It was only a matter of time until Jason ended up in space and the future. Jason X gets a 4K UHD upgrade thanks to Arrow Video.
The Film
Jason X is the out of the box idea that remains one of the best and most entertaining of the franchise. Its melding of comedy, science fiction, horror, and action create the right balance of new and old.
After an incident at the Crystal Lake Research facility that leaves Jason (Kane Hodder) in cryofreeze along with researcher and Jason Vorhees expert Rowan LaFontaine (Lexa Doig) in suspended animation. Cut to the year 2455 and a spaceship full of research students finds both the killer and his last victim. As they thaw them both out, they have no clue who they’ve unleashed the slasher of all slashers. Now these students and a security force must contend with Jason unaware of the unstoppable force they are facing. Can Rowan and the remaining students survive a now evolved Jason (MECHA-JASON!!!).
Credit Screenwriter Todd Farmer’s cheeky and bold concept of Jason in Space (move aside Gonzo) and director Jim Isaac’s sharp direction of Jason X – reinvention no one saw coming. That being said… James Cameron if/when he saw Jason X had to have been pissed the film stole huge sections of plot, characters and set pieces from Aliens. Luckily, Jason X knows enough to create some genuinely great kills and set pieces that feel cohesively apart of the franchise rather than away from it. Bonus points for the film casting David Cronenberg in a great cameo in the opening sequence.
Jason X is a hoot from beginning to end. The right balance of kitsch, humor, scares, and gross out moments to create a fun out of the box entry in the long-winded series.
The Transfer
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) is excellent presentation of the film. 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. The image is do good it brings the defects of the early 00’s CGI FX to light. 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 X in its 4K UHD iteration is the best version ever produced for the film – even the 35mm release prints.
The Extras
They include the following;
- Introduction to the film by actor Kane Hodder
- Brand new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton
- Archival audio commentary with writer Todd Farmer and author Peter Bracke
- Archival audio commentary with director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham
- Scoring the Stars
- Outta Space: The Making of Jason X
- In Space No One Can Hear You Scream
- Kristi Is a Headbanger
- Jason Rebooted
- The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees
- By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X
- Cast and crew interviews
- Behind-the-scenes footage
- Electronic Press Kit
- Theatrical trailers and TV spots
- Stills, behind-the-scenes and poster galleries
Introduction to the film by actor Kane Hodder (0:43) – a very short and fun introduction.
The first of three audio commentaries is an all-new one with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton. The duo opens with bonafides before diving into their overall thoughts on this film – including when they first saw the film. Some of the details include that this film was one of the first film was pirated from a digital source – which caused the delays in the film’s release and possibly its success; the David Cronenberg cameo – and the reasons why he actually took the film; the reason why Jason X took so long to be released after the leak; a discussion of what makes Kane Hodder one of the best, if not the best Jason Vorhees; the screenplay by Todd Farmer; the design and look of Uber Jason – including a discussion of the various looks of the other films; the work of production designer John Dondertman; the continuity of the Paramount films vs the New Line films; the history of the unmasked Jason in the films throughout – and which were the best; 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 is an archival audio commentary with writer Todd Farmer and author Peter Bracke from the most recent Blu-ray release. The duo opens their track with how Farmer got involved with writing the screenplay for this film as he was working for Sean Cunningham. Some of the other details include Farmer pitching a completely different film with Dean Lorey – and how he got the writing assignment out of that meeting; Farmer was not on set when Cronenberg was working; some of the earlier drafts and what they had they had to remove for budgetary reasons; working with director Jim Isaac – the collaboration on the film; the influence of Alien and Aliens on the film – a larger discussion of James Cameron’s influence on Farmer’s writing; a great discussion of his own cameos in movies; a love interest for Lexa Doig’s character that was there up until rehearsal and how he was cut and the reasons why; a larger discussion of the various in jokes and homages throughout; a larger discussion of the various kills and set pieces – how they were written and developed, if they were and how much were Isaac and FX work; and much more.
The third and final archival audio commentary with director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham from the original DVD release. Opens with their bonafides and where and how they got involved with Jason X. Some of the details include the various possible projects that were on the table before settling on Jason in Space; Isaac’s FX Work he did before Jason X with some truly great filmmakers – and how he brought those team members from those FX productions onto this; how Cronenberg helped Isaac (he was his 2nd unit director) move into directing – and what he wanted in return; the constant fight with the MPAA they’ve had with all the film series; a cut action scene from the beginning of the film; a discussion that Jason X was the first all-digital workflow once shooting in 35mm; a larger discussion of the various VFXs and Makeup FX work done throughout the film and their “cost saving” methods; a larger discussion of the various cast and crew that made the film throughout; and much more.
Scoring the Stars (9:53) – an all-new interview with composer Harry Manfredini. Manfredini discusses with great humor how he approached the score for Jason X or as he calls it “Jason in Spaaaaaaace”. Some of the details include his just acceptance of the ridiculous plot for Jason X; his love of collaboration with director Jim Isaac; the inspiration for the score; and much more.
Outta Space: The Making of Jason X (33:10) – an archival documentary on the making of the film from the most recent Blu-ray release. The making of doc is made with a as much detail and honesty as one could ask for. From the troubled development process (thanks in large part to Scream’s success) – including the failed concepts to eventually setting on Jason in Space, the inherent issues with budget and scope, and much more. The featurette is made with surprising honesty and good humor. Featuring interviews with producers Noel Cunningham and Sean S. Cunningham, actor Kane Hodder and writer Todd Farmer.
In Space No One Can Hear You Scream (23:11) – an archival interview with writer Todd Farmer. Famer begins the interview with his initial disappointment with the final product to having much more affection for the final. Some of the details begin with how Farmer got his start with Sean Cunningham via Dean Lorey the writer of Jason Goes to Hell; the reasons that Jason X happened before Freddy vs. Jason; working with Cronenberg; the various characters and where he took inspiration from; the heavy influence of James Cameron; Kane Hodder’s influence on the franchise; and much more.
Kristi Is a Headbanger (11:13) – an archival interview with actor Kristi Angus. Angus begins with her familiarity with the franchise when she got the role. Some of the other details include that she initially went in for the role of the Android KM – but eventually getting the role of Alice; her thoughts on the concept of Jason X; her surprise at the look of the film with the budget they had; the work that was done to accomplish her death scene; and more.
Jason Rebooted (15:33) – this archival interview with Sean S. Cunningham focuses on Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X. The producer talks about the set of the circumstances that had New Line buying the franchise from Paramount – all under the guise that they would make Freddy vs. Jason (which did not happen for close to 15 years) – and how that restarted the Friday the 13th series. Some of the other details include the development process of Jason Goes to Hell – including the Freddy stinger; the rejection by the audience of the concept of a body swap film; the lessons learned from the failures of Jason Goes to Hell; the development of Jason X out of the fact that Wes Craven was making New Nightmare stopping the Freddy vs. Jason; the delays that pushed Jason X before Freddy vs. Jason; and much more.
The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees (29:55) – an archival documentary on the history of the character from the original DVD release. This fun and surprisingly informative look at the many faces of Jason Vorhees beginning with the origins of the genre beginning with Bava evolving eventually to the Slasher film and Friday the 13th series. Featuring comments by critics David Del Vale, Joe Bob Briggs, Drew McWeeny, star Kane Hodder, Producer Sean Cunningham, New Line CEO Rober Shaye, screenwriter Todd Farmer, and others.
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X (17:35) – archival making-of documentary from the original DVD release is a great look into the making of the film from the genesis of the unique idea, preproduction, production, post-production to release of the film. The most interesting aspect is how this was one of the first feature to use a digital intermedia workflow – which the featurette goes into detail on – which is the standard now but was cutting edge at the time. Featuring interviews with Producers Sean Cunningham, Noel Cunningham, director Jim Isaac, screenwriter Todd Farmer, star Kane Hodder, VFX Supervisor Kelly Lepkowsky, editor David Handman, and others.
Cast and crew interviews (51:42) – this collection of interviews was taken on-set and to be a part of the EPK below though these are the uncut interviews not the 30 second soundbites. The interviews consist of stand questions like the characters they pay, working with Kane Hodder, the story, et. al. Featuring interviews with star Kane Hodder, director Jim Isaac, Producer Sean Cunningham, actors Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Melyssa Ade, Jonathan Potts, Derwin Jordan, Peter Mensah, Chuck Campbell, and others.
Behind-the-scenes footage (56:48) – this is uncut r-roll footage from the production presented without real context or commentary. This is essentially an extended version of what is seen on the EPK featurette. Though there is a lot more footage here for fans of the film and the franchise in general. Many fans will find the Kane Hodder footage fascinating and how much he contributes between takes to the production – which should surprise no fan (still nice to see how valued he was on the production). The best footage is the last ten minutes which features various preproduction meetings, make-up FX tests, costume test, design work, et. al.
Electronic Press Kit (24:49) – about eighteen minutes of random b-roll sound without any sort of commentary but some truly great behind-the-scenes footage of Jim Isaac directing the cast (David Cronenberg!) and crew on various sets (including some great miniature work). This last around to the 17:30 mark where is switches over to soundbites from Kane Hodder, director Jim Isaac, producer Sean Cunningham, actress Lexa Doig, and actress Lisa Ryder.
Theatrical trailers (5:51) – three theatrical trailers
TV spots (3:18)
Stills Gallery – 270 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 – 59 behind the scenes photos and poster art. You can navigate the gallery by using your Next and Back Chapter Stop Buttons on your remote.
The Final Thought
Arrow Video has given us another great 4K UHD upgrade in Jason X. Highest recommendations!!!