Jason Goes to Hell appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This wasn’t an attractive image but it seemed to adequately represent the source.
Sharpness seemed decent to good. A little softness occasionally appeared, but most of the movie showed pretty positive clarity and accuracy, even if it rarely delivered really strong delineation.
I saw no issues with jaggies or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain seemed appropriate, but occasional specks marred the proceedings.
Colors tended to look bland. The film went with a fairly natural palette but couldn’t bring much life to the hues, so they remained flat.
Blacks were okay, as well. They showed acceptable depth but never became especially impressive.
Shadows became a bit dense on occasion but generally brought acceptable clarity. This felt like a flat but watchable presentation.
Don’t expect a lot of sizzle from the movie’s restrained DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, as it lacked a lot of zing. The forward channels dominated and did fine for themselves.
This meant a good sense of place and spatial placement across the forward channels. Elements seemed appropriately located and they moved in an appealing manner.
The back channels didn’t have a ton to do here. The surrounds added general reinforcement but I’d feel hard-pressed to identify anything noteworthy that emerged from those speakers.
Audio quality seemed positive. Music offered nice range and punch, while dialogue was generally natural and concise.
Effects showed appealing clarity and impact. Even with the restricted soundfield, this ended up as a solid “B” soundtrack for a movie from 1993.
How did the 2020 Shout Blu-ray compare to the 2013 Paramount release? Though I expected identical DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, the two mixes showed notable differences.
While I felt both came with similar quality, I thought the Paramount BD came with an overactive surround mix that boasted too much music from the back speakers. This meant the Shout 5.1 became less active but it seemed better balanced to me.
On the other hand, I thought the Shout Blu-ray’s image would improve on the Paramount edition but it didn’t. This didn’t mean the Shout offered a clone of its predecessor, however.
Both came with similarly inconsistent sharpness, and colors/blacks seemed a lot alike. The Shout disc lost the edge haloes of the Paramount one and it also displayed slightly superior shadows.
However, the Shout came with print flaws I didn’t witness on the prior Blu-ray. This mix of ups and downs ensured that both Shout and Paramount discs brought “B-“ picture quality, albeit for different reasons.
This set provides both the film’s theatrical cut (1:27:39) on one disc and an unrated cut (1:30:38) on a second platter. What do you get for those extra three minutes?
As one might expect, we find extra gore, and a little added sex/nudity as well. None of this alters the movie in a substantial manner but fans will enjoy the changes.
Found with either cut, a Director Introduction lasts a whopping 12 seconds. In a vaguely smug and winking clip, director Adam Marcus simply thanks fans for buying Hell for “the fourth time”.
Only alongside the unrated version, we find two separate audio commentaries, the first of which comes from director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at how they came onto the project, MPAA issues, editing and differences between the rated and unrated cuts, gore and violence, working within the franchise, cast and performances, effects, sets and locations, and a mix of other topics.
Expect a pretty rollicking little chat here, as Marcus and Lorey know better than to take the subject matter seriously. That doesn’t mean they skimp on stories.
Indeed, they spill out a lot of good thoughts about making the film. They just manage to be loose and lively the whole time, which helps make this a brisk, delightful chat that’s substantially more entertaining than the movie itself.
Recorded new for the 2020 Shout release, we get a track with director Adam Marcus and author Peter M. Bracke. Both sit together for their running, screen-specific view of how Marcus came to the project and its development, influences, cast and crew, various production areas and general thoughts.
Inevitably, Marcus repeats some of the same info from the old commentary. However, he makes this such a lively and funny track that any redundancy doesn’t matter, and he delivers enough fresh material that it doesn’t matter. This becomes another terrific chat.
On the theatrical disc, we get a short featurette called Props that lasts a mere one minute, seven seconds. It simply offers a quick look at some of the franchise’s iconic props and mainly acts to sell a book, so don’t expect much from it.
This platter also presents a trailer, six TV spots and two Galleries: “Still Gallery” (116 frames) and “Posters and Behind-the-Scenes Gallery” (40). Both deliver good photos.
When we go to the unrated disc, nine Additional TV Footage segments run a total of 12 minutes, 35 seconds. One might expect these to simply provide sanitized versions of existing sequences, and that’s true at times.
However, they often elongate different segments and given us material not found in the theatrical version. That makes them kinda sorta deleted scenes – and more interesting than I’d normally expect.
We can watch the “TV Footage” with or without commentary from Marcus and Lorey. They explain aspects of the shots and why they didn’t make the theatrical cut, so expect useful information.
Three featurettes ensue, and The Gates of Hell spans 36 minutes, two seconds. This one provides more from Marcus.
After two commentaries, one might assume Marcus lacks much new to say, and one would assume correctly, as we get a fair amount of repetition here. Nonetheless, Marcus continues to present an energetic and engaging presence who delivers enough fresh info to make the chat worth a look.
Jason vs. Terminator runs 11 minutes, 33 seconds. Here we get even more from Marcus.
The filmmaker discusses his history with the Cunningham family and the franchise’s inspirations as well as how T2 challenged him. Inevitably, Marcus repeats some prior details, but this mostly becomes an appreciation for Sean Cunningham’s influence on his career.
Finally, Über-Jason lasts 28 minutes, 21 seconds. This piece involves actor Kane Hodder.
Here we get notes about Hodder’s life and career, with his emphasis on his Jason experiences. Hodder delivers some worthwhile insights.
After a four-year break, the Friday the 13th franchise returned with a whimper via the sub-mediocre Jason Goes to Hell. It might not be the worst in the series, but it’s closer to the bottom than to the top, as its minor innovation doesn’t offer enough creativity to overcome its multiple weaknesses. The Blu-ray delivers adequate picture and audio as well as a good collection of supplements. Expect a generally positive release for a goofy movie.
Note that as of April 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 eight Friday flicks, this movie’s subsequent sequel Jason X, 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, the 2009 reboot and a two discs of bonus materials.
