His Name was Jason (2009)

If you ever were interested in the history of the Friday the 13th franchise or the character of Jason Voorhees then this is the documentary for you.  The documentary is hosted by effects guru Tom Savini, who himself worked on both the original and part IV of the series.  The documentary takes you thru the entire history of the series from the first movie to the latest remake/re-imagining that is set to hit the theaters this February.  As each movie is discussed members of the cast and crew are interviewed and give their thoughts on working on the movies and share some memories as well.  There are jus too many interviews and names to mention as they did a wonderful job getting most everyone to participate.  There are a few people missing like Kevin Bacon from part I (expected), Cory Feldman from parts IV and V (also expected), and director Steve Miner parts II and III (surprised).  But like I said the documentary does a great job getting most everyone to participate.  Beyond the memories my favorite parts of the documentary is where the various actors that played Jason discuss why they think his motivations are and why he turned out the way he did.  There is also a killer bit where the screenwriters discuss the “formula” for making a Friday the 13th movie. 

Really I’m only scratching the surface and could go on and on about the material that is presented in His Name was Jason.  Now if you are a big fan and have already read the Crystal Lake Memories book then none of this is liable to be new for you.  But His Name was Jason is exactly what we as fans have been asking for.  It is a proper tribute the series that many of us have grown up watching.  If this is all that the DVD delivered then I would be happy.  But along with the documentary on disc 1 is a killer extra called The Men Behind the Mask.  These are the extended interviews (49 minutes total) with all the actors that have played Jason on screen.  While some of the material is already included in the documentary there is much here that isn’t.  The guys have some killer stories, including the ever-candid Ted White on his real opinion of Corey Feldman and his director Joseph Vito’s treatment of the cast. 

On the second disc there are several special features including 77 minutes of extended interviews with the various directors of the installments, minus of course Steve Minor and Freddy vs. Jason’s Ronny Yu.  The best of these are the interviews with Sean S. Cunningham and Tom Mcloughlin from part VI.  Also on disc 2 are extended interviews with the scriptwriters called From Script to Screen.  Dragged from the Lake, which is a collection of even more memories, which are cool but didn’t make the documentary.  Closing the books on the final chapter, which is a look at the surviving locations from part IV with the director Joseph Zito and actor Erich Anderson.  Fox Comes Home is another location visit; this time of the surviving sets from part III, and is hosted by actress Gloria Charles.  If that weren’t enough there are 4 short Friday related films, including one from friend of the site Patrick Rea (congrats man!).   

For as long as the DVD format has been big we horror fans have been waiting for the ultimate Friday the 13th box set.  While it looks like that might never happen the fine folks over at Anchor Bay have provided us with a killer documentary and a second DVD full of extras.  This is a must for every fan of the franchise and I’m happy to say does justice to one of the most iconic horror franchises ever.  I highly recommend His Name was Jason.  The DVD will be available from Anchor Bay this Tuesday February 3rd.  Check out their site for more details. 

4 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer