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

He’s coming at ya with his machete and hockey mask – chhhh, chhhh, chhhh, chhhh – in 3D! Jason’s mad killing spree will leap off the screen, providing you’re wearing your 3D glasses. This high definition entry does add some special features missing from the DVD release though.

Directly after the events of Friday the 13th Part 2, Jason (Richard Brooker) goes to a store, kills the owners, and gets a change of clothes. You have to freshen up before killing misbehaving teens you know. Chris (Dana Kimmell) is taking some of her friends, Debbie (Tracie Savage), Andy (Jeffrey Rogers), Shelly (Larry Zerner), Vera (Catherine Parks), Chuck (David Katims), and Chili (Rachael Howard), to her family’s cabin in the woods for a weekend of partying. Chris was attacked by a mute, deformed man in the woods two years earlier and has not been back since. She’s going on this trip to confront her demons about this incident (if she only knew, she would’ve just let her demons be and stayed at home). She left town those two years ago and left her boyfriend Rick (Paul Kratka) high and dry and he’s also meeting the group at the family cabin to try and reconnect with Chris. Unbeknownst to Chris the weirdo that attacked her in the woods was Jason and he’s also returned to the family cabin to carry out his killing spree. This time he takes the familiar hockey mask from Shelly to hide his accursed ugliness and it would become the symbol of horror for the next decade. As far as Fridays go I’m not much of a fan of part 3. The 3D gimmick works for the novelty of it all but it feels just like it was done for that reason. It also leads to some forced comedy that also felt out of place. What was disappointing about the DVD release of 3D was that it was lacking in special features. I guess the inclusion of the 3D and 2D versions of the film gave the DVD the “Deluxe Edition” moniker because all you got for your trouble was the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray release adds the 3D version, but this time we also get some special feature bang for our buck. This Friday is the one where Jason picks up that iconic hockey mask. Friday the 13th 3D is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.40:1) and you can choose from the 2D or 3D version. The box includes two sets of 3D glasses. Special features are where this disc stands out from its standard definition predecessor and those features are presented in high definition. The 13 minute (chhh, chhh….) “Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror” has author Peter Bracke discussing the film and 3D supervisor Martin Jay Sadoff discussing the 3D process, as well as cast and crew memories. The 9 minute “Legacy of the Mask” looks at how the hockey mask has become so much a symbol of the franchise. The 7 minute “Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular” looks at the appeal of the genre. Finally “Tales from Camp Blood” is continued in the 4 minute Part 3 and you get the 2 minute theatrical trailer. Part 3 3D isn’t exactly my favorite, but it might stand a bit taller than Part 5 (more on that in another review). The 3D gimmick is just that and probably wowed them in the theaters (make sure you watch it in a dark room for best effect). What stands out on this release is the inclusion of some special features, but you’re going to have to have a Blu-ray player to see them. I still think that 3D is a 2.5 film, but I’m going to add .5 for the special features, making it 3 (wait for it) D. Friday the 13th, Part 3 3D [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon. Visit the DVD database for more information.