Blu-ray Movie Reviews

College kids seeking a weekend of kicks have made a horrible mistake. They've come to party at eerie Crystal Lake, the deadly domain of machete-mad killer Jason Voorhees. Terror goes to extremes in this reimagining of the Jason legend for today's horror fan. Enter for the first time the subterranean lair that is Jason's den of torture and fear.

Horror films are seeing the same Hollywood craze for remakes as everything else and with the success Platinum Dunes had with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they went ahead and used pretty much the same crew for Jason’s new spin. I actually thought this was a good reboot for the series and I liked the new intensity added to Jason’s character. The film lacks suspense though, which is something that is often overlooked in modern day horror films it seems. While I wouldn’t classify this as one of the better horror films I’ve seen in recent memory, it was far better than I was expecting and holds up better than the originals do in this day and age.

The video transfer is quite good with only a few missteps. My chief complaint is the inconsistencies in focus, especially early on in the film. It was like they couldn’t figure out what they wanted to focus on from shot to shot, but later they decided to keep everything nice and sharp. The film excels in detail and depth and I was impressed with the level of dimensionality, even in darker scenes. Shadow detail is strong and black levels are impressive. Overall a solid offering from New Line.

The TrueHD 5.1 mix is also quite good and pretty engaging for the genre. Some of the film’s score was a tad distracting and I wish they would have done a bit more for atmosphere, but I liked the surround presence and dynamics of the mix. Dialogue sounds natural throughout and the imaging from front to back was solid.

Extras include both cuts of the film along with a digital copy of the extended cut for your portable device. You also get a retrospective on the series and a look at the production of the new one. A picture-in-picture track gives you some facts from the series and a look at the production while you watch the film. There are also some extended features via BD-Live.

A better reboot than I was expecting and a worthy restart to a classic of the genre. The Blu-ray delivers a solid presentation with only a few missteps, but if you missed this in theaters, this is a great opportunity to check it out.