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Freddy vs. Jason (UMD)
Region 1 • R • Dolby Digital • Available Now
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Fans of the movie will be pleased to know Freddy vs. Jason got a great UMD.
Thoughts on the Movie
I managed to stay completely away the whole horror genre until I started reviewing UMDs. So I have not seen any of the Nightmare on Elm Street or Jason movies, so going into the film I had no clue what to really expect. My sister asked me, who did I think would win? Well, it’s hard to expect a movie studio these days to pit two lucrative franchises together and actually kill one off before the end of the movie. And to be sure, these guys come very close to ending it all, kinda.
The movie helpfully supplies me with Freddy Kruger’s background of child killing and various clips of the other movies. Jason doesn’t get the same treatment, which is too bad, and doesn’t really do much in the movie aside from the various hacking and such. The movie starts with a girl skinny dipping in a lake in the middle of the night, and while I would like to think the movie was smart enough to realize this as satire, it didn’t feel that way. So off she went before getting scared and running around hopelessly before being killed. So much for her.
Then the real movie starts. Characters are introduced, or re-introduced since I’m sure one of them have survived previous movies (I assume since that character had the most backstory). Someone dies in the house. Police are called and secure the area. Then the remaining kids go to a rave party in a cornfield the next night. Many people die, and so on.
Bah, the plot isn’t what the movie is for anyways, even though some people act so moronic that they almost deserve what they get. Here’s a tip: when trying to take advantage of a drunken girl passed out in the middle of a cornfield, don’t do it while wearing fifty glow sticks on your body with strobe light earrings and glow necklaces. It could attract unwanted attention.
At the end, the characters meet their fates, the main duo fight it out (even though it’s pointless, seeing how it was established that both Jason and Freddy are dead and cannot be killed, but boy they sure do bleed a lot.). Meh, what else can you expect from a movie like this?
Video Quality
Kept in its original 2.35 ratio, there are times when Freddy vs. Jason looks great. The van scenes with the dark light and the Freddy world bathed in red look great. There aren’t many daytime scenes, but when the movie moves from dark and gloomy to bright is when the video transfer shines. The darker scenes look fine, and the black levels are good. Great job overall.
4.5/5
Audio Quality
The overall volume is a bit low, and like Blade, lacks a real punch. The “surprise” moments that are supposed to make you jump out of your seat lack the volume to back it up, and the big explosion in the movie sounds good, but nothing amazing. Solid, yet lacking real definition.
3/5
Extras
Wow, New Line did a great job with this UMD! First up the movie jumps straight to a menu with two doors. One leads to Freddy’s world, and the other to Jason’s world. Each has its own unique menu and one bonus easter egg. Neat!
Let’s go to Freddy’s world first. The menu is great, with faces covered in blood “morphing” into your choices in the menu. There is also a door in the bonus features that leads to a jar full of severed heads in blood. Choosing a head jumps to that character’s death in the movie...cool. The easter egg is
Cabin Fever (6:09) that shows some goofing off during filming of a scene in a cabin.
Jason’s world also contains a door full of severed heads in water, which are different than Freddy’s collection since each correspond to who killed them. The easter egg in this world is
Put the Dog to Sleep (6:32) that is an animatic for a scene in the movie.
Neutral to both worlds are
Deleted Scenes (15:56) that number 20 in all! They can also be viewed with
commentary by Director Ronny Yu and Executive Producer Douglas Curtis. The scene selection is also neutral to both menus.
Last but not least is a full length
Feature Commentary by Director Ronny Yu, Robert England and Ken Kirzinger. Overall a great selection of features and production value...yet another bang up job by New Line.
4.5/5
Overall…
While I disliked the movie, that wont stop me from recommending it to fans of the film since the UMD is so great. New Line should really be proud of this one.
And no, I won't tell you where the easter eggs are. You will have to find them yourself! Bwahaha!
4/5
