Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Featuring Tom Savini, Sean S. Cunningham, Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Adrienne King, Harry Manfredini, Victor Miller, John Carl Buechler, Seth Green, Kane Hodder, Betsy Palmer | Written by Thommy Hutson & Anthony Masi
UK Certification E | UK RRP £14.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 90 minutes | Directed by Daniel Farrands
Since it was first released in 1980, Friday the 13th has etched a bloody 30-year legacy into the fabric of horror that shows absolutely no sign of fading away, ever. 12 films and an endless amount of merchandise later, Jason Voorhees is still hacking and slashing his way through victim after victim, whether it be in the dark woods of Crystal Lake, the streets of Manhattan, a Freddy Krueger crossover, or in an upcoming sequel to the 2009 remake. Jason is more than just a horror icon, he's a legend held in the same gorily high regard as Krueger and Michael Myers. After three decades and over 150 on-screen kills, surely he deserves a definitive documentary, right?
His Name Was Jason is in itself not what I would call a “definitive” documentary, but as a complete two-disc package it certainly is. With hours and hours worth of extras to compliment the actual main feature, the set is both thoroughly enjoyable and deeply interesting—very few docs I'm sure can say that they contain over 80 interviewees, which this does. I am amazed at just how many Friday the 13th alumni they managed to get to discuss the films, from directors, writers and cast members, to horror journalists and authors in publication both online and in print, as well as young film-makers such as Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2: Dead End) and Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen), who grew up with the movies.
The interviews go from topic to topic, each introduced in little comedic skits by special effects legend and actor Tom Savini, who walks around a makeshift camp as he talks about the films, often observing Jason's handiwork and sometimes getting involved in the killing himself, as a hapless young woman flees throughout the segments that run the duration of the feature.
The documentary is kicked off with the interviewees outlining the films from the very first up until 2003's Freddy vs. Jason, and from there they go deeper into the 12 flicks, offering general insight into the creative process, production and critical reactions. That's the problem with the documentary as far as the aforementioned general insight goes—there just isn't enough information other than the opinions of those on camera—no real juicy stories, no gossip—it's mostly just details a typical fan of the Friday the 13th franchise would already know, and in fact the most interesting stuff is featured in the wealth of special features that this set contains, so while His Name Was Jason as an individual documentary is an enjoyable experience for the fans, its the whole package which really makes the set a must-have for any collector. It's a three-star film, but a four-star set.
EXTRAS ★★★★ Disc 1 - The Men Behind The Mask: 40 minutes of interviews with all those who played Jason Voorhees, from the first film to the remake; Final Cuts: feature-length compilation of extended interviews with the directors of the Friday the 13th saga, from Sean S. Cunningham to Marcus Nispel; Disc 2 – The Crystal Lake Survival Guide: a tongue-in-cheek guide by the interviewees of what not to do at Crystal Lake; From Script to Screen: half an hour with the writers of the original film, Part IV, and the remake, who also did Freddy vs. Jason; Friday the 13th in Four Minutes: Adam Green, Joe Lynch and Steve Barton's comical telling of the saga; Dragged from the Lake: various production stories; Fox Comes Home: actress Gloria Charles returns to where Part III was filmed; Closing the Book on the Final Chapter: revisiting where Part IV was shot with director Joseph Vito and actor Erich Anderson; Inside Halloween Horror Nights: a behind the scenes tour of the Friday the 13th: Camp Blood attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood; the US trailer and three fan-made videos, including indie film-maker James Rolfe's Friday the 13th episode of the hugely popular internet show, The Angry Video Game Nerd. Overall an excellent set.