Blu-ray Spotlight- Friday the 13th (1980)

When it comes to buying horror movies on Blu-ray, we have one issue; we already own so many horror movies on DVD, that upgrading them all to Blu-ray would cost a small fortune. There are some titles that we have to own in the best format available however, and so we open to you our Blu-ray Archives which consist of what we consider to be Must Own Horror Blu-ray's.

Friday the 13th (1980 - Unrated & Uncut)

Paramount Pictures
Price: $7.99-$9.99
Discs: 1 50 GB Blu-ray disc
Video: 1080p
MPEG-4 AVC (31.94 Mbps)
1.78:1 AR
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Mono (Original) (224 kbps)
French,Spanish- Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English/English SDH/French/Spanish
Region Free

Well, Friday the 13th was basically the movie responsible for starting the massive horror craze in the 80's, and gave birth to one of the biggest icons in movie history (although Jason only had a brief cameo in this one.) That's the best reason.

Another is that I remember owning copies of this movie on VHS and DVD, and seeing it on many TV channels over the years, so it makes me endlessly happy to finally own this all time classic on Blu-ray. It looks and sounds better than it ever has, and with all of the special features that Blu-ray's come with these days, you can pretty much customize your viewing in any way that you want.

Did I mention that at most retail stores, you can buy a copy right now for $7.99? That is a steal, and a very compelling reason to have this one in your collection.

Let's not forget that F13 boasts what is still one of the best ending's of all time.

There's simply no better way to watch this movie than on this Blu-ray transfer. You can still see the film grain here and there, but for the most part everything looks smooth and crisp. Some of the darker scenes suffer from a bit of messy grain, but aside from those few instances, the movie looks sharp and amazing.

As an added bonus, Kevin Bacon's 1979 haircut looks amazing in HD. That feathered Sean Cassidy-looking half-mullet thing that he had going on back then has never looked so silky or shiny. Not even in Footloose. Alright, maybe in Footloose.

Not a hair out of place.

We're far from Audiophiles around here, but even our uneducated ears could appreciate how well it sounds for being an old movie with a less than stellar source. Every Ki Ki Ki, Ma Ma Ma sounds great, not to mention Henry Manfredini's classic score.

This scene sounded amazing.

The best feature of this disk is that it's Uncut. Now, there are only a few extra moments of gore that were originally cut from the movie, but they do make a difference. We love our unedited kills.

We love every last bloody second of it.

Other features include:

• Commentary by Director Sean Cunningham (on the WB international version - trying to access)
• A Friday the 13th Reunion HD
• Fresh Cuts: New Tales from "Friday the 13th" HD
• The Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham HD
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood - Part 1 HD
• The Friday the 13th Chronicles - Part 1
• Secrets Galore Behind the Gore - Tom Savini on Part 1
• Theatrical Trailer HD

What more do you want?

It's a true classic that looks and sounds better than it ever has. It's uncut and full of special features. It cost us $7.99. For us, adding Friday the 13th to our Blu-ray Library was a no-brainier. It's not the best looking, sounding, or special feature-packed disc out there, but it's pretty damned impressive on all fronts.

A must own, indeed.

Yeah, bitch, he's still out there. Now just relax.