Jason Goes to Hell (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: May 20, 2025
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Adam Marcus

Release Date(s)

1993 (May 20, 2025)

Studio(s)

Sean S. Cunningham Films/New Line Cinema (Arrow Video)

Film/Program Grade: C+
Video Grade: A
Audio Grade: A-
Extras Grade: A-

https://www.arrowvideo.com/

Review

In 1989, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan saw an unexpected decline at the box office, fast-becoming one of the least entries in the long-running horror franchise. Some of it had to do with the disappointment of the film not living up to its title, but more so due to Jason Voorhees having overstayed his welcome. There had been a film in the Friday the 13th series released almost once a year since the original’s debut in 1980, and the grueling pace had finally caught up with the series. As with the previous films, it also came under heavy scrutiny from the MPAA and, as a consequence, wasn’t as violent or as gory as it could have been. Four years would go by before another was attempted, and in that time, New Line Cinema purchased the sequel rights to the character and the story from Paramount Pictures. The long-awaited Freddy vs. Jason was stuck in development hell, so the decision was made to conclude the series with Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (posthumously shortened to Jason Goes to Hell).

For his “final” outing, Jason (Kane Hodder) is tracked down and obliterated by the F.B.I., and while the town of Crystal Lake is capitalizing upon his demise, his spirit remains in limbo before making its way into the bodies of others, starting his murderous rampage all over again. Everyone assumes him to be dead, but hot on his trail is Creighton Duke (Steven Williams), a bounty hunter who has an unspoken history with Jason and hopes to destroy him once and for all. In order to do that, he requires the help of Jason’s living sister Diana (Erin Gray), her adult daughter Jessica (Kari Keegan), and Jessica’s estranged ex-husband Steven (John D. Lemay). According to Duke, Jason can be reborn through a Voorhees, but also die definitively at their hand, leading to a final showdown at the still-standing Voorhees home. Also among the cast are Steven Culp, Rusty Schwimmer, Leslie Jordan, Allison Smith, Billy Green Bush, and Richard Gant.

Similar to Halloween III: Season of the Witch and Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, time has been very kind to Jason Goes to Hell. It was a film that once divided fans with mixed reactions across the board. Many hated it, others loved it, and some grew to appreciate it more over the time, which is where I and many others today come in. I’ve written about this film more than once and each time I find something new to appreciate about it. That’s not to say that I still don’t find aspects of it to be clunky or ill-conceived, but my estimation of it has risen in recent years and I formerly redact some of the more negative comments I made about it in the past.

The single biggest hurdle to get over in Jason Goes to Hell is the lack of Jason throughout it. You would have thought that after the backlash of Part V, wherein someone pretended to be Jason in order to take their own form of revenge, that the filmmakers would have foregone the idea of Jason inhabiting the bodies of others. However, Sean S. Cunningham’s chief instruction to director Adam Marcus was to “get the hockey mask out of the movie.” And he did just that, for better or worse.

To be clear, Jason is definitely present in the film, but his famous hockey mask-adorned visage is on screen for only about fifteen minutes. The rest of the time we see other actors, successfully in some cases, take over that role. It’s just a shame than Kane Hodder himself wasn’t one of them. As a caveat of sorts, Jason Goes to Hell also attempts to semi-connect to The Evil Dead franchise by including the Necronomicon as a prop in the Voorhees home, hinting that Pamela V. might have been dabbling in the black arts in order to resurrect Jason, and that Jason could be a deadite of sorts. None of this is explicitly stated, of course, but you can draw your own obvious conclusions. It would mean that Jason is more of a demonic entity than a supernatural revenge-driven zombie, for whatever that’s worth.

There are many other moments throughout the film that have had fans scratching their heads over the years, such as “Jason” strapping a naked man to a table and shaving off his mustache before “entering” him (unintentionally nodding to The Hidden), or when a small town waitress suddenly turns into a John Woo-style action star, complete with slow motion and dramatic lighting for effect. There’s also the spelling of the name on the mailbox at the Voorhees home, incorrectly spelled as “Vorhees,” and there’s the cheap and ineffective synthesizer-driven score by a returning Harry Manfredini, who had sat out the previous two films. These reasons among a myriad of others is why the film was so heavily rejected initially.

What can’t be overstated though is just how brutally violent and bloody the film is, especially in its Unrated Cut. It’s by far the goriest entry in the series, especially after a decade of the MPAA coming after each film in the series and whittling their violent content down to sometimes nothing. The campfire sex scene in which a girl riding atop her lover is skewered and torn in half with a safety fence post is a major highlight, and goes toe to toe with many of the series’ more memorable kills. Even the less bloody moments, such as when a woman getting into her car has her head crushed in by the door before quickly cutting away, are also pretty effective. It’s part and parcel as to why the film has grown a bit in stature in many people’s eyes.

In other words, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday swings for the fences. It doesn’t always hit a home run, but when it does, it’s some of the best stuff in the entire franchise. It’s clear that after Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, producers and filmmakers were more and more comfortable in making changes to further entries in the series in order to keep it from becoming stale, and Jason Goes to Hell is the most extreme example of that.

Released on August 13, 1993, Jason Goes to Hell was met with a lukewarm response, but it managed to rake in a bit more money than the previous sequel. It did even better on home video when the Unrated Cut was finally available, far and away the definitive version of the film. New Line Cinema taking over the franchise was meant to freshen up the series and get us closer to Freddy vs. Jason, but they also wound up making some of the series’ most-debated entries. Just the fact that Jason Goes to Hell is memorable at all is a feat unto itself. It certainly wasn’t the last we’d ever see of Jason, but as long as the money keeps coming in, we never will.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday was shot by director of photography William (Bill) Dill on 35mm film using Arriflex cameras and spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Arrow Video’s Ultra HD debut features the Theatrical and Unrated Cuts on separate discs from new 4K 16-Bit scans of the original 35mm camera negative and a 35mm interpositive by Warner Bros. Motion Picturing Imaging, which has been restored in 4K and color graded by Duplitech. It’s also been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, encoded on 2 triple-layered BD-100 discs, and approved by director Adam Marcus. This is definitely a case of a presentation being closer to the original intentions, if we’re to believe that the DVD release was timed to the cinematographer’s and director’s specifications. In terms of color and contrast, they’re much more similar to each other than the Scream Factory Blu-ray release, which has a less artistically-driven appearance. It’s also an enormous leap in fine detail, with bitrates sitting anywhere between 80 and 100Mbps, usually in the upper registers and often spiking high above that range. Very mild speckling and scratches can be seen, as well as well-resolved grain, which is tight and well-attenuated outside of opticals. The HDR passes deepen blacks considerably, maybe a little too much at times, but the color palette has distinct uses of blue and green, as well as more natural flesh tones. Everything is stable with improved framing, once again adhering closer to the original DVD, but without any vertical or horizontal stretching.

Audio is included on both cuts of the film in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The film was released in Dolby Stereo, making these tracks fairly stellar in terms of immersion. From the explosive opening to the thunderous, demon-handed finale, both are exemplary surround experiences. Dialogue tends to stick close to the front, save for other atmospheric moments, while the sound effects and score have a large amount of room to play around in. The stereo track works well enough in its own right, and more akin to the original theatrical experience, but the multi-channel track is a little bit more satisfying.

Arrow Video’s 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD release of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday sits in a black Amaray case alongside a double-sided poster and an insert featuring new artwork by Gary Pullin on the front and the original theatrical art (sans The Final Friday) on the reverse. Also included is a 36-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information, the essay The Seven Circles of Jason Voorhees by JA Kerswell, the film’s original production notes, restoration information, production credits, and special thanks. (Just as an aside, the “coroner’s notes” style artwork for the booklet is very reminiscent of the booklet included in Anchor Bay’s Divimax DVD release of Day of the Dead.) Everything is housed in a slipcover featuring the same Gary Pullin artwork. The following cuts of the film and extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE: THEATRICAL CUT

Optional Introduction by Adam Marcus (HD – :13)
Faces of Death with Robert Kurtzman (HD – 16:47)
Undercover Angel with Julie Michaels (HD – 11:55)
Mixing It Up with Harry Manfredini (HD – 12:26)
The Gates of Hell with Director Adam Marcus (HD – 36:03)
Jason vs Terminator: Adam Marcus on Sean S. Cunningham (HD – 11:34)
Über-Jason: Kane Hodder on Being Jason (HD – 28:22)
Friday the 13th Props (HD – 1:08)
Additional TV Footage w/Optional Commentary by Adam Marcus and Peter Bracke (Upscaled SD – 12:35):
- Diner Scene (Upscaled SD – 3:33)
- Prank Phone Call (Upscaled SD – 2:35)
- Cuffing Steven (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Introduction Scene (Upscaled SD – :34)
- Giving Vicki the Baby (Upscaled SD – :53)
- Vicki and David (Upscaled SD – 1:05)
- Vicki Gets to Work (Upscaled SD – :34)
- Alone in Jessica’s House (Upscaled SD – 1:46)
- Steve and Randy’s Fight (Upscaled SD – 1:24)
Theatrical Trailer (HD – 1:12)
TV Spots:
- US TV Spots (Upscaled SD – 6 in all – 3:01)
- Canada TV Spots (Upscaled SD – 5 in all – 2:27)
Stills Gallery (HD – 113 in all)
Posters and Behind-the-Scenes Gallery (HD – 39 in all)

DISC TWO: UNRATED CUT

Audio Commentary with Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton
Audio Commentary with Adam Marcus and Peter Bracke
Audio Commentary with Adam Marcus and Dean Lorey

New to this release are a trio of interviews from Red Shirt Pictures. Faces of Death features make-up effects creator and technician Robert Kurtzman who discusses working on the film, his personal relationship with Adam Marcus, and the many effects he and his company provided. Undercover Angel features actress Julie Michaels who talks about her scene in the opening of the film and her career as a whole. Mixing It Up interviews Harry Manfredini who details his work for the score of the film and how it differentiates from the other films in the series. Next are a trio of featurettes from Samuelson Studios. In The Gates of Hell, Adam Marcus talks about his background, how he got involved with the project, and many of the other topics that he also brings up in the commentaries. In Jason vs Terminator, Marcus talks about growing up with the Cunninghams and learning about filmmaking from Sean S. Cunningham. In Uber-Jason, Kane Hodder speaks about playing Jason and everything outside of the films that comes with that. Friday the 13th Props takes a brief look at a coffee table book dedicated to various props from the series. There’s also 9 additional scenes from the TV version, many of which Adam Marcus would prefer back in the body of the film if he was allowed to do a new cut. Next is the theatrical trailer and two sets of TV spots for the US and Canadian markets (although the latter is more or less lower resolution versions of the same spots with the same content). Last is a Still Gallery and a Poster and Behind-the-Scenes Gallery, which contain a total of 152 on-set stills, promotional photos, behind-the-scenes photos, posters, lobby cards, and newspaper clippings.

Also included is a new audio commentary with producer and filmmaker Michael Felsher, joined by producer Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton, which is more of a fan commentary, but with Felsher on board, it’s a good one. The two discuss their histories with the franchise and their initial reactions to the film versus how they feel about it today. They also highlight many moments from the film and talk about those who created it. The audio commentary with Adam Marcus and author Peter Bracke is relatively breathless as Marcus takes us through his experiences making the film, addressing the various reactions to it, and defending his choices. Bracke hardly gets a word in edgewise. The original audio commentary with Marcus and co-writer Dean Lorey is hilarious as the two watch and discuss the film, enhanced only by the fact that (admitted in the preceding commentary) that Lorey was having drinks while they recorded it. All three tracks are included on the Unrated Cut only.

Everything has carried over from the previous Blu-ray and DVD releases of the film, outside of New Line’s Jump to a Death option. The full TV and workprint versions haven’t been included, nor has the upcoming Hearts of Darkness: The Making of The Final Friday documentary, or content from the Crystal Lake Memories and His Name Is Jason documentaries. Hopefully someday, we’ll see some of the footage cut from the film that has yet to see the light of day.

Arrow Video’s 4K Ultra HD release of Jason Goes to Hell improves upon its Blu-ray predecessor with a more definitive video presentation and a nice assortment of entertaining and informative extras. If you’re a fan of the Friday the 13th franchise, and if you’ve come around on the film a little more like I have, then this is definitely an upgrade worth owning. Highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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