life. We get a nice take on the effects issues involved as well as Hodder’s challenges.

Next comes Jason’s Destroyer: The Making of Friday the 13th, Part VII – The New Blood. It goes for 15 minutes, seven seconds and includes Buechler, Lincoln, Hodder, editor Barry Zetlin, composer Fred Mollin, and actors Kevin Blair, Diana Barrows, John Otrin and Elizabeth Kaitan. “Destroyer” looks at story/characters, cast and performances, various effects and edits made for ratings reasons, music, and unused concepts. “Destroyer” brings out a lot of good notes and brings us an entertaining look at the film.

Two more featurettes follow. Mind Over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis runs seven minutes, 25 seconds and provides comments from parapsychologist Dr Barry Taff and psychic Jack Rourke. They discuss aspects of purported psychic abilities and reflect on their use in the film. I don’t know how much of this I buy as “truth”, but it creates an interesting view of movie-related material.

Makeover By Maddy: Needs a Little Touch-Up Work, My Ass fills two minutes, 43 seconds with a reunion of Kaitan and Barrows. The actors orchestrate makeovers for each other at an LA salon. It’s an odd and fairly pointless extra.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get 20 Slashed Scenes with a total running time of 17 minutes, one second; that total includes a 42-second intro from Buechler. Obviously these clips tend to be short, and they usually offer either minor additions to existing scenes or bits of gore toned down for ratings issues. They’re in terrible shape – they seem to come from a 20th generation videotape - but they’re still interesting to see.

Although Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood attempts to do something different with the stodgy franchise, it fails to prosper. Its stabs at creativity become ridiculous and the movie is way too absurd to work. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture and audio as well as an erratic but often informative set of supplements. I like the presentation of the film but the movie itself leaves me cold.

Note that as of May 2015, this Blu-ray version of The New Blood appears only as part of a 12-film set called “Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection”. This includes films 1 through 8 as well as Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy Vs. Jason and the 2009 reboot. It also throws in a bonus DVD and some other non-disc-based materials.

To rate this film, visit the DVD review of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII

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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main