Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th

Based on Peter Bracke's acclaimed book (which I have not read), Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th is a comprehensive overview of the slasher franchise, which consists of 12 films and a TV series.  Writer/director Daniel Farrands was also responsible for the awesome Nightmare on Elm Street doc Never Sleep Again, and Crystal Lake Memories is even longer than NSA, clocking in at 400 minutes (almost seven hours).

Farrands has assembled an impressive selection of interviewees, including actors, directors, producers, effects artists, editors, and casting directors.  Notable absences include Steve Miner, who directed the second and third Fridays, Kevin Bacon, who appeared in the original, and Crispin Glover, who was the best thing about the fourth Friday.  Of course, none of these guys ever agree to be interviewed about their involvement in these films, so their absence is hardly unexpected.

Friday IV star Corey Feldman narrates and appears in a pair of corny campfire scenes which bookend the film.  Each film gets its own chapter, ranging from about 20 to 40 minutes.  Generally, the earlier films get the longer segments, while the later films are shorter (Parts VII, VIII, Jason Goes to Hell, and Jason X get under 30 minutes each).  This is fitting, as those films aren't exactly the best the franchise has to offer.  On the other hand, the material covered early on is mostly old news to Friday fans, especially because Crystal Lake Memories includes recycled interviews from the Deluxe Edition DVD releases, as well as the 2009 documentary His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th.

That doesn't mean that there is no new material to be found here.  One of my favorite interviewees is Frank Mancuso Jr., who produced most of the Friday sequels.  To my knowledge, he had never been included in documentaries of this sort, and his commentary is candid and interesting.  All of the Jasons are interviewed, and Derek Mears, who donned the mask in the 2009 reboot, comes across as a genuinely nice, funny guy who truly loves the series.  I had heard original Friday star Adrienne King mention a stalker in previous interviews, but she goes into more detail here.

The Friday the 13th films were heavily cut by the MPAA, a topic which is discussed throughout the documentary.  Even though much of this deleted footage is presumed lost and has never been released, we are given glimpses through storyboards, stills, and very brief, extremely grainy outtakes.  Unfortunately, a good amount of time is dedicated to people recapping the plot of the movies, which gets boring if you've seen the films before, which you presumably have if you're watching a 400 minute documentary about them.  Monica Keena is possibly the worst offender, recapping the entire plot of Freddy vs. Jason in character.

However, the documentary isn't all plot summaries and commercials for the films.  The series is populated with plot holes and inconsistencies, and those are given some attention.  Topics such as script problems, the replacement of actors (surviving footage of Part VIII's original Sean is included), and disagreements among cast and crew are explored.  Most everyone raves about Corey Feldman in The Final Chapter segment, but Ted White (Jason) is vocal about his not-so-positive opinion of the Feldster.  I also dug the inclusion of rare production photos and artwork, most of which I had never seen before.  Crystal Lake Memories is a bit bloated, with some unnecessary inclusions, but it delivers what it promises, and even the most hardcore Friday fan should find something new here.

Crystal Lake Memories comes as a 2 DVD/2 Blu-Ray combo set, presumably to jack up the price for fans.  Those who ordered directly from the Crystal Lake Memories website prior to September 30 also got a bonus DVD containing over 4 hours of additional interviews.