Friday the 13th Part 2 4K review by Bobby Blakey
In the world of horror there are only a true handful of iconic movie killers that have stood the test of time. One of the most recognizable and has the most diverse history is that of the hockey mask, machete wielding Jason Vorhees. In 1981the second chapter of the iconic slasher franchise hit theaters and set the tone of what was to come. Now Paramount is bringing the film to 4K to celebrate its 45th Anniversary.
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Friday the 13th Part II follows months after Alice beheaded psycho killer/mother Pamela Voorhees at Camp Crystal Lake, survivor Alice is still traumatized because of the murders. But there is one problem: Mrs. Voorhees' son Jason never drowned and died, so he saw Alice behead Mrs. Voorhees. Jason finds Alice soon and murders her. Five years later, a camp counselor-in-training program begins at Packanack Lodge, right near Camp Crystal Lake. As teenagers in the program start snooping around Camp Crystal Lake, they start getting killed violently one by one.
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This is one of those more unique franchises where the killer is the most iconic
in the world of horror, but that version doesn’t even appear until the third chapter of the series. The first film didn’t even feature Jason outside of the final moments of the film jump scare, but after his surprise return this chapter put him in front in center minus the famed hockey mask and instead a bag on his head with a single eye hole. I have always loved that this series features an evolution of the character to what we know now even going further with the futuristic versions later.
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This is also one of the few in the series that picks up where it left off with the survivor of the previous film, but instead of making her the films heroine uses her to showcase the return of terror and let the audience know that no one is safe. They also seemed to have given Jason a more human nature in his movement and killing sometimes even using traps. Sure, he is still a brutal killing machine, but it just feels different in a way that made the later versions of him elevate to something more dangerous and unstoppable. There is still a simple human quality to him here where he even cowers when attacked at one point.
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This film follows all the usual tropes of the genre filled with the usual nudity, sex starved teenagers, kills and fun. The story isn’t anything we haven’t seen a million times at this point, but it is the formula that has always worked for this franchise and entertains exactly the way fans expect. It smartly kept playing up on the history of the first film complete with giving more context to what Jason has been doing all these years and feeding his own fears or obsessions to fight back. The ending flips the script to pay homage to the original ending in a couple of ways and keep it all connected in a new way that made for a great finale.
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In addition to the newly remastered edition of the film this release offers up all the legacy bonus content of the film. This is a must have for fans of the franchise so grab your copy of Friday the 13th Part II: 45th Anniversary Edition 4K on February 3rd from Paramount Home Entertainment.