Plot: What’s it about?
Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) has been on a reign of terror for decades, but now it has been to an end, or so it would seem. After an extensive amount of tracking work and research, a federal task force set a trap for Jason and it worked, ending with the killer being shot hundreds of times and then blown into small pieces. But even as the ground runs red with Jason’s blood, his body lies in chunks, his head torn from his torso, and the end in sight, Jason remains alive, thanks to the supernatural evil that lurks in his heart. As he performs an autopsy on Jason’s remains, a coroner is drawn to Jason’s heart and soon enough, Jason has used the man’s body to return, so the killing spree isn’t over just yet. He begins to carve a blood soaked trail through Ohio, leading to the Crystal Lake area, where it all began. A bounty hunter is in the town also, looking to put Jason down once and for all, but his pompous attitude lands him in jail, unable to pass along his crucial information. As Jason stalks through the town, will he find the one person he needs to be reborn, or will his horrific existence finally be put to rest forever?
After eight installments of Friday the 13th, Paramount passed the torch to New Line, who gave the outlandish Jason Goes to Hell. I mean, Jason (as we know him) has little screen time here and the storyline is one of the most convoluted, outrageous, hilarious ones in horror movie annals, but in the end, it all works out. Yes, I love bad horror movies and without question, Jason Goes to Hell is bad, but it is so damn fun to watch. In the unrated cut available here, there’s some very nice gore work, not to mention the multitude of bare breasts, poor decision making skills, and of course, dialogue that’s so bad, you have to laugh. A couple cheap pops might catch you off guard, but Jason Goes to Hell is not about the scares, it offers instead over the top horror cinema storytelling, combined with the genre elements we know and love. The movie also has a sense of humor, so it never takes itself too seriously and that helps enhance the fun, without question. In other words, this release is highly recommended to genre fans, as well as fans of wildly entertaining movies, especially with New Line’s excellent disc.
As this is a movie in the Friday the 13th series, you’d expect the spotlight to be on old Jason himself, but in this case, that’s not true. After Jason is blown to pieces at the film’s start, his evil soul winds itself through a series of human hosts, so instead of the usual vision of the maniac, we’re shown normal folks carrying out the crimes. This works within the storyline, but to be honest, I’d rather have seen Kane Hodder’s rendition of Jason throughout. In truth, there is no central presence in Jason Goes to Hell, so I just picked out one of the major players, one that I think would have been better served left on the cutting room floor. That is the role of Creighton Duke, the moronic bounty hunter who serves no purpose here, other than sharing some vital information that we don’t know how he obtained. He is played by Steven Williams, who has been seen in such films as House, The Blues Brothers, Doctor Detroit, and Cooley High. The cast also includes John D. LeMay (The Couch Trip, Three Shots), Kari Keegan (Jerry Maguire, Mind Games), and Steven Culp (Fearless, Thirteen Days).
Video: How does it look?
Goes to Hell is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. While this looks better than previous home video editions, the lack of budget is obvious and in some scenes, the film’s dark visuals are compromised. The print used has minimal nicks and debris, while grain is also not an issue, but there is some slight softness, which only seems to be a problem in a handful of super dark sequences. In those scenes, detail is lessened and black levels aren’t as true as we’d like, though in most scenes, these errors aren’t evident. I found colors to be natural and bright, while black levels are spot on in most sequences, which is good news. In the end, this is a good effort by New Line, its just held back at times by the limitations of the production.
Audio: How does it sound?
In a most welcome move, New Line has include dual 5.1 soundtracks in Dolby Digital and DTS, which should thrill fans. I mean, here Paramount can’t even give us uncut versions and a mere trailer, but New Line can dish up this wicked treatment? If only New Line owned the entire series…ah, what a wonderful world this would be then. And New Line’s extra effort has paid off in spades, as this is a deep, dynamic, and highly impressive audio track, one of the best slasher movie soundtracks I’ve heard, to be honest. Of course, impact audio comes with the cheap scares and murder scenes, but the show is stolen here by subtle presence, which is excellent. The small touches, stuff like creaks, whispers, and the like really enhance the eerie atmosphere and in a movie like this, that’s what you want. This disc also includes a 2.0 surround option, as well as English subtitles, should those come in handy at some point.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In addition to both the unrated and theatrical versions of the film itself, New Line has tacked on some nice supplements here. We’ll start with audio commentary from director Adam Marcus and writer Dean Lorey, who offer a jam packed session. In fact, there’s so much information thrown out here, you might have to listen to the pair twice, just to make sure you picked up all the behind the scenes insights. Next up is a collection of scenes from the television cut of the movie, which are very cool to have and of course, are a real hoot to watch. This disc also includes a special Jump to a Death feature, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
