Jason X UHD
directed by James Isaac
starring Kane Hodder, Alexa Doig, David Cronenberg
Arrow Video
There’s a common notion that when a TV or film series starts to run out of ideas, they eventually wind up going to outer space. James Bond went to outer space, Happy Days went to outer space, and in 2001, Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th film series went to space. For a variety of reasons, Jason X cratered on release in 2001, both with critics and fans alike. Nearly 25 years later, fans have come around on this terrific, offbeat slasher. Arrow Video has defrosted Jason X on a snazzy and loaded 4K UHD release.
In the near future of 2010, at the top secret Crystal Lake Research Facility, Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) is being held captive, awaiting being put into long term cryofreeze so he can be permanently neutralized. Before Dr. Rowan LaFontaine (Alexa Doig) can complete her work, military brass headed by the shady Dr. Aloysius Wimmer (David Cronenberg) takes over and attempts to move Jason to another facility. The attempted transfer goes as poorly as you would expect, and Rowan uses herself as bait to lure Jason into the cryopod, getting herself macheted through the gut and frozen in stasis alongside the hockey-masked murderer.
Some 450 years later, Earth is a wasteland being explored by a group of scientists and students from Earth II, when they stumble on the cryochamber and take Rowan and Jason back to their research vessel, Grendel. Once on board, they use nanobots to revive Rowan but decide Jason is too far gone to revive, and an autopsy is ordered. Although the ship is manned by serious, professional scientists, security, and flight crew, there is still a contingent of dumb, horny students on board, and as soon as they start having “pre-marital sex,” Jason comes back to life. In the film’s best kill, he shoves a woman’s face in liquid nitrogen and then shatters it on a counter before grabbing a large blade off the autopsy table and making quick work of the requisite annoying teens. With the kids out of the way, the adults on the ship get to work trying to get themselves safely back to Earth II without bringing along an unstoppable killing machine to an unsuspecting world. This band of scientists, soldiers, and the decapitated head of a reprogrammed sex android think they have defeated Jason once and for all, until the nanobots activate and make him into the new and improved Uber Jason. With the Grendel’s life support running out, the crew have to outlast Jason long enough for the rescue ship to dock, and in the film’s funniest and most meta moments, they delay him in the holodeck with a simulation of a 20th century campsite and a pair of nubile young women who are only too eager to drink and disrobe, temporarily giving Jason pause while he slaughters the pixelated vixens in their sleeping bags. In the end, the crew escapes and Jason gets a rousing sendoff.
All “…in space!” jokes aside, a slasher on a spaceship is a terrific idea. Alien (1979) at its core is a slasher movie on a spaceship. The spaceship confines the action to a set location without a reasonable means of escape, thereby raising the tension just due to the location. The tweaks to the Friday the 13th formula work really well in Jason X, probably better than in any of the post-Paramount films. Apart from the sci-fi elements, the film retains the gleeful carnage fans of the series expect with some humor that lands, and finds plenty of gruesome and innovative ways to off the cast without it being completely predictable. For as low budget as the film is, it looks amazing. By designing the Grendel interiors with a simple utilitarian look, they were able to pull off a lot with scaffolding, grates, and shadows. The CGI work is quite effective, actually looking better than a lot of what we’re seeing in films two decades later.
Jason X had a troubled theatrical release due to the film being pirated from the digital source prior to release, coupled with release delays and a terrible promotion campaign that massively impacted the reputation of the film. Now decades removed from controversy, the film has been allowed to breathe and find a place in the hearts of fans, frequently appearing in the top half of online rankings of the Friday the 13th films. With a new 4k transfer and a ton of extras, including three audio commentaries, documentaries, and interviews, Arrow Video is putting respect on Jason X’s name.
