Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Terror and suspense abound in this 24-hour nightmare of blood. Camp Crystal Lake has been shuttered for over 20 years due to several vicious and unsolved murders. The camp's new owner and seven young counselors are readying the property for re-opening despite warnings of a "death curse" by local residents. The curse proves true on "Friday The 13th" as one by one each of the counselors is stalked by a violent killer.

Just in time for the upcoming remake Paramount releases the uncut version of the classic Friday The 13TH. The remake looks to focus more on the infamous killer Jason, who becomes the staple of this series going forward but only had a small part in this first installment. Honestly, I’m surprised this film spawned the cult series in the first place. The tale is slow moving and does little in the way of building tension or mood. The events take place over the course of a day as the camp counselors are picked off one by one and when you find out who the killer is you can’t help but laugh at the ineptness of the counselors to defend themselves. Still, this one did start the ball rolling.

You could almost call this one the originator when it came to shaky cam and first person persectives. The print looks like it has held up extremely well, especially considering the low budget roots of this production. There is little in the way of wear and tear and the detail and color of the print still hold up remarkably well. The image has a nice sense of depth and dimension is good overall. The film has a somewhat soft feel to it at times but this only affects the finer details we’ve become accustomed to with newer films. The image doesn’t have a processed look to it and ringing is a non-issue. I honestly didn’t expect it to look near this good.

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and is very front heavy. Surrounds are rarely used but the front soundstage does have a very wide feel with nice dispersion into the sidewalls. The track is a bit on the thin side and the score is very dominating through most of the film. I would say the score does a good job of creating mood and tension but honestly, it doesn’t. Instead it comes off a bit dramatic. Dialogue is also a bit treble heavy and a bit thin but it’s never overly annoying.

Most of the extras from the previous DVD special edition are here along with some newer features on the film’s history and influence. You also get a feature commentary and the trailer. Most of the features are in HD and do a good job of giving some retrospective on the film.

If you’ve never seen this one you may be a bit disappointed. It is anything but scary by today’s standards and actually a bit goofy. It is a classic though and helped pave the road for one of the most iconic horror series of all time. Paramount has done a great job with the presentation making this an easy recommendation for collectors and fans alike.