friday the 13th the final chapter

By Peter Martin

Did the More sisters have to draw straws to see who went to bed with Crispin Glover? Today may be Tuesday the 17th in the real world, but for horror fans it's Friday the 13th, as not one, not two, but four new DVDs in the long-running series arrive. The showpiece is, of course, this year's rebooted Friday the 13th, directed by Marcus Nispel. The "Extended Killer Cut" features nine additional minutes of footage. I wasn't sufficiently jazzed to buy this one, but Dread Central has broken it down: More sex / nudity, plus "some additional blood spillage and longer looks at some of the film's kills ... Yet, in the end, these additions do nothing more than put a band-aid on a gushing wound." So make your own call on that one.

As for me, I opted for the three new "Deluxe Edition" DVDs. Scott Weinberg has already given a good rundown on the special features for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. All I can add is that the transfer looks better than the bare bones DVD issued in 2000. If you're only buying one today, this is the one to get.

Against my better instincts, I threw Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning into my order; my previous viewing convinced me that it's quite awful, but the audio commentary makes it worth a rental. Director / co-writer Danny Steinmann is extremely profane, very funny, and quite forthright ("Cheap played an integral part in this movie"); he knows the flick isn't good but cheerfully claims mock credit for doing everything. He also details some of the numerous cuts required to please the MPAA, most extensively in the kill scenes but also in the sex scenes (a three-minute softcore sequence was cut to "10 seconds").