Friday the 13th - From Crystal Lake to Manhattan (8 Movies)

You'll spot a few future "name" actors in various installments: Kevin Bacon is morbidly dispatched in the first one. But in general, the dominant focus is how to kill horny teenagers, most of whom have gathered at Camp Crystal Lake in the misguided belief that the curse of the impossible-to-kill Jason has worn off. The first movie has a certain raw, crummy ability to shock, Part 2 is a dismal retread, and Part 3 actually features interesting use of 3-D, which doesn't translate to its flat DVD version. The fourth is boldly subtitled The Final Chapter, and we all know where that went, but it does have Crispin Glover doing a funky dance. A New Beginning and Jason Lives continue Jason's bad mood, maybe because the hockey mask doesn't fit right. The seventh chapter, The New Blood, stakes Jason against a worthy opponent (Crystal Lake's answer to telekinetic Carrie), but the result is the same. Part 8's subtitle, Jason Takes Manhattan, is wittier than the movie itself, as Jason menaces an unlucky cruise ship of high-schoolers bound for New York--where Mr. J fits right in.

Some of the films come with commentaries from directors or cast members, including heralded Jason performer Kane Hodder. Brief documentaries (ranging from five to 15 minutes) cover separate installments with amusing anecdotes, including interviews with Sean S. Cunningham, Tom Savini, and various actors. In another doc, actors speak of the fraternity of young actors who've been slaughtered by Jason over the years. A deleted-scenes section is skimpy and not very interesting, while the tricks of special-effects gore merit a film to themselves. It's a customer-savvy DVD box, even if the effect of watching a bunch of this stuff together is a little dispiriting. --Robert Horton

Spotlight Reviews
Crazy gory fun! (2009-01-06)
Customer Review : 5
I grew up to the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I have to say that it's been quite some times since I've seen these. So, I told my family to get me this for Christmas, and I basically sat through all 8 movies in over the course of about 3 days. Man, they were entertaining! The first 4 were actually good slasher/horror flicks. The second half of the set, well... they were just plain funny. Anyone who's a fan of either the series, or horror flicks in general should really get this set!

The STUPIDEST STUPIDEST STUPIDEST STUPIDEST, MOST POINTLESS batch of movies ever made (2008-12-30)
Customer Review : 1
Holy crap, this doesn't even deserve an analytical review, it just goes firmly beyond all boundaries of taste. This is mass produced tripe that sees sequel after sequel all based on the sales the last title brought in. I love horror but I do like a tiny bit of plot and some originality to the killing scenes.

Not sure what others are watching (2008-10-30)
Customer Review : 5
I grew up watching Friday the 13th mainly on network tv usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon a local station would have scary movies on and Friday the 13th was one of them. Not sure what others are talking about the whole nc-17 rating. This was one of the first times I've seen nudity in a friday the 13th movie mainly because I caught them on tv. And the scenes are just as gory as I remember them. I guess I don't have the benefit of seeing these flicks uncut. I'm not going to let the high expectations of a few ruin my love of the friday the 13th series. Besides where can you get the first 8 movies all on dvd other than this set? no complaints here.

this was SO worth it! (2008-10-09)
Customer Review : 5
You cant buy all of the movies individually for a better price! These movies(along with the Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween ones)are among the classic horror movies that I adore! These movies are spooky and leave a tune tingling in your dreams. I hope anyone would give this collection a shot! It rocks!

Great set for Friday fans! (2008-08-19)
Customer Review : 4
Featuring interviews with actors Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, Amy Steele, Lar Park Lincoln and Corey Feldman. No interview with Dana Kimmell from Part 3, but she does do a commentary believe it or not! Also has interviews and commentaries with some of the directors. Some fans may not be completely happy because there is still no uncut footage. I am not a huge gore fan so that doesn't bother me. My favorites like many other fans are the first four films. Parts VI Jason Lives and VII The New Blood are good follow-ups, but Jason is less man-like and more zombie this time around. I would say Part V (A New Beginning) which featured a Jason imposter and Part VIII Jason Takes Manhatten are the weakest in the set. Still, it's a nice treat for any true fan!