More than 20 years after the character’s debut, our favorite murderous maniac went where no slasher had gone before: space. 2001’s Jason X took the violent Mr. Voorhees into the cosmos.

In 2008, scientists freeze unkillable serial killer Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder). In 2455, Popsicle Jason gets discovered and thawed.

This occurs on a spacecraft populated by students on a research project. Unfrozen and ready for mayhem, Jason goes on a violent rampage.

While I admire the filmmakers for their decision to take Jason in a new direction outside of the traditional rural locations, X still does little to separate itself from the usual simplistic plotlines of the past. Like the campgrounds of those flicks, the spacecraft comes teeming with beautiful young woman and sex-crazed men. You realize that outside of the film’s futuristic appearance, it’s going to be the same old story.

Spaceships, advanced heavy artillery and sophisticated nano-droids aside, little has changed. Sure, the kids of the 25th century are presumably a lot smarter than we are, but they still do the same stupid things that will inevitably lead to their premature deaths.

Truthfully, I didn’t really know what I was going to think of this film as I went into it. While I’ve enjoyed the series over the years, the last handful of them prior to X left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Frankly, filmmakers can only do so much with a one-dimensional lead character who just tilts his head from side to side like a bewildered collie. Jason has one goal in life, as he relentlessly stalks his prey and kills them.

Occasionally he takes damage and falls over dead, only to magically spring back to life and continue the hunt. In Jason X, things become no different.

While the students try and use technology to their advantage, be it weaponry or virtual reality simulations, we all know that in the end Jason’s going to take them out. It’s the sole reason people go to see these films. Still, even mass murder can get a little old without a few new surprises, so Jason X tries to deliver that.

While recurring film characters like James Bond have the luxury of sophisticated plotlines to take them from one film to the next, Jason is unfortunately a character with very little charm, personality or fashion sense. Jason X filmmakers were forced to take drastic steps to differentiate this film from it predecessors, and in this case it comes through the use of special effects.

We find CG everywhere in the film, from microscopic nano-ants to intergalactic spaceships. The downside to this overzealous display of visual effects comes to us courtesy of the films limited budget.

While many of the special effects look fine, others appear downright awful. Still, at the end of the day it was hard not to applaud the effort that was involved in doing what they could on a shoestring budget.

In the end there was only one real reason I wanted to see this film and that was because Jason undergoes a radical visual transformation in this film. While originally intended to be a big secret, the film’s lengthy production process sprung leaks like a screen door on a submarine.

While the surprise of a cybernetic Uber-Jason would make for a cool climax to the film, everyone eventually knew it would happen. In fact, in the end the studio madde no effort at all to hide this fact.

So how does Uber-Jason fly? He seems kind of cool and sort of stupid at the same time.

Aside from his new appearance he doesn’t seem much tougher than he already was. Lets face it: he can’t ie so they cannot do a lot to add to his already fearsome visage.

He doesn’t have machine guns or homing missiles built into his body. Technically he gains nothing of value other than some shiny new chrome plating.

While Jason X certainly won’t win any of the actors Academy Awards, the performances feel acceptable and pretty much on par for a Friday the 13th film. The movie boasts a few entertaining moments, but doesnt really work hard enough.

If the film intends to offer fans more of what they loved – gory kills –then it succeeds there, as the body count becomes large. All in all, I felt fairly entertained, but nothing more.

My desire to watch the film again certainly won’t rear its head anytime soon. Seeing Jason X comes more from curiosity than anything else, and while it fares better than some of the sequels, it feels worse than some.

Jason X pretty much falls somewhere in the middle. It’s basically just… okay.

Jason X appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. This wasn’t a bad presentation, but it seemed a bit iffy given the movie’s age.

Sharpness became to main issue. While much of the film demonstrated decent to good clarity, more than a few soft spots appeared, usually in wider elements. These didn’t turn dominant, but they showed up more often than I’d expect.

No signs of jaggies or moiré effects occurred, and I noticed no edge haloes. Grain seemed natural, and the image lacked print flaws.

Colors tended to be stylized, as they veered from chilly blues to ambers to oranges. These worked well within their intended design.

Blacks were dark and tight, while shadows looked smooth and clear. Only the softness affected my grade, but those concerns were notable enough to make this a “C+”.

At least the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack satisfied. With its combination of space and violence, the soundscape offered a lot of good opportunities for involving material, and it used them pretty well.

Gunshots, ships and other mayhem popped up from all around the room, and the elements came together reasonably well. This wasn’t the best-integrated mix I’ve heard, but it worked nicely.

Audio quality was good. Music was peppy and full, though the cheap sound of the synth score was a negative - and dialogue showed natural, distinct tones.

Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with rich bass. The track could’ve been a bit smoother in terms of soundfield, but it was still pretty impressive.

When we shift to extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham. Isaac and Farmer sit together for a running, screen-specific chat.

Cunningham’s notes come from a separate session and get edited into the Isaac/Farmer discussion. We look at the project's roots and development, story/character areas, sets and production design, cast and performances, costumes and cinematography, effects, makeup and stunts, violence and the MPAA, and a mix of other topics.

While Cunningham offers some occasional tidbits – and gives us good thoughts when he appears – Isaac and Farmer dominate the commentary, and that’s a good thing. They’re consistently fun and chatty as they cover the film, and they contribute lots of useful details about the production. We learn a lot about X and enjoy ourselves along the way.

Two featurettes follow. The Many Lives Of Jason Voorhees runs 29 minutes, 56 seconds and offers notes from Farmer, cultural critic David Del Valle, Fangoria editor Tony Timpone, filmmaker Mark Borchardt, fan Mike Schank, Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus, movie critics Drew McWeeny and Joe Bob Briggs, Friday the 13th creator Sean S. Cunningham, and actor Kane Hodder.

“Lives” looks at the slasher/“body count” genre, New Line Cinema CEO Robert Shaye, the origins of the Friday franchise, the success/influence of the original, and aspects of the series.

“Lives” acts as something of a history of the Friday flicks, and it gives us some interesting moments. It’s far too short to act as a thorough overview – and it clearly exists mainly to promote Jason X - but it moves well and gives us decent information. Don’t expect anything great but it comes across with enough meat to make it worthwhile.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we find the 17-minute, 33-second By Any Means Necessary: The Making Of Jason X. It provides notes from Sean S. Cunningham, Farmer, Isaac, Hodder, actors Derwin Jordan and Lexa Doig. and a bunch of unidentified people. Actually, the program lists the names for none of the participants, but I recognized the folks I listed.

“Means” looks at the project’s roots and development, story/character elements, effects and other visual elements, costume and production design, and some other areas. While it bugs me that “Means” doesn’t list the names of its participants, it still becomes an above-average “making of” piece. Though it comes with some of the usual hyperbole, it brings us lots of good footage from the set and proves to be more informative than most of its ilk.

While Jason X doesn’t offer the worst in the Friday the 13th series, it fails to become the best either. Despite some changes, it fundamentally provides the same thing we saw nine times previously. The Blu-ray presents spotty picture as well as very good audio and a decent set of supplements. Even with a new futuristic setting, the films offers the same old same old.

Note that as of November 2024, this particular Blu-ray version of Jason X appears only as part of a circa 2013 12-film set called “Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection”. This includes films 1 through 8 as well as Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy Vs. Jason and the 2009 reboot. It also throws in a bonus DVD and some other non-disc-based materials.

Note that Shout! Factory produced their own “Friday the 13th Collection” in 2020 that features the same movies but with updated transfers and some added special features. Perhaps someday I’ll check out that package but as of now, I’ve only watched the 2013 Jason X Blu-ray.

To rate this film, visit the DVD review of JASON X