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Released by: Paramount Studios
Released on: June 16, 2009.
Director: Danny Steinman
Cast: John Shepherd, Anthony Barrile, Todd Bryant
Year: 1985
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The Movie:
Tommy Jarvis returns (though this time played by John Shepherd, not Corey Feldman) when someone is using Jason's motives to kill off a group of horny teens holed up at a halfway house. This just so happens to be where Tommy, haunted in his nightmares by Vorhees' sinister visage, is also living. Will Tommy be able to able to stop the killer before it's too late? Or is he somehow involved even more than we first thought?
The blood and nudity quotient rises once again in the fifth film, which is almost over the top in its excess. While the script tries to add in a mystery element (though isn't all that successful at it) what we're really hear to see we do get in spades in what is definitely the goriest, at least in terms of quantity, of the first eight films by a fairly noticeable margin. The kills are at their most creative and Jason becomes less a stalker/killer and more an unstoppable force from here on out.
Unfortunately, the film is mired down in spots but some awkward comic relief which feels out of place against the stalk and slash kill scenes. The plot takes the series in a slightly different direction, playing more seriously with continuity and building on the fourth film in an interesting way, but for as much as it gets right, it slips every time it tries to be funny.
The performances are pretty average for the most part, and no one really stands out. Shephard is fine as the protagonist and Tiffany Helm is fun as Violet but these aren't performances you're going to walk away from thinking about. They serve their purpose and that's about it, but in the context of this film, they work fine.
Steinmann keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, though the film never reaches the heights of his trash masterpiece, Savage Streets, where he was really able to pour on the sleaze and deliver some quality trash. Here he feels reined in, likely a product of working within the more rigid confines of a studio system. Regardless, as flawed as the film is, and it is flawed, it delivers some decent kills, a few fun twists, a couple of good jump scares, an overused if memorable and fun score, and some nice camera work. It won't likely scare your pants off but it'll make you jump if you watch it with the volume up high and the lights down low. It won't, however, likely make you laugh much - but it's a horror movie, and that's ok.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Paramount's new 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is pretty sharp stuff. The film still looks a bit grainy, as it should be, and some of the darker scenes are still a bit murky but this is a noticeable improvement over the previous release in terms of detail and color. Skin tones look nice and lifelike, black levels are pretty strong, and there aren't any compression issues to complain about.
The Audio:
Audio options are supplied in a newly created Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track in English with Dolby Digital Mono options available in English, French, and Spanish. Subtitles are also supplied in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. While purists will be thankful for the Mono track, the 5.1 mix does a nice job of spreading things out when it counts. The score in particular has more resonance to it than the last release afforded it while dialogue and sound effects are all nice and crisp and levels remain properly balanced throughout.
The best of the extras is the commentary track where director Danny Steinmann is joined by Shepherd and Ross with some input from Michael Felsher who serves as moderator. It's good track that lets you in one what it was like making this movie from positions both in front of and behind the camera. It moves along at a solid pace and packs in a lot of information in a very listenable and fun manner. Steinnman's got a pretty nutty personality and is obviously not in the least bit concerned about what people think and so he shoots straight from the hip as he goes over the good, the bad, and the rest.
Up next is Lost Tales From Camp Blood Part V, the latest in the ongoing fan film series of shorts that are done in the style of the original films… sort of. Again, this entry isn't particularly exciting as a killer without a hockey masks knocks off an unwitting victim. Equally unimpressive is the Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II featurette that is a fake newscast that purports to report on the killings that take place in the film. It's done with tongue firmly in cheek and feels very out of place.
New Beginnings: The Making Of Friday The 13th Part V is, after the commentary, the best extra on the disc. It's a bit too short at under eleven minutes in length but it rounds up Steinnman, most of his cast and crew members and a stuntman to talk about working on the picture. Felsher pops in here too to offer some critical input.
Rounding out the extras are the film's original theatrical trailer, animated menus and chapter stops. Like the four deluxe edition re-releases that have come before it, this one also features a neat lenticular slipcase cover.
The Final Word:
The improved transfer and whack of extra features make this one worth the double dip. It's not the best film in the series, not even close really, but it's a fun one none the less and Paramount does right with this deluxe edition reissue.