DVD Spotlight

I’m a bit confused by the timing of these releases, though that isn’t to say I’m complaining about their existence. Ostensibly it makes sense, as the street date for the second and third installments of the original series coincides with that of Marcus Nispel’s contemporary update. This would all be well and good if the “updated version” followed the same narrative as the franchise’s first picture, which it doesn’t. Instead it’s a mesh of plot elements from the first few films that takes place approximately 25 years later, thus delineating the series’ storyline. This is not so much a slant on the newest film (I’ve already written enough negative about it) as it is an observation of an awkward juxtaposition. Nonetheless, franchise followers will revel in the opportunity to revisit the older pictures, if only to wash the taste of Nispel’s from their cinematic palette (okay, I’m done now—I promise).

For those who don’t know or remember the mythology of Jason, he wasn’t always the brutal man-beast that he evolved into in the series’ latter films. In some ways, his origin is what made him a different kind of killer. Once a fragile child, he drowned while his supposed caretakers were having sex, thus sending a series of Commandments into motion. Have sex? Dead. Smoke pot? Dead. Not white? Dead. Experience any type of pleasure? Dead. Plan on experiencing any type of pleasure? Dead. These rules are not hard to grasp for the audience but are hard to follow if they’re unbeknownst to those they apply to—the characters. Their existence—meaning that of the rules—feels not like a critique of morality but notes on generational gaps and the psychology of mother-son relationships. These themes are captured in light strokes and are hardly definitive takes on such matters, but at least they’re congruent with the picture’s feel.

Though Part III is a direct sequel to Part II, the movies greatly differ in tone, and this is reflected somewhat in Paramount’s BD treatments as well. The second installment concerns itself less with expository matters and its focus is more on the tranquility of nature in juxtaposition to violence than characterization. Camps such as Crystal Lake are meant to be escapist locales and this detachment from society becomes a primary focus of director Steve Miner. Characters are developed, sure, but the settings are of equal importance to individuals who inhabit them. In this, locations are emphasized in terms of shot selection, though the wonder of nature is never effectively captured. I don’t doubt that care was put into this Blu-ray release—as the standard definition prints I’ve seen are terrible—but the lackluster quality in which the movie was crafted causes the color spectrum to be too confined as a whole. Contrast levels seem fine, though perhaps favors reds more than they should. As I’ve noticed in other past release, some establishment shots seem wholly untreated and consist of a dark grain absent in most scenes. The BD transfer for Part II is a step up from DVD releases and showcases a decent array of pastels but lacks in conveying the visual minutia of its evocative scenery.

Part III is a different animal entirely and serves to move the series away from being emotionally ambiguous while referencing its own sense of cinema. Instead of giving the viewers someone to root for, Miner slathers the narrative with slasher tendencies. Characters lean more towards becoming stereotypical cultural constructs than the last group of Crystal Lake campers but thankfully refrain from being one note. 3D gimmickry runs amuck though and too often scares are obvious. The violence enacted on our unassuming teens and twentysomethings is more graphic and straightforward, often subverting creativity to compliment the visceral. This meshes well with the 3D effects, which lack subtlety but meet the aim of being immediate in impact. This feature plays fairly well on the small screen, though the cheap, two-toned glasses distort the image’s coloring, making the 2D format preferable. As a whole, the picture exhibits a natural level of grain and features deep, cutting coloration but eventually falls short of exhibiting as much detail as it probably should. Still, the body of the film looks much better than its prologue—which is presented in SD—and is a relatively clean visual interpretation of the movie.

In some ways, I’m torn about recommending these releases. Though fairly competent in terms of restorations, I can’t help but think that movies as technically banal as these don’t really benefit from the upgrade to BD. This is the best the pairing has looked since hitting theaters in the 80s, to be sure, but I see no real need to actively seek out these editions.