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Friday the 13th Part 3 3-D Blu-ray Disc Review

By Stone ⋅ June 17, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART 3 3-D (1982, Blu-ray released June 16, 2009 - MSRP $34.98)

“An idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naive counselors. Ignoring Camp Crystal Lake’s bloody legacy, one by one they fall victim to the maniacal Jason who stalks them at every turn… Friday the 13th, Part 3 will have you frozen with fear, as Jason finds his way into your living room!”

Iconic. This is the movie where the Friday the 13th series leaps from being a couple of mediocre slasher flicks into a whole new category. This is where Jason becomes JASON.

Sadly, it’s a 3D movie and this makes for some technical complications. Paramount offers you both viewing formats (2D and 3D), which is brilliant if you have 5 friends over and not everyone remembered to bring their own 3D glasses (the disc comes with two hockey-mask themed, blood-splattered pairs). But sadly, I don’t think much, if any, effort went into cleaning up and enhancing the movie, and I think it’s due to the fact that it’s a 3D flick. And, oddly, the flashback footage from Friday the 13th Part 2 at the beginning of the film looks worse than on the Part 2 disc (read my review here.) All told, whether cleaning up the transfer couldn’t or just wasn’t done, the high-def picture on the Blu-ray still looks better than I remember it ever looking on TV or *gulp* VHS. Better than the DVD release? I’d have to see them side by side.

What you don’t get on the Blu-ray are bonus features with any depth, like the excellent cast commentary track from the 2004 DVD box-set. However, Paramount does offer up about thirty minutes worth of featurettes, a continuation of a Fan Fic story-line and some interesting trivia/trivial interviews. The interviews are definitely worth watching if you are at all a fan of the slasher XII-ology or horror in general but honestly, I was looking for more.

For better or worse, Friday the 13th Part 3 3D is the birth of a horror legend. Even the awkward cinematic moments that are only there to serve the 3D “scares” can’t dampen the entertaining quality of the film. The unfortunate part is that the quality of the transfer seems to have been sacrificed for eye-ball dangling, pitchfork thrusting, machete swinging action.

A fair trade in my eyes.

Tags: 3-D, 3D, Friday the 13th, Jason Vorhees, Paramount