Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning: Deluxe Edition – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

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Let’s continue on with our stroll down the pathway into Camp Crystal Lake shall we? Part 4: The Final Chapter has introduced us to a young man named Tommy Jarvis that is seemingly a match for the seemingly indestructible Jason Voorhees. Instead of falling into all the traps that normal dumb-witted teens usually fall into and end up dead, Tommy knew how to match wits with Jason and survive the onslaught. It is amazing just how much we can learn from the so-called smart people in horror films for they are the ones whose examples we must follow in case a sociopath ever comes our way in real life. You never quite know when some copycat freak in a hockey mask will come after you with a machete or roast you like a marshmallow over the campfire.

Tommy is now confined to a mental institution with vivid and horrible dreams of Jason Voorhees haunting his every waking and sleeping moment. He has become almost a total mute and confides in no-one because there is not a soul he feels he can trust except for a young visitor named Reggie who visits his grandfather at the asylum. Most of those inside the asylum aren’t really all that bad off, but it’s not like they are in their right minds either. Soon a number of the patients begin disappearing and the cops aren’t really sure whether it is one of the other patients/inmates or some other crazy that has made their way into the institution. Tommy begins to get nervous because not only is he one of the prime suspects, but everything going on seems just a little too familiar to him.

One of the biggest problem with A New Beginning is not that the filmmakers tried to put a bit more of a storyline into it, but they tried way too hard to make it into an old school whodunit type mystery. Suspect after suspect begins to emerge totally befuddling the cops and making it overly confusing for anyone else that is in the film. The only people who aren’t confused are those of us watching because we all frickin knows who is killing people anyway and if their name isn’t Jason, then it’s not them. Why go out of your way to make a Friday the 13th flick into a murder mystery when all it does is come out stupid and laughable. It’s hard to come up with much more to say about this particular film because I still like parts of it since it includes Jason and killing people, but the rest of it (including most of the characters) gets on my nerves.

The film is shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and it is evident that there have been some touch-ups here and there to make things look at least a little better, but none of it is overly great.

The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it actually comes through pretty impressively. While the back speakers don’t get the greatest workout; there is still a nice amount of music and sound effects that keep the mood somewhat creepy.

New Beginnings: The Making Of Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning – While not the same as most “making of ” featurettes (with just tons of behind the scenes footage), this doesn’t really provide much whatsoever. Most of the time we are being told short and uninteresting stories from the cast and crew which can be heard on past releases. (10:40)

Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 5 – This little mini film trying to be like Friday the 13th just isn’t good. I have hated this since the beginning. (6:22)

Theatrical Trailer

The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II – A humorous (?) “documentary” that tries to tie up loose ends in between films four and five. Interviews, news clips, and other things are thrown in here but it’s nothing of interest or even remotely good. (9:43)

Audio Commentary – Director Danny Steinmann, Shavar Ross, John Shepherd, and “horror expert” Michael Felsher sit together for the commentary track which isn’t overly bad, but it’s not all that great either. Oh and forgive me for misleading you because Felsher isn’t actually with the others but does his commentary by phone. There is some really fun information to come from this commentary track and it’s a lot too so I’m not going to give any of it away, but you should check it out. The one downside is Felsher who is just annoying and boring.

TrailersThe Uninvited


Yeesh, talk about almost totally stinking up the joint after the awesomeness of The Final Chapter; this one almost fell right through the proverbial crapper floor. In some respects it is still good because it is Jason and he’s doing what he does best and that’s kill people. The problem comes in the form of a bad script and even worse acting that doesn’t help anything. Yeah, I’ll watch it numerous times throughout the rest of my life but not because I choose to. Somehow the special features also stunk up the place to so at least they are keeping things consistent with each new DVD release. Rent this one if you are simply hoping to see all the films or for a refresher course, but if you are an avid collector then you might as well grab a copy of your very own.

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Paramount presents Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning: Deluxe Edition. Directed by: Danny Steinmann. Starring: Corey Feldman, Tiffany Helm, Richard Lineback, Todd Bryant, and more. Written by: Martin Kitrosser, David Cohen, & Danny Steinmann. Running time: 92 minutes. Rating: R. Released on DVD: June 16, 2009. Available at Amazon.com