Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning DVD Review

Part 5 brings about a New Beginning to the Friday the 13th franchise, but this is one beginning that should end right here and now then be forgotten quickly.

By Kevin Hall

Part 5 can easily be considered a side story in the Friday the 13th franchise. It follows the story of a much older Tommy, who still retains memories of Jason from when him and his sister fought off the crazed maniac in their house out in the woods from Part 4. Tommy is sent to a house for troubled teens. He now carries an uncontrollable rage that is set off at times through certain events and still carries the memory of Jason. Before long, Jason appears again and starts to kill off those in his path. He is supposedly back from the grave as showcased at the beginning of the film.

This installment has some of the most annoying characters that I have seen in any Friday the 13th sequel. Sure, the other Friday the 13th's would sometimes have a character that didn't fit in all that well, but in Part 5, just about every character outside of the main characters get irritating very quickly. You have your usual horror movie teens that deliver the occasional F-bomb and flaunt their bodies, but you also have this annoying redneck family that aren't killed off soon enough. After a while, you come to a point where it seems like nothing is taken seriously until Jason's arrival then suddenly panic ensues and we have a chase or death scene. After that, it's back to level where things are taken lightly again.

Telling you too much about the movie would be a spoiler since it has a slight twist in its ending. The twist left me feeling empty after watching Part 5 to where I have never really wanted to view it much again. Jason is never really showcased in the movie that much except for his appearance to the young Tommy at the beginning of the movie and his appearance for the final few scenes of the movie. The movie has quite a few deaths, and some are unique, but they're still not as gory or well showcased as the rest of the series deaths up until this point.

The picture quality is much like Part 4, in that there is only some slight grain in the picture in a few dark areas. It's a pretty flawless transfer to DVD however. The sound was remastered well and sounds fine with a surround setup. The movie has about the same amount of extras as the other releases of the Friday the 13th installments on DVD. The usual Behind the Scenes footage and Tales from Camp Blood are all here. It is interesting to watch some of the creators attempt to defend the bad reputation that Part 5 achieved during the Behind the Scenes feature.

Overall, if you actually liked Part 5, then this DVD is a worthy pickup since it is a really good transfer to DVD. I never have liked Part 5 and still don't have any love for it in the series since it's a complete departure from what makes the Friday the 13th movies enjoyable. If the movie would take itself more seriously then perhaps the side story approach that we have here would have been better received among Friday the 13th fans.

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