Friday the 13th, Uncut Deluxe Edition
(Paramount Home Entertainment)

Almost three decades ago, oversexed teenage camp counsellors were gruesomely picked off one-by-one at Camp Crystal Lake in the smash hit slasher horror Friday the 13th. The original film, which inspired nine sequels*, has been re-released on DVD, uncut and in high-definition, to coincide with the 2009 re-boot released in theatres today.

It turns out the legend of Jason Voorhees has aged quite well. Low-budget and by the numbers, the film is nonetheless just as freaky as you remember it.

Overall Rating: 7/10

In comparison to the ultra gore-fests of modern horror franchises like Saw and Hostel, Friday looks like a baby lamb, even with the massive body count, and with no CGI, the special effects come off campy. Still, there is something refreshing about this classic: it doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. You will find no thought-provoking message, surprising social allegory, or bad translation of a Korean ghost story here.  All Friday the 13th has to offer is a good old-fashioned killing spree. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

Highlight Feature: Friday the 13th Reunion. Members of the cast and crew gather together nearly 30 years after this classic horror flick first debuted, in a panel discussion. Interesting fact: writer Victor Miller admits that he and director Sean S. Cunningham were trying to cash in on the success of Halloween.

Subpar Feature: Original Theatrical Trailer. With a trailer this cheesy, it’s a wonder people made it to the theatre in the first place.

The DVD also includes commentary by the cast and crew (alas, Kevin Bacon fans, Mr. “Six-degrees-of…” remains very much separated from this, and any, edition of the first Friday the 13th film). In terms of extra footage, which serious horror fans will hunt down in any quantity, there are about ten entire seconds here, including a slightly longer take of the quite excellent beheading of Mrs. Voorhees. Paydirt!

*Higher forces within the DRIVEN organization do not believe that 2003’s Freddy Vs. Jason counts as a sequel.