Jason-X
(Spanish "Aurum" Region 2 PAL DVD)
 (2001)
review by Billion Dollar Baby

As soon as I read the premise for New Line's Jason X, I was sold. And the film certainly didn't disappoint me either. We're talking about a film which shows us the director David Cronenberg being murdered by Voorhees in the first five minutes! How about that for an opener? It's great to see a Friday The 13th movie (in all but name) with such a healthy budget andsense of humour. It also features a high bodycount and two of my favourite kills from the series thus far - Cronenberg's death and the liquid nitrogen face-smash!

This is a welcome addition to the series. Jason X treads much new ground, pokes some fun at the previous F13th films and it's pleasing to look at. I love the opening titles sequence, the muted browns and grays of the present day segment and the use of the bright colours seen aboard the spacecraft later on. It has the look of a comic book film adaption and it contains both original and familiar F13th scenarios.

New Line's film adds nicely to the mythos of the Jason Voorhees character, telling us that he has the ability to regenerate or replace damaged tissue and of the numerous failed attempts by the authorites to execute him upon his eventual capture. (I'd have loved to have seen those failed attempts though!) Jason is cryogenically frozen only to be eventually discovered and released around 450 years later.

This is the best entry featuring Kane Hodder as Voorhees. And at last Hodder gets to appear in a reasonably high-budgeted money-spinner. Jason X looks a lot better on your c.v. than House II or IV! New Line'shockey-masked version of Jason is possibly my favourite of the series thus far - I'm torn between this version or the one in Jason Lives. I must admit that the body builder look of Hodder always seemed rather odd to me but here, Kane's performance is spot-on.
And he delivers a mean stare!

Right, now this is the shindig. Around 60 minutes in, Voorhees undergoes a severe transformation becoming Uber Jason, some sort of cyborg type creature. Yowza! This is the point at which you choke on your popcorn and start to curse New Line. Or you just go for it, carry on munching and enjoy the ride. Don't worry, the hockey masked version will be back, this is just a temporary (and refreshing) change. And Uber Jason appeals to me a lot more than the 'bagman' version seen before the legendary mask was donned.

If you're expecting a serious horror film then look elsewhere. But perhaps the F13th series wasn't really the best place to be looking anyway? Well done New Line, Jason X is a great deal of fun and I highly recommend it. I shall have to reserve my judgement on Jason vs Freddy though...

I'm not Spanish but my dvd is. You see, I was far too impatient to wait for the forthcoming US or UK versions so I picked up this incarnation. It offers:

- Widescreen (fabulous print quality)
- 5.1 Sound in Spanish or 2.0 in English
- A behind-the-scenes featurette (over 17 mins)
- Interviews with Jim Isaac (2 mins), Kane Hodder (90seconds), Sean S. Cunningham (2 mins), Lexa Doig (1min) and Lisa Ryder (1 min)
- Two trailers and two tv spots
- Filmographies for director and four cast members

Over twenty-five minutes of decent extras plus the trailers and filmographies. Not bad at all. And it boasts excellent print quality, it's just a shame that it didn't also offer English 5.1 sound. The behind-the-scenes featurette is fascinating to watch. The higlight for me was seeing a nervous Cronenberg on the set discussing and rehearsing his cameo. Alas, the interviews are frustratingly short, particularly in the case of Kane Hodder, but they're still pleasing.

It would be interesting to compare this disc's extras or print quality to those on the subsequent US or UK versions. I may well also purchase one of those, if they offer different or more extras, or possibly just for the 5.1 English sound.

One thing's for sure. this disc pisses on Paramount's extras on their F13th dvds. Not that it's hard to do so!