The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
First up is a screen-specific audio commentary by director/co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann with cast members John Sheppard (Tommy Jarvis) and Shavar Ross (Reggie) and some random producer/writer via a telephone intercom who had nothing to do with the Friday V production but is a fan nonetheless, Micheal Felcher (?). Talk of production, story elements, MPAA cuts and other trivia is discussed. Surprisingly, throughout the commentary, Ross respectfully tries to field Steinmann solid questions and compliments such as nice lighting, steady cam work, camera framing, set design, and casting choices (there’s literally a Debisue Voorhees cast in this film), etc. Ross’ thoughtful questions left me hanging for an answer, but Steinmann repeatedly blows Ross off. It’s rude and disappointing, but there is still quite a bit of interesting trivia here not to mention some clever joking.
Next up is the continuing, weird featurette (7:09) saga of Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 5. This time we’re back in the woods and a young couple is being stalked again. As usual, Harry Manfredini’s Friday score is the best thing here (actually having a better dynamic range and sounding better than the film), yet everything else is just an unsurprising stalk-and-kill job.
Following that is the continuing, bizarre featurette (10:11) called The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II, where random folks (actors) are interviewed about Jason, Tommy Jarvis and the Crystal Lake murders etc. It’s a bit more goofey than the one from Part IV. But if you wanna lighten up after the main featurette, I suppose this might do the trick. Especially if you’re not quite sober.
A better featurette (11:03) is New Beginnings: The Making of Friday the 13th Part V – A New Beginning. Interviews with reclusive director Danny Steinmann, score maestro Harry Manfredini and some cast and crew talk about some of the production challenges and genesis of this newer “take” on Friday the 13th. Steinmann looks like someone yanked him out of a swamp, but he is generally proud of the film and honest about studio instruction and his goals with it at the time. Friday V was Steinmann’s last film, so we’re very lucky to see his participation with this release. Don’t miss checking out past-punk Friday cult fave Violet (Tiffany Helm) all grown up - and she even does her little robotic dance for kicks.
Lastly is the original theatrical trailer for this film, as well as a preview for The Uninvited (2009).
Like the other 2009 deluxe editions of Friday the 13th’s part I, II, III, IV, and VI, the DVD comes with a cool holographic slip cover.
The 92-minute film is organized into fourteen chapters.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Final Thoughts
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning makes efforts in its plotting and connection with Friday IV. And for what it’s worth, it does play by the rules it sets up, not to mention 20 plus kills and a dash of weed and a little sex. Yet after it’s over…it just never feels like it was the real deal. Fans wanted to go back to the Camp Crystal Lake: Fans wanted an undisputed Jason. The film style frequently appears boring and flat, but the transfer quality is undisputedly very clean and consistent. The new 5.1 audio remix basically just extracts the score into stereo, and two of the supplements are decent. Completists are going to want this, but all others might figure it to be a curiosity at best.
