More than 30 years later, one of the more divisive Friday the 13th movies is getting a pretty major upgrade. The folks at Arrow Video are currently working on a 4K Ultra HD release of 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. While few details have been revealed at this time, the news was confirmed by director Adam Marcus personally, who has been overseeing the restoration. So, for those who have been wanting to watch Jason Voorhees get blown up with a grenade launcher in high definition, your time has come.
Again, few details are available at this time. Reports started making the rounds on social media that a card in Arrow’s upcoming 4K release of Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat confirmed the 4K release of Jason Goes to Hell. Fortunately, Marcus chimed in to clear things up. “I just supervised the 4K restoration, Color timing and clean up with cinematographer William Dill. It’s the uncut version and it’s never looked better,” Marcus said on Twitter. So there we have it.
For the time being, there’s no word on a release window. What we know for sure is that Arrow recently did a 4K release of 2009’s Friday the 13th, which sold out rather quickly. Clearly, there is an appetite for such things right now. That makes sense given that Jason has graced the silver screen since 2009, but that’s another conversation entirely. It’s also important that Marcus clarified this will, indeed, be the uncut version of the film. That version was previously released as part of Scream Factory’s massive Friday the 13th box set. But that set is Blu-ray and not 4K. It also requires buying a whole set and not just one movie.
Upon its release in 1993, Jason Goes to Hell was not a huge success. It still did more than $15 million at the box office against a $3 million budget, but it was the second-worst commercial performer in the franchise up to that point. It also was met with a not-so-nice response from critics and fans at the time. Its reputation, however, has changed a bit in recent years, with certain fans offering a re-evaluation of the so-called Final Friday. For those who may need a refresher, the synopsis for the film reads as follows:
“Jason Voorhees, the living, breathing essence of evil, is back for one fierce, final fling. Tracked down and blown to bits by a FBI task force, everyone now assumes that he's finally dead. But everybody assumes wrong. Jason has been reborn with the bone-chilling ability to assume the identity of anyone he touches. The terrifying truth is he could be anywhere. Or anybody. In this shocking, blood-soaked finale to Jason's carnage-ridden reign of terror, the horrible secret of his unstoppable killing instinct is finally revealed.
In the meantime, Jason remains on the sidelines. A24 and Peacock are still working on a retooled version of the Crystal Lake TV series. As for a movie? That’s still not happening any time soon. Though franchise co-creator Sean S. Cunningham recently promised Friday the 13th fans that there is “more to come.” We’ll see what that means in practice in the coming months/years.
The 4K version of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday does not currently have a release date, but stay tuned. For more, check out FANGORIA #126 from the archives, which features Jason Goes to Hell on the cover.
