Paramount Scares Vol. 2 review by Bobby Blakey
For years the horror genre has been terrifying and captivating audiences through a wide variety of sub genres. In 2023 Paramount brought together their first collection of horror films with the Paramount Scares Vol. 1. Now they are bringing together 4 new films for volume 2 including Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Breakdown (1997), World War Z (2013) and Orphan: First Kill (2022) all in glorious 4K.
Breakdown follows Jeff Taylor, headed toward a new life in California with his wife Amy. When their car dies on a remote highway, a seemingly helpful trucker (J.T. Walsh) offers Amy a ride to the local diner while Jeff waits with the car. Then Jeff discovers his vehicle was deliberately tampered with, and by the time he gets to the next town, his worst fears are about to come true.
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I always love revisiting films like this that I saw and loved when they were released to see if they hold up. Thankfully this one does quite well. This is one of those films that offers up everything you could want in an action thriller. The cast are great with the always awesome Gainey and Walsh the perfect duo to take on Russell. Not going to give a lot of the movie away despite it being older but it’s not overly complicated. The fun is the action and how they work it altogether as he tries to figure out a way out of this chaos. It’s a generic entry into this genre, but one I think holds up well. We just don’t get enough Russell these days so it’s nice to be able to revisit this fun flick.
Orphan: First Kill follows Esther who travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family after orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost.
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The first film was a slow build that worked thanks mostly to its big twist ending and Fuhrman’s performance. Thanks to some new clever twists that come out of left field and another great performance from Fuhrman, and you have a pretty decent follow-up. After so many years gone by, I was confused to how they were going to bring Fuhrman back for a prequel playing Esther whom she was 10/11 years old in the original film. Thanks to some well-done de-aging CGI and some creative filming they pulled it off. She dives right back in, but this time doesn’t have to wait too long before she gets to show her evil side as we begin to learn where it all started.
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Right out of the gate it brings chaos to remind fans of who Esther really is before shifting focus to her officially becoming Esther and the new family. This slows things down a bit, but still offers up a lot more meat to the story since there is no secret to reveal and we can see what she is up to. Just when you think there isn’t anything new to learn the entire film takes a big turn in a fun way to shake things up. There are a lot of nods to the original film and some things that explain things she does in it making it really connect while being its own thing. I would have never thought we needed a follow up of any kind to Orphan, let alone a prequel thirteen years later, but it works.
World War Z follows former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family who seem content until the world is suddenly plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.
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While I never read the source material for this film and have no idea if it sticks to it in anyway, I think this film is a blast. I feel like it walks a line between The Crazies and 28 Days Later with the chaotic zombie as opposed to the straight up gore factor. The film plays up as more of an action film than a horror film but works in the story it throws out there. I loved getting to see Pitt in something different than his usual fare and always hoped we would get another entry, but glad they are still pushing it with this new release.
Friday the 13th Part II follows months after Alice beheaded psycho killer/mother Pamela Voorhees at Camp Crystal Lake, she 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.
I love this franchise, and this entry gives us our first taste of Jason himself, but unlike the iconic hockey mask version we know and love that isn’t him here. The silly, but realistic nature of the sack on the head with the single eye cut out just works. It shouldn’t but it does, and I love it. The film is filled with all the killings and violence fans love along with some cheesy fun connecting to the original that I will forever love. It will never be as good as the original and I don’t think it gets the love in the franchise it deserves, but glad it is pushed into this set as well for the fans.
This new collection offers up all four of these movies in brand new cool slipcases inside an awesome collector’s box complete with boasts collectible items, including a Paramount Scares enamel pin, unique stickers, special features and an exclusive, full-size Fangoria magazine produced specifically for this release with new and classic articles about the films, four unique iron-on patches representing each film, a domed Paramount Scares logo sticker, glow-in-the-dark enamel pin and limited-Edition poster by acclaimed artist Orlando “Mexifunk” Arocena.
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Grab your copy of the limited-edition Paramount Scares Volume 2 when it is unleashed on the world on October 1st from Paramount Home Entertainment.
