Release Date: February 13th, 2009
Studio: Masimedia /Anchor Bay /
Starz! Network
Genre: Doumentary
(Horror/Suspense)
Rated: R      1 hr 30 mins

PRODUCTION:

Director: Daniel Farrands
Executive Producer: Sean S. Cunningham
Producer: Thommy Huston
Producer: Anthony Masi
Written: Thommy Huston and
              Anthony Masi
Host: Tom Savini

30 years. Yep, for 30 years there have been movies ranging from good to god awful made about nubile teens being hacked apart by a guy in a hockey mask. There have been comic books, TV series (in name only), toys, tattoos and even video games featuring Jason Voorhees. It's creepy to think that such a simple plot and a one-dimensional character could rake in millions upon millions of dollars in box office tickets and home video and even launch acting careers of people like Kevin Bacon.

Playing like the ultimate DVD extra, His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th takes the nostalgic and somewhat campy trip down machete lane. Hosted by horror special effects godfather, part-time actor and even director, Tom Savini, the production value is low, but the information and anecdotes are piled high. But what makes His Name Was Jason fun, is that this is what the extras of the countless Friday the 13th DVD releases should have included but didn't. 

It started out as an idea to simply make money, and it did.  From original director Sean S. Cunningham to remake/revisioning director Marcus Nispel, the dirt is dished out. The Final Chapter director Joseph Zito comes off mean and music writer Harry Manfredini seems amazed.  Stars like Seth Green and Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) chime in and Kane Hodder still seems miffed he only played Jason four times. Betsy Palmer is now thankful and Kevin Bacon is absent.  Todd Farmer still stands behind Jason X and someone forgot to invite Corey Feldman.  After all, aside from a handful of other actors, he was one of the few actors to show up more than once.

With a laundry list of folks involved in front of and behind the camera and more clips than barber shop, His Name Was Jason is a pretty nice celebration of a much loved, often maligned horror franchise.  Director Daniel Farrands (writer of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Meyers, The Girl Next Door and producer of the recent The Haunting in Connecticut) does a decent job. Savini is a great host but the girl running around screaming is distracting and corny. The interviews are really good in spots and rather boring in others.  The tour of the barn from Part 3 is a lot of fun and the other locations are interesting to see. But the main problem comes from the fact that the real hardcore fans might not learn all that much new about the franchise. Sure, Zito was determined to get the shot done regardless of hypothermia and Hodder proved to be a serious and intense Jason, but there seems to be too much praise for a lot of bad writing, bad acting, bad production and bad movies. At least most interviewed will admit that Takes Manhattan is absolutely abysmal and the fake Jason probably wasn't a good idea, but much more original than anything after Part 2 and prior to the silly space opera.

If you have two hours to kill, looking back into the murky waters of Crystal Lake isn't an awful journey but it does highlight that for the past 30 years a lot of people have spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears making some rather silly movies for a lot of box office bank (which most people never saw) and Horror Convention fanatics. But unless haven't seen anything past the not so The Final Chapter and never intend to, the documentary will seem to drone on in endless praise of something that seems barely worth of praise. Those that have purchased the previous DVD releases or collections may want to pick this up to make up for the lack of insightful extras. As the DVD set goes, the bonus disc of endless extras is almost worth the money as elements either omitted or glossed over in the documentary are given proper exposure.  But only serious slasher fans will deeply enjoy this documentary/double disc set.

His Name was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th

August 11, 2009

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

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