GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

Beyond The Rave
Hunter Prey
7th Dimension
Army of the Dead
Splintered
Basement
Meat Grinder
14 Blades
Manson Girl
The Blackout
The Torment
The Torment
(Second Opinion)
Hierro
Psycho - Blu-Ray
Pet Shop of Horrors
Kaiji:
The Ultimate Gambler
Shelter
Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood Part 1
The Final
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Picnic at Hanging Rock
Vampire
The Dead
Resurrecting
The Street Walker
The Haunting Of
Molly Hartley
Soul Eater: Part One
Rozen Maiden:
Traumend Vol. One
Bikini Girls On Ice
Diary of a Bad Lad
Satan's Baby Doll
Feast 111
Phobia
A Lizzard in a Woman's Skin
Valhalla Rising
City of the Living Dead
Dorothy
Daybreakers
Daybreakers
(Second Opinion)
Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
Harpoon:The Reykjavik Whale
Watching Massacre
(Second Opinion)
Feast 3:The Happy Finnish
Raging Phoenix
His Name Was Jason
Left Bank
Ju-On: White Ghost/White Ghost
Spiral
Ghost Machine
Stag Night
Bitch Slap
The Descent 2
The Descent 2-Second opinion
Dance of The Dead
Henry Lee Lucas: Serial Killer
House Of The Devil
The Twilight Saga
New Moon
Salvage
Salvage-Second opinion
Dread
The Haunted World of
El Superbeasto
Saw VI
The Horseman
Triangle-Second opinion
Triangle
Cabin Fever 2-Third opinion
Cabin Fever 2-Second opinion
Cabin Fever 2
Stan Helsing
Pandorum
Pandorum-Second opinion
Open Graves
Paranormal Activity
Growth
Growth-Second opinion
Train
Antichrist
Wrong Turn 3
Coffin Rock
Orphan
Sorority Row
Drag Me to Hell
Staunton Hill
Summer Moon
Driftwood
Messengers 2

 

Directed by Daniel Farrands. Starring Tom Savini and various cast and crew of the film series plus numerous other talking heads. USA. Documentary. 90 minutes.

DVD Release Date : Avaiable now. £8.99 RRP.

Alex: 2 stars, Sarah-Jane: 3 stars.

It’s hard to believe that 30 years ago a relatively cheap horror movie would kick start an entire generation of slasher films and spawn 11 sequels with a high body count and an instantly recognisable hockey mask along the way. We are of course talking about Friday The 13th. The main feature in this 2-disc set is a documentary hosted by Tom Savini, who though undeniably talented and without whom the series might never have achieved what it did, oozes smugness throughout – not something I have ever levelled at him before. He is joined by lots of the cast and crew from all the films as well as many other industry insiders to reminisce about the series and take you behind the scenes. If 90 minutes wasn’t enough about Jason, there are then 11 extra features to work your way through, including “The Crystal Lake Survival Guide” and “Closing The Book On The Final Chapter”.

Whether this package interests you is largely going to swing on whether you enjoyed the films themselves. I have to confess, I’m not a fan at all and never entirely understood their appeal above and beyond any other tits and gore film, whilst wifey only bothered watching the first – so here’s our best attempt at a relatively objective view point…

If you love the Friday the 13th series, this is a relatively interesting documentary looking at the making of the films, the people involved and their well earned place in cinema history. However, although it touches on “geek” trivia, such as problems on set and Adrienne King’s stalker, it’s not anything very new for the dedicated fan, especially if you have already read the great book by Peter M. Bracke – “Crystal Lake Memories”. As it is, this is far more suited to being tagged on as an extra to a film or as it was originally designed, a TV documentary rather than an entire DVD by itself. It is so busy trying to cram as many celebs in to talk about the series (some more celeb than others!) that there isn’t enough time to go into much detail about the juicier bits. If you’re keen enough to watch both discs in their entirety, you’ll also notice it gets pretty repetitive.

What it has in its favour is that it doesn’t take its subject matter to seriously – willingly taking the piss out of the lack of consistency between the films and acknowledging their silly nature. Wifey’s highlight of the entire set is “Friday the 13th in Four Minutes” which is an amusingly brief overview of all 12 “episodes” by Frightfest beloveds Adam Green and Joe Lynch, joined by Steve Barton. Steve also wins my personal award for a most heartfelt rant about how horror films don’t damage anyone and that the reason weirdos like us, from all walks from life, love forums and gathering like Frightfest is because we are free to enjoy and discuss the films we love without being judged. How very true.

Although this isn’t the best horror film documentary ever it is still fun if you buy into the films. It is easy to forget what a seminal film the original was – arguably the first slasher to establish the genre rules that the inventors of Scream twisted years later, THAT mask - and how fiercely the series fought against censorship. In summary, if you love the films, you’ll like this documentary, but it probably won’t tell you anything new. If you’re ambivalent (wifey) or think The Burning was better than the lot of them (me), it passes the time but that’s about it.

Take from this what you will, but it has made wifey want to see Jason Takes Manhattan. I’m not sure if that is a good thing at all.

Alex & Sarah Chambers.

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