4K UHD Review: Arrow Video’s Jason Goes to Hell (Limited Edition) 

It’s the end as Jason Goes to Hell.  The Arrow Video 4K UHD brings both the theatrical and unrated cuts to 4K UHD loaded with special features.  

 

The Film 

You have to give the Friday the 13^th Franchise credit.  They knew they had to start thinking outside of the box after they’d promised the “end” of the series a few times.  Now granted, the Tom Jarvis storyline had run its course, so a reboot was natural.  Jason Goes to Hell or its full title, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, was a promise of an end and the beginning of something new.  Just not what was promised… well not right away at least.  

Screenwriter Jim Kouf of The Hidden should have been given a writing credit for Jason Goes to Hell as its central conceit and movie studio it originated from.  Jason body hops to various people in the town of Crystal Lake trying to reincarnate himself new again.  The conceit gives a bunch of actors to play Jason in their own stylish albeit Zombified way.  The kills are decently executed and the humor as per usual is flat all leading up to the big finale with the heroes verses Jason – shocker he gets his body back – and sending him to, you guessed it, hell.  

Director Adam Marcus film is fairly stylish considering it was made on a $3 million dollar budget.  The FX from KNB is the real standout here with all sorts of various kills done to perfection.  KNB’s kills are some of the best in the series.  The standout being the iconic tent kill with a pole.  The FX work alone is the sole reason to watch the Unrated version and leave the theatrical in the box.  Though it’s the monster FX work of baby Jason (you’ll see) and the way that Jason transfers to other bodies that really shines.  

It’s the end and that final moment that … well it’s fan service but in the worst way.  Not because it took ten years to get to Freddy vs. Jason.  Because it feels like the thing you do when you’re out of narrative ideas.  It isn’t to say that Friday the 13^th as a series was inventive but for a series as wonton and crass as this why they never did Jason during the wintertime or Jason at the beach or Jason in the desert or Jason at a Music Festival before they got to the verses seems just lacking.  At least they got to Jason in space before the face off.  

Jason Goes to Hell is a fun sort of inventive play on the troupes the series had worn the edges off a long time before.  At least in the next film they showed some audacity which did pay off.  

The Transfer

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both the Theatrical Cut and the Unrated Cut is an excellent representation of the film no matter which cut you choose.  The transfer is sharp, clean without any hints of scratches or blemishes on the negative.  The color reproduction and contrast levels because of the Dolby Vision encoding are both deeper in their details giving us a darker luminous and far more textured and beautiful image.  There isn’t a scratch, blemish or issue with the picture.  It is free of any sort of digital artifacting or DNR to remove grain.  Jason Goes to Hell in its 4K UHD iteration is near a perfect mirroring of the film’s 35mm origins.

The Extras

DISC ONE – THEATRICAL CUT

• Introduction to the film by director Adam Marcus
• Faces of Death 
• Undercover Angel
• Mixing it Up
• The Gates of Hell
• Jason vs. Terminator
• Über-Jason
• Friday the 13^th Props
• Additional TV footage
• Theatrical trailer and TV spots
• Stills, behind-the-scenes and poster galleries

DISC TWO – UNRATED CUT

• Brand new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton
• Archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and author Peter Bracke
• Archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey

DISC ONE – THEATRICAL CUT

Introduction to the film by director Adam Marcus (0:13) – a very brief intro thanking us for making the purchase of the disc (for the fourth time in some instances). 

Faces of Death (16:47) – an all-new interview with special makeup effects creator Robert Kurtzman.  Kurtzman discusses the initial reception of this usual concept for a Friday the 13^th movie – but also now thirty years later is its biggest strength.  Some of the other details include how they go the movie after doing Army of Darkness – and Adam Marcus’s enthusiasm helped the production; a discussion of the various gags they created – blowing up Jason, the heart eating scene, the Jason parasite, the tent kills, the parasite transfers, et. al.; and much more.  Kurtzman is always a great interview giving us a glimpse into what it takes to make an FX heavy film.  

Undercover Angel (11:55) – an all-new interview with actor Julie Michaels.  Michael opens with her love of the physical nature of being both an actress and stunt performer.  Some of the details include her early life growing up on a farm in Washington; how an injury that ended her gymnast career led to a small stint as a beauty queen – all that lead to getting an agent in Hollywood, which lead to her being cast in Roadhouse; her love of the stunt community early on in her career; the stunt work in the film – including the high fall and how that was accomplished; the collaboration with Adam Marcus – including looking back now as a director what made him so good; a discussion of the stunt work required for the SWAT team scene that opens the film; and much more. 

Mixing it Up (12:26) – an all-new interview with composer Harry Manfredini.  Manfredini opens with missing 7 and 8 but how that prepped him for Jason Goes to Hell.  Some of the details include his thoughts on the first screening – the lack of knowledge of what was going to happen because he has not read the script – how that informed his scoring; the less traditional approach of his compositions and what inspired it; what he felt were the big score scenes and how he approached them and what inspired them; and much more. 

The Gates of Hell (36:03) – an archival interview with director Adam Marcus.  Marcus begins with how his original script that he brought to Sean Cunningham sold to Disney (which eventually became My Boyfriend’s Back) eventually turned into him having a chance to direct Jason goes to Hell.  Some of the details include the influences that informed Marcus’ Jason Goes to Hell; his take on the influence The Hidden had on Jason Goes to Hell; a discussion of why he placed in the iconic shaving scene; the reason why Tommy Jarvis wasn’t used as the lead as Marcus had intended; a clever Evil Dead reference – meeting Sam Raimi; a great summation of the entire series by Marcus with much humor – which leads to his film and how ridiculous the criticism of his film truly is; the building of a mythology in his film; how the first day on set went – and discussion of how enthusiasm helped the production; the post-production process; and much more.  

Jason vs. Terminator (11:34) – an archival interview with director Adam Marcus on growing up with the Cunninghams. Some will find this interview very disconcerting because of Marcus ties and friendships with the Cunningham family and how he got into the industry because of that.  Marcus does discuss what made Sean Cunningham a great producer.  

Über-Jason (28:22) – an archival interview with Kane Hodder on playing Jason. Hodder opens with a great story about meeting Sports Stars unexpected Fan of his work as Jason.  The actor goes on to discuss the various make-up appliances and which he thought was the best; his appearance on the Arseno Hall Show as Jason; how he began as Sean Cunningham’s Stunt Coordinator before taking on Jason; how Jason Goes to Hell was the most difficult makeup to perform in; his thoughts on the concept of Jason Goes to Hell – and his idea about what to bring to the concept which he wasn’t a fan of; some of the work outside of Jason Goes to Hell – including Jason Takes Manhattan, and Jason X; and much more.

Friday the 13^th Props (1:08) – an all-too-brief look at the various props used in the film from the Friday the 13^th Props Museum.  

Additional TV footage with optional commentary by director Adam Marcus (12:35) – the various “odds and ends” can be played all at once or individual scenes, with or without commentary by Adam Marcus (note the commentary can only be played with the Play All function).  Note the footage is presented in SD in 1.33:1.  

• Diner Scene (3:33) 
• Prank Phone Call (2:35)
• Cuffing Steven (0:16)
• Introduction Scene (0:34) 
• Giving Vicki the Baby (0:53) 
• Vicki and David (1:05) 
• Vicki Gets to Work (0:34) 
• Alone in Jessica’s House (1:46) 
• Steve and Randy’s Fight (1:24) 

Theatrical trailer (1:12) 

TV spots 

• US TV Spots (3:01) 
• Canada TV Spots (2:27) 

Stills Gallery – 115 production stills.  You can navigate the gallery by using your Next and Back Chapter Stop Buttons on your remote.

Poster and Behind-the-scenes galleries – 41 behind the scenes photos and poster art.  You can navigate the gallery by using your Next and Back Chapter Stop Buttons on your remote. 

DISC TWO – UNRATED CUT

The first of three commentary tracks is an all-new track with with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton.  The duo opens with bonafides before diving into their overall thoughts on this film after close to thirty-five years.  Some of the details include a discussion of this being the first of the New Line Jason films; a discussion of the Paramount films and the end of the Jason Takes Manhattan; a discussion of the opening action scene; a discussion about actor Kane Hodder and his history with playing Jason – including what made his Jason what many consider the best Jason Vorhees; the heart-eating scene and a discussion of how this film veers away of the clichés of the series; the level of gore in this film – which leads to a larger discussion of the cutting/censorship of the later films, which this is the first film in the series that was released as a R-Rated and Unrated home video release; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; a larger discussion of the design of Jason and the make-up FX work in this film; and much more.  

The second track is an archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and author Peter Bracke.  The duo opens with the fact that Marcus was 21 when he was hired to direct the film.  Some of the details include a discussion of the first commentary track by Marcus and Lorey at Margarita Mix – a studio where they serve drinks – and a great note he got from another director that was recording in the next space; the development of the script and some of the ideas that became Jason Goes to Hell and who helped that along with Producer Sean Cunningham; how the cast and crew got cast as the SWAT team in the opening; how many rejected this film because of the lack of the “hockey mask” – a larger discussion of Jason and who he is in this in this film; the casting of the film – and the time and care he took during the process; a discussion of the iconic “shaving scene”; the tone that he and screenwriter Dean Lorey worked on throughout; working with KNB FX – including the Jason design, the kills, et. al.; and much more. 

The third and final track is another archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey.  The duo opens with their friendship and the age they were when they made the film.  Some of the other details include Lorey’s want to make essentially Jason takes LA – with rival gangs having to team up to destroy Jason; the reason why stunt woman Julie Michaels was cast in the opening; the nudity/violence rule they had to follow; the Kane Hodder cameo not as Jason; how both Lorey and Marcus came aboard at different times as writer and director respectively; a discussion of the development and some of the unused ideas for the film; Marcus’s connections to Cunningham and getting his first job on the first Friday the 13^th film; a discussion of the battle with the MPAA; how this is was made during the rise of the home video market for Unrated Cut – and how New Line directed them to make scene’s as gory as possible; the reshoots that included the additional scenes – including the camper scenes which were not included in the original cut of the film; and much more.  

The Final Thought 

Arrow has outdone themselves with this 4K UHD release of one of the more unique Friday the 13^th entries.  Highest recommendations!!! 

Arrow Video’s 4K UHD Edition of Jason Goes to Hell is out May 20^th