![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/j/jasongoestohell.jpg)
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
If the subtitle "The Final Friday" for 1993's Jason Goes To Hell seems a bit fatuous (and how can it not after the release of 2002's Jason X), remember that it's the second time in the Friday the 13th series the word Final had been used (as it was in part IV). Well, nothing less should probably be expected of the absurdly unstoppable killer Jason Vorhees, and in this — the ninth chapter of his saga — the plot keeps getting goofier. The film starts with the F.B.I. setting up Jason and blowing him all to heck, but when a coroner sees his still-beating heart, he decides that it looks tasty enough to eat. Oops. He becomes possessed by Jason's spirit and begins a killing rampage, but Jason has to keep switching bodies to stay alive, a la The Hidden, and his ultimate quest is to find a living relative to get his real body back (through some spiritual mumbo-jumbo). But bounty hunter Creighton Duke (Steven Williams) knows his secret and is on his trail before the killer can get to cousin Diana Kimble (Erin Gray) or her daughter Jessica (Kari Keegan). Directed by Adam Marcus, Jason Goes to Hell was New Line's first attempt at the series (after picking it up from Paramount), and the film feels like a desperate attempt to variate from the original "campers go to Crystal Lake, engage in premarital sex and drugs, then Jason kills them" formula. One should probably give the creators of this film some credit for their attempts (though they do let Jason — for old times' sake — slaughter a group of sexually active campers), but the results are sketchy and the movie should probably be treated as a dry run for the altogether superior Jason X. Otherwise, what's most notable about the picture is its numerous nods to other famous horror franchises like Nightmare on Elm St. and The Evil Dead. New Line's DVD release of Jason Goes to Hell presents the film in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), and subwoofer-friendly Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS audio mixes. Included is both the theatrical R-rated cut and the "Director's Uncut Version," which features an audio commentary by director Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey. Also included are alternate scenes for the TV version, the theatrical trailer, and the "Jump to a Death" scene-selection feature. Keep-case.
—DSH
