Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a more than satisfying presentation.
Sharpness seemed positive, as most of the movie exhibited solid definition. A few slightly soft shots occurred, but those remained minor.
I witnessed no problems with jagged edges or shimmering, and I also saw no signs of edge haloes. Print flaws were absent, and grain felt natural.
Lives went with a palette that seemed bright for a Friday movie, but I can’t complain about the reproduction of those tones, as the colors consistently looked positive. We got a bit of a green tint at times, but the movie usually presented a broad and vivid spectrum that felt solid.
Blacks also came across as tight and deep, while shadows appeared smooth and taut. This wound up as a good “B+” image.
During its theatrical run, Lives boasted an “Ultra-Stereo” soundtrack. That was essentially the same as Dolby Surround, but since it became the first Friday to stretch beyond mono, it turned into an improvement on its predecessors. That audio got reworked into a DTS-HD MA 5.1 remix for this disc.
The soundfield created a good sense of setting. Music offered solid stereo imaging, while effects spread neatly and cleanly across the front.
These elements blended well and brought about a smooth impression. Surround usage didn’t stand out as exceptional, but the rear speakers added dimensionality to the proceedings and were reasonably active.
Audio quality seemed very good, as speech always came across as natural and distinctive, with no problems related to edginess or intelligibility. Music was lively and dynamic. The score and songs showed good range and clear reproduction.
Effects also sounded accurate and broad. They demonstrated clean highs and fairly deep bass response. This wasn’t a dazzling soundtrack, but it sounded quite good, especially given the age of the movie.
How did this 2020 Shout Blu-ray compare to the 2013 Paramount BD? Both offered what appeared to be identical audio.
Visuals also seemed very similar. The 2020 Shout disc might’ve been a smidgen better defined, but the 2013 disc already looked good so this wound up as a presentation that came across as pretty much the same.
The Shout Blu-ray mixes old and new extras and we find four separate audio commentaries. From 2004, the first features director Tom McLoughlin as he provides a running, screen-specific track.
I didn’t think much of the movie, but McLoughlin gives us a nice look at this film. He discusses the actors and casting, the flick’s tone and sensibility, locations and related challenges, visual effects, cut sequences and graphic footage dropped for ratings reasons, and a variety of production anecdotes.
McLoughlin proves consistently chatty and personable. He covers the film’s creation in a fairly concise and involving manner that makes this a positive commentary.
Off the 2009 DVD, the second commentary includes writer/director Tom McLoughlin, editor Bruce Green and actor Vincent Guastaferro. All three sit together for their look at cast and performances, some character/story issues, sets and locations, gore and effects, MPAA concerns, music, sound design, and a few other production areas.
This track works fairly well, but it’s not as good as McLoughlin’s solo discussion. It throws out a fair amount of useful information but it tends to drag at times and never becomes particularly involving. Though I think it’s a decent commentary, McLoughlin’s solo chat works better.
The remaining two commentaries come new to the 2020 Shout release, and we get a track with writer/director Tom McLoughlin and filmmakers/fans Adam Green and Joe Lynch. They sit together for a running, screen-specific look at aspects of the Lives production as well as genre/franchise domains.
Though this acts as the commentary’s disc-based debut, McLoughlin, Green and Lynch actually did it as part of a 2019 fundraiser called “Yorkiethon 2019”. During this event, Green and Lynch live-streamed for 48 straight hours to raise money for a dog rescue devoted to Yorkshire terriers. As the proud papa of two Yorkie mixes, I heartily applaud this effort.
Even without the awesome cause, this turns into a compelling chat. McLoughlin doesn’t repeat too much from the other tracks and because they make horror films themselves, Green and Lynch bring perspectives normally absent from commentary moderators. Expect a brisk and compelling discussion.
Finally, we locate a commentary from actors Thom Mathews, Vincent Guastaferro, Kerry Noonan, CJ Graham and Cynthia Kania. Along with author/moderator Peter Bracke, they tell us about their prior experiences with the franchise and memories of the Lives shoot.
Like prior Bracke/cast commentaries, this one becomes enjoyable but I can’t claim it ever seems fascinating. Though we find some interesting insights and stories about the production, we don’t get anything that elevates the chat to turn into anything better than pretty good.
By the way, at one point we’re told that Siskel and Ebert panned Jason Lives even though they admitted they didn’t see it. That’s completely untrue.
Once again, we find a chapter of Lost Tales From Camp Blood. The seven-minute, 17-second “Part 6” continues the series, but it doesn’t improve on its predecessors. The newest short is just as forgettable as the others.
Another continuation comes from The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited – Part III. As with the first two chapters, this nine-minute, 36-second piece looks at the movie events as though they really happened. I liked the first two, and “Part III” offers another fun and interesting “alternate reality”.
Next we find a collection of 11 Slashed Scenes. This six-minute, six-second reel simply offers longer, gorier versions of sequences already found in the movie.
We do get a bit more from the film’s ending, though. That’s the most valuable part of this otherwise less than enthralling compilation.
Jason Lives: The Making of Friday the 13th: Part VI runs 12 minutes, 57 seconds and involves McLoughlin, special makeup effects artist Gabe Bartalos and Chris Biggs, and actors Bob Larkin, Nancy McLoughlin and David Kagen.
The show looks at the premise and tone of the movie, sets and locations, cast and performances, some story/character subjects, various effects and MPAA concerns, stunts, and the movie’s reception.
Inevitably, we hear a few tidbits repeated from the commentary. Nonetheless, “Lives” throws out a lot of unique material. Despite its fairly short running time, it offers a good collection of notes.
Next we find the two-minute, 46-second Meeting Mr. Voorhees. Loughlin introduces a story reel that shows us an alternate ending in which we meet Jason’s dad.
It’s not the most interesting scene, but I like the concept. It’s too bad none of the movies ever dealt with the concept of Jason’s father.
In addition to the film’s trailer and two TV spots, we conclude with a Still Gallery that presents 72 elements. This set mixes publicity shots, pictures from the set and ads to become a good compilation.
One of the series’ weakest efforts, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives feels like an awkward attempt to make it something it’s not. It looks as though they wanted to give it more of a Nightmare on Elm Street vibe and seems too goofy and inane to deliver the requisite scares. The Blu-ray offers very good picture and audio along with a solid collection of bonus materials headlined by four separate commentaries. Expect a fine release for a weak movie.
Note that as of March 2025, this Shout Blu-ray of the film appears solely as part of a 12-film “Friday the 13th Collection” set. It also includes the first five Friday flicks, this movie’s subsequent four sequels, 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, the 2009 reboot and two discs of bonus materials.
Note that this Blu-ray loses some extras found on the Paramount release. However, these appear on the aforementioned bonus discs, so the Shout set doesn’t drop existing materials.
