In 1981, the success of the original “Friday the 13th” forced the movie folks to decide that it was time to take a quick trip back to Crystal Lake. This time, the one behind the machete was the long “Thought to have drowned” son of previous killer Pamela Voorhees, Jason Voorhees. Thus, a horror icon was born. This is the film featuring Jason in his less iconic look aka pre-hockey mask Jason. But in my opinion, it’s always been one of the creepiest entries in the series for that very reason. The feed sack contains even less in the way of features that nothingness when Jason stares back at you through your TV screen. But, is it creepy enough to warrant buying another DVD when Friday the 13th part 2: Deluxe Edition hits store shelves on February 3rd? Well, that depends once again on how bad you want the special features.

The new DVD is a step up in picture quality that we have previously been given. It would have been much nicer if they had have went ahead and given us the Blu Ray. But I understand the whole “Testing the waters” thing with part 1. But it’s happening. The quality on the new part 2 disc is better than we’ve gotten previously. It’s mastered in high definition and contains a 5.1 Surround mix just like the part 1 re-release. The disc also contains a theatrical trailer (as seen on prior releases) but unfortunately, there is no commentary track. Perhaps this leaves something for Paramount to use to make the Blu Ray that much more appealing when it comes time for that. What Friday the 13th part 2: Deluxe Edition DOES contain is a pretty nice group of special features that I think a lot of fans will find that they enjoy, even though they are less than informative when it comes to telling us much of anything about Friday the 13th part 2 regarding cast and crew. The saving grace about info on part 2 is the first special feature that I’m going to tell you about. Let’s get the rundown on these features shall we?

SPECIAL FEATURES

Inside Crystal Lake Memories - Del Howison (Owner of Dark Delicacies) speaks with Peter Bracke, author of “Crystal Lake Memories”. If you want to know how the book came to be, you will definitely want to check this 11 minute conversation out. Bracke breaks it down from its start until its finish. He is a very knowledgeable person when it comes to the Friday the 13th series and it’s great to see him get a chance to talk about it in this feature. After Peter gives the rundown of how his book came to be, he talks in depth about the Friday the 13th series and really shows that he knows what he is talking about. He gives a great history of the early films in the series and this is the only new special feature that tells us anything regarding Friday the 13th part 2.

Lost tales from Camp Blood part II - The 9 minute follow up to the short film included on the part 1 Blu Ray and DVD. Once again Ceperley shows his knack and appreciation for the Friday the 13th series by bringing us this short film that features a couple hiking through the countryside after their car breaks down. Once again, they are stalked by the Jason-like hooded “killer”. One thing that should be noted about this one is that it takes place in the daytime which was a nice change of pace, and man could Lori Caulfield (Sarah) scream! The film ends at a point that’ll leave you interested in seeing where it goes next.

 

Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions: This is a neat little featured that was filmed at the 2024 Scare Fest in Lexington, KY that I was very fortunate to have attended. It features a look at Friday the 13th stars in action at the convention, meeting with fans, attending a midnight screening etc. It is really nice to see how appreciative the Friday alum are when it comes to their fans and this is a great representation of that. The event features interviews with Jeff Waldridge and Patti Star, the two people responsible for putting the convention together. It also features word with attendees and fans of the series that were on hand. You get to hear from the Friday alum directly from their booths and hear how they feel about attending such events. While this feature certainly would have been more at home on the part 1 disc considering all of the Friday the 13th guests spoken to in this documentary are from the first film, it’s a very fun feature and interesting to see. The feature is very informative when it comes to seeing how a convention comes together. How can you go wrong with a special look into the rubber band fights between Tom Savini and Ari Lehman?!

Jason Forever - Rounding out this disc is the inclusion of the Q & A entitled “Jason Forever”. Most of you are probably already familiar with this feature as it was included on the “From Crystal Lake to Manhattan” bonus disc. It’s a panel from January 2024 Fangoria convention featuring four actors who have played Jason Voorhees. The panel is moderated by Peter Bracke (Crystal Lake Memories) and includes Ari Lehman (Part 1), Warrington Gillette (Part 2), CJ Graham (part VI), and Kane Hodder (VII, VIII, JGTH, and X). They give a great rundown on how they became involved in the series as well as their pride in having done so. If you don’t have this feature it’s a great addition. It’s always great to see these guys in action!

All in all, if you want features that revolve around Friday the 13th in general and want to learn about the inner workings of horror conventions, you can’t go wrong with this release. The features are very informative and should be seen. If you wanted to know a great deal of information on Friday the 13th part 2, you may want to look elsewhere. There’s very little to be learned about the film outside of the Crystal Lake Memories feature and the Jason Forever feature since it contains Warrington Gillette. All in all, it’s an interesting release and worth picking up even if the features would have worked slightly better on the part 1 re-release.

If you haven’t caught the review of Friday the 13th Uncut: Deluxe Edition Blu Ray and standard DVD’s, be sure to check it out HERE. Stop by this weekend when I’ll be taking a look at the upcoming Friday the 13th part 3 3D: Deluxe Edition on DVD!

Friday the 13th Uncut: Deluxe Edition (DVD and Blu Ray), Friday the 13th part 2: Deluxe Edition (DVD), and Friday the 13th part 3 3D (DVD) will be available for purchase on Tuesday, February 3rd!