Jason X
by James Isaac
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DVD details
Actor: Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Lisa RyderDirector: James Isaac
Brand: NLV
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
Published: 2004-06-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: New Line Home Video
DVD Reviews of Jason X
DVD Review: Jason X (Two and a Half Stars)
Summary: 2 Stars
This review refers to the New Line Cinema DVD edition of the film.
THE WHO'S WHO: Starring Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, Jonathan Potts, Peter Mensah, Melyssa Ade, Melody Johnson, Phillip Williams, Derwin Jordan, Dov Tiefenbach, Kane Hodder, David Cronenberg. Score Composed By Harry Manfredini. Co-Executive Produced By Sean S. Cunningham. Co-Executive Produced and Directed By Jim Isaac. (R) For Violence, Gore, Profanity, Drug Use, Brief Nudity and Mild Sexual Content; 91m.; 2000.
WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE?: The latest installment in New Line Cinema's "let's see how we can toy with true 'Friday' fans" film series arrives. The year is 2455 and a school science expedition has uncovered a surprising find on the wasteland that was once Earth...a frozen man and woman. Taking this newfound cargo on board their spacecraft, they find that evil still exists. After reanimating the woman (Lexa Doig), they find that the male life form is none other than mongoloid murderer Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) who's been patiently waiting for another group of unfortunate people he can mangle his way through. So how did New Line foul this film up? It's hard to pick only one place to begin. Dealing with outer space horror is always a hit or miss affair. Both "Leprechaun in Space" and "Hellraiser: Bloodline" were noble attempts to craft sci-fi terror from existing storylines. Poor abused Jason doesn't fare half as well as those comparisons. For starters, Jason's appearance has undergone more modifications since we last saw him in "Jason Goes to Hell". He's sprouted an almost full head of hair and he looks more human than he has since his inception in "Part 2". Most of the cast members seem like they're only along for the ride, and most couldn't act to save their lives. The teen scholars aren't even up to the standards of most generic characterizations. The grunt soldiers seem like nothing more than a cheap knock off of the Colonial Marines from James Cameron's "Aliens". The only standout performances come from Lexa Doig as Rowan and Lisa Ryder as the android Kay-Em 14, and even those two have to strain to make their characters appear important in the development of the story. Even if there were more likeable, believable characters, the pace of the film moves too fast to develop any substantial connection. The dialogue is overly corny in its attempts to justifiably portray a high tech future and the half-cocked wisecracks are nothing more than a pathetic attempt to display the fact that the filmmakers have no sense of humor. The film is also too proud of its science fiction trappings, foregoing any real suspense in favor of a flashy, big budget actualization combined with an explicitly dull, low budget mentality. Even composer Harry Manfredini submits to the turgid futuristic atmosphere by turning in a weak, commonplace score that strives to sound like a horror version of the old "Star Trek" themes. Overall, this is a jumbled affair that would have found a greater promise if it employed a better cast, a less technologically enthusiastic crew and an entirely different psychopathic focal point.
THEY SAY THEY'RE SPECIAL BUT...: The 1.85:1 widescreen presentation for this film is a prime example of how some DVDs can come off as too digital in their appearance, which hampers the enjoyment of the movie. The composition of the film seems uneven while the general underlying tones are overly grey and sparse and have been interspersed with some truly garish upfront color schemes. Also, remember the annoying blue line running down the right hand side of "Friday V" on high definition monitors? Well, now there's an annoying green line running vertically down the left hand side of the screen on this DVD. There's a 5.1 surround sound accompanying the film which is certainly loud but lacks definition and clarity, often times overshadowing the dialogue and lower key effects. Gunfire leaves the only lasting impression on the avid surround sound junkie. There's also a DTS surround sound and a 2.0 stereo surround sound for the film. "Jason X" also has English subtitles which are white, easy to read and have been placed within the frame of the movie. The front cover is a space-aged half and half of Jason's hockey mask. The left side is a scratched and dented version of Jason's original mask while the right side is the shiny new metallic version he gets when he is resurrected as "Uber Jason". The halves are separated by a knife that reflects a screaming woman covering her naked breasts. The back cover continues the space age motif while the two page insert further intensifies the futuristic fantasy. The two page insert also displays the twenty-six chapter stops for this ninety minute movie. The disc itself has been painted with a smaller representation of the front cover. As they did for "Jason Goes to Hell", New Line Cinema packaged the film with some potentially interesting additional material. These include the "Jump to a Death" option which was carried over from the "Jason Goes to Hell" disc, the original theatrical trailer, two documentaries and a commentary track from director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham. The trailer (1:59) has a nice glossy sheen to it, but immediately displays the radical changes to the "Friday" formula that would unquestionably doom the film. The addition of Drowning Pool's overused dud "Bodies" as a backdrop doesn't help in the slightest. In the first documentary, "The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees" (29:53), horror heavyweights Robert Shaye, Joe Bob Briggs, Sean S. Cunningham, and Kane Hodder himself weigh in on the popularity of the "Friday" franchise. We're given the chance to see a few still photographs that surrounded some of the earlier entries in the series, but all of the film footage is taken from the New Line produced sequels. There's a lot of congratulatory patting on the back stuff but nothing that makes the documentary worthwhile for anyone outside of the most hardcore "Friday" devotee. "By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X" (17:30) is another example of overly contented filmmakers spouting off about the joys of their accomplishments. Instead of offering an illuminating portrait of the entire production, space in this documentary is mostly limited to the technical aspects of the film...such as lighting, set design and the use of green screens. The commentary track is a bit choppy and feels longer than it actually is. The three players on the track may be knowledgeable, but they're not very entertaining. There are some drawn out spots with a lot of repetitive overemphasis and unnecessary chatter, leaving the listener with a lackluster, disinterested feeling. The high spots arrive early on in the track when they briefly discuss the seven year (at that point) development of "Freddy vs. Jason" and also make another comment about a semi-serious sequel entitled "Jason Takes L.A." which director Adam Marcus touched on in the commentary for "Jason Goes to Hell". As an added bonus, New Line has thrown in trailers for "Blade II" (1:58), "Final Destination" (2:22) and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1:51), just to remind fright fans what real horror is supposed to look like. DVD-ROM users also have access to a script-to-screen option and a link to the film's website.
THE YOLK'S ON YOU: New Line has packed this release with enough special features. You're more likely to live after being speared through your stomach than you are of finding hidden easter eggs on this one.
THE LEWD AND NUDE ALERT: The opportunities were presented in this outing for some wondrous nudity but almost none of those opportunities were cashed in. We have a brief glimpse of the stunning Lexa Doig in her grey underwear just before she's reanimated. However, before her underwear is cut off, they switch scenes. Kay-Em 14 (Lisa Ryder) is seen showing off her nipples, but before any profligate viewers out there could get excited, they fall off (implements of a proposed android expansion). Professor Lowe (Jonathan Potts) has a BDSM interlude with Janessa (Melyssa Ade) who shows off her little black panties and big dominatrix attitude, but the moment is too brief to be effective. Kinsa (Melody Johnson) and Stoney (Yani Gellman) have a sexual encounter but the lovely Melody doesn't bare her ravishing physique. The only real nudity comes in the form of two Crystal Lake campers, Kaye Penaflor and Tania Maro, who bare their supple breasts in what is doubtlessly the best scene of the entire production...the virtual eighties' simulation.
THE GORE REPORT: Most of the gore, much like the film itself, has been glossed over for a "new millennium" feel. One cast member has his arm hacked off by Jason's machete early on in the film but there's surprisingly little bloodshed. We're treated to a small view of Jason without his mask just before he comes back to life, however his hockey mask is replaced too quickly. It would have been a more interesting film if the hockey mask had stayed off. One of the girls has her face frozen in cryogenic liquid and then Jason smashes her head on a table. One guy receives a fairly graphic gut shot. One character is sliced in half and another has his head chopped off in a virtually simulated game sequence (meaning there's virtually no gore). One of the soldiers is cut in half at the waist and tries to crawl away. There are a number of nice shots of Jason's corpse before he gets his "upgrade" that rank as the best gore scenes in the entire film, but with the exception of those corpse scenes, most of the gore seems a tad sterile and, dare I say, boring. Maybe fans were given an overabundance of gore in "Jason Goes to Hell", rendering the vestiges seen here obsolete.
SAY AGAIN: "I don't think he's out there." - Rowan (Lexa Doig). "Why don't you just stick your head out and have a peek?" - Janessa (Melyssa Ade).
THE FINAL SAY: Yes, I recommend buying this DVD. It's a hard recommendation to make, but this film had the potential of being a sci-fi megahit if the filmmakers had been on the ball. Spend a little bit of time reworking the film's dialogue, stop concentrating so much on the spaceship designs and switch the antagonist from Jason Voorhees to some random serial killer. If they had done that, the filmmakers could have easily stretched the concept over a trilogy of new terror films, in essence creating the first consequential horror villain of the millennium. As it stands now, this film is a must for Voorhees completists but has little to offer the casual observer. The movie is good for a few laughs, if only to see how far New Line has taken Jason away from his roots since they took the series over from Paramount. One honest question, however, is why did it take New Line two years to release the film? The end credits of the movie list the production date as 2000 yet it didn't hit theaters until 2002. Perhaps they knew that the direction they were taking just didn't measure up.
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM: "Jason Jam" Performed By Ethan Wiley and Jon Sholle. "X is the Loneliest Number" Performed By Ethan Wiley and Jon Sholle. Score Available on Varese Compact Discs.
Description of Jason X
Synopsis:Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: R
Street Date: 06/07/05
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
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