Friday the 13th Part 2

Summary

Every week I will be reviewing a film from the Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition box set released by Shout! Factory until the entire box set has been covered. Stay tuned!

Editorial Note: there are some necessary spoilers for the previous film and a spoiler for the first few minutes of the film so that the plot can be discussed.

“I told the others. They didn’t believe me. You’re all doomed!”

In 1980, Friday the 13th was a smash hit at the box office. The film made millions of dollars for Paramount Studios. Paramount knew they needed to capitalize on their success. They went to writer Victor Miller and director Sean S. Cunningham to see if they would be interested in picking up the story after the events in the first film with Jason Voorhees taking the mantle as the killer in the series. Both men declined, thinking that the idea was ridiculous. Well… hindsight is 20/20. Ron Kurz took up the job of writing a screenplay that would follow many of the same formulas as the first film while expanding the body count and increasing the amount of flesh on screen. Many of the crew members from the first film stayed on. The Second Unit Director from the first film, Steve Miner, was promoted to director for the sequel. The second unit cameraman Peter Stein became the cinematographer. Editor Susan E. Cunningham and composer Harry Manfredini both stayed on board. Thanks to a crew that was largely familiar with how the first film was made, the sequel definitely feels like a proper extension of the first film. My wife and I sat down recently to watch the second film in the series.

Outside Camp Crystal Lake – Two Months after the Massacre at Camp Blood

Alice (Adrienne King) is in her apartment. She is still seized by memories of the trauma she has endured. These memories have turned into recurring nightmares (which we see in flashbacks.) Alice talks to her mother on the phone and then notices that a window in her apartment is open. A cat jumps into her apartment that startles her. When Alice feels safe she opens up her fridge. The disembodied head of Pamela Voorhees sits in the fridge. She is killed by a mysterious figure.

Five Years Later

Three teens arrive in the city outside Crystal Lake. They take the road towards Crystal Lake and someone has placed a large tree limb in the road. In the forest, someone watches them. The teens are heading to the Packanack Lodge, which sits on Crystal Lake. The teens are joining others to train as camp counselors. The counselors that arrive are Sandra Dier (Marta Kober) and her boyfriend Jeff Dunberry (Bill Randolph,) wheelchair bound Mark Jarvis (Tom McBride,) Vickie Perry (Lauren-Marie Taylor,) joker Ted Bowen (Stuart Charno,) athletic Terry McCarthy (Kirsten Baker,) and Ginny Field (Amy Steel.) The head of the training camp, Paul Holt (John Furey) tells the counselors that Jason Voorhees’s body was never found. He says that Jason saw his mother beheaded and took his revenge on the only survivor of camp blood. Camp Crystal Lake has been condemned and is off limits to all counselors. The next six days they will be training, so he offers the counselors one night in town before they get to work. Half of the counselors go into town and half stay behind. They don’t realize that Jason Voorhees is stalking them as prey.

In many ways, the second film in the series is every bit as important as the first film. It firmly established Jason Voorhees as the iconic killer for the series. It simultaneously established a mythology for Jason’s mentality and motivations that harkened back to ideas present in films like Hitchcock’s Psycho. It is a successful sequel to the first film because the filmmakers understood that the best way to continue the series was by using the established formula from the first film but providing viewers more inventive deaths and more sex. The first film has a half dozen deaths onscreen. The second film has eight onscreen deaths. The film is basically a 25% increase in the exploitative areas, and that works to its benefit. The killer in the film is more formidable than the largely unseen killer in the first film, even if Jason is wearing a bag over his head for the majority of the film (the hockey mask is not introduced in this film.) The film knew what the audience wanted and delivered thanks to the script by Ron Kurz. It may not be Shakespearean drama, but the film understands atmosphere and setting and uses the isolated camp location to its advantage for the duration of the film.

Director Steve Miner does a solid job behind the camera. He would go on to direct the third installment as well before directing the cult classics House and Warlock. Cinematographer Peter Stein works well within the confines of the film and the additional budget lends itself to a cleaner look. Stein would lend himself to the film C.H.U.D. two years later. The film has some enjoyable performances. Amy Steel is well cast as Ginny – the obligatory survivor girl. John Furey is a good leading man in the role of Paul. Kirsten Baker is a memorably attractive victim. It was also nice that Adrienne King came back for the prologue portion of the film. Overall – Friday the 13th Part 2 is a well thought out sequel that is every bit as good as the first film. By introducing Jason as the masthead for the series moving forward, it claimed its place in movie history. 

Video

Shout! Factory presents Friday the 13th Part 2 with a fantastic looking transfer of the film using an MPEG-4 AVC codec in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 from a brand new 4K scan of the original elements. With a slightly higher budget, this transfer looks a little bit better than the prior film. It is clear upon viewing that this is the best that this film has ever looked. There are vast improvements over prior presentations in terms of detail, coloring, and clarity. There is a fine level of grain and I did not notice crush entering the frame frequently. This is a great update visually.

Audio

Friday the 13th Part 2 features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track alongside a DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track that is new to this release. Both present the film well, although I prefer the surround track which opens things up nicely. The Mono track does a good job of preserving the original sound design of the film.. Harry Manfredini returns again as composer and his score sounds great. Dialogue is very clear. A job well done.

Supplements:

(These are just the supplements included on the disc for the second film. This does not include the supplements on the bonus discs.)

• Audio Commentary: a new audio commentary with author Peter Bracke and actors Russell Todd, Kirsten Baker, Bill Randolph, Lauren Marie-Taylor and Stu Charno.
• Audio Commentary: a new audio commentary specifically for this release with author Peter Bracke, actress Amy Steel, and filmmaker Tommy Houston.
• My Life and Ginny – A Conversation with Amy Steel – this is an audio only interview that originally took place on August 2016 for the Justin Beahm Radio Hour Podcast.
• Slashed Scenes – one of the most important bonus features in the set, this is a little over four minutes of freshly unearthed deleted scenes from Makeup Effects Artist Carl Fullerton’s personal VHS copy. There is no audio, but it is great to see what the intended effects were before the MPAA dropped the hammer on them.
• Inside Crystal Lake Memories – The Book – this is an interview with the author of the book Crystal Lake Memories, Peter Bracke.
• Friday’s Legacy – Horror Conventions – this feature shows some of the notable cast and crew from Friday the 13th films at a convention.
• Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 2
• Theatrical Trailer
• Japanese Trailer
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots 
• Movie Stills Gallery
• Posters and Lobby Cards Gallery
• Fangoria Articles: Accessible via a Blu-ray PC drive.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Friday the 13th Part 2 is a strong sequel that in many ways is just as important as the first film. By making Jason Voorhees the killer in the series, the film discovered a template that would be replicated successfully numerous times. The film is well directed by Steve Miner who would also helm the third film in the series. By utilizing numerous crew members from the first film, there is a good sense of continuity between the two pictures. The new Shout! Factory Blu-ray of the film within their deluxe box set features a great visual presentation of the film from a new 4K scan, a new lossless Mono track, newly unearthed footage cut by the MPAA (in VHS quality,) and ported over supplements from the Paramount release. Fans are going to be very pleased!