His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2010)

A Disappointing Continuation

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

In a Starz Documentary titled "Going to Pieces : The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film" (Great doc by the way for fans by fans) the girl who played Angela in "Sleepaway Camp" refers to Italian gaillo cinema as first coming up with a lot of original deaths aka, spear through two lovers backs. Then the documentary shows us that "Friday the 13th" actually stole that bit from I believe an Argento picture but then in this documentary she claims it to be ORIGINAL Wow just wow!!! I mean that's beyond changing your mind. It's on the same exact shot!!! Oh my take on this documentary it's totally unstructured 100% unstructured. It doesn't build a story or to a climax or even start at 1 and go to the end it's all over the damn place. I like it but it's not really a true documentary. There is almost no craft too it, but I still enjoy watching it. I'm a fan so it's really like watching one of those well edited but semi cheesy holiday vacation videos of a truly great vacation. This film makes me nostalgic for good slasher movies and despite desperate editing. (And I understand that) it is a truly enjoyable picture as a fan of Jason. Despite being a documentary where most of the stories I've already heard before it still managed to feel fresh which is one step better than "American Nightmare" which is a very stale documentary.

Tom Savini hosts this documentary on thirty years of "Friday the 13th", complete with some cheesy segue scenes of girls getting killed by a stalking killer. Just about anyone who was anyone in the film's history (besides Crispin Glover and Corey Feldman) make appearances to talk shop.If you're a fan of "Friday the 13th" (and I am), you'll probably enjoy this documentary. It's fast-paced, covers plenty of ground, catches us up with "stars" we haven't seen in a while. If you don't know the stories behind the films, this is a great way to learn them in a fairly short time.If you're not a "Friday the 13th" fan, I'm not sure why you're watching this one. Is your boyfriend making you do it? Most of the information covered is something you won't care about unless you're familiar with the movies. Does the casual fan care what some minor character from part six thinks? I doubt it. But the more serious fans will eat it up like rice pudding.That's really all one needs to know here. After you've purchased all twelve movies in the latest special edition, this film acts as sort of a nice summary piece. They even have a feature that sums up the entire series in four minutes (sadly not so much focusing on death scenes as on Joe Lynch ranting). With two discs of special features, there's really no way you can expect more "Friday the 13th" love... if you need more, you're beyond help. Go to a convention and have Kane Hodder strangle you or Ari Lehman make a "rock" pose with you. That should do the trick.

I'm feeling you guys...this is what I'm guessin' you're thinking' "...jeezum crow! Tell me somethin I didn't already know!"O.K. so this overview of the last 30 years of Jason flix is a little bit preachin' to the choir stuff. Anyone who claims themselves a fan is not going to learn anything new here, though I myself found the extras a lot more interesting than the actual doc. (The Men Behind the Mask)You know this is pretty much just a marketing thing put out for the new film which I haven't seen, though I would. Does anyone want to send me $11.00 to see it? course not. Since We'll be able to see it PPV two months from now. But I digress.Still, the doc is fun to watch a bit, seeing what former fodder has grown up to be (notice Feldman is nowhere to be seen) and their take on their experiences is interesting. Some good stories for sure.

In spirit of the upcoming (reboot? remake? re-imagining?) of Friday the 13th comes a ninety-minute retrospective of the series thus far. What the fans get is a mixed bag of interesting interviews and fascinating tidbits of one of the largest franchises and yet critically maligned series in the history of cinema. pros: The cast/crew that they gathered is very impressive, covering a good portion of the series. Anchor bay, the DVD's distributor, was able to use footage from all of the films, so it's fun to view the footage as it's being talked about. The whole experience is nostalgic for die-hard fans and for others as well.cons: The documentary itself comes off as tacky at times. One would wish they would stick to a topic instead of going off on a few different rants all at the same time. Tom Savini's hosting was just fine, but the whole 'ride' device was distracting and unneeded. The funnest bits end up being the extras on the two-discs. Ultimately, it's enjoyable for what it is: an hour and a half reliving the history of Jason Voorhees and thirty years of his body count.