Paul Magne Haakonsen Being a huge fan of the "Friday the 13th" franchise and finding Jason Voorhees to be the ultimate of all slashers, then of course I would eventually find my way around to sitting down to watch "His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th". Oddly enough it wasn't before now in 2017 that I actually got around to doing it."His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th" offers an extensive insight into the franchise through numerous interviews with directors, actors and actresses who performed in the movies (either as victims or as Jason himself), producers, and other such people whom has been tied in with the franchise in one way or another.This documentary didn't really reveal much of anything new that I wasn't already familiar with to the franchise. Although it did offer some nice enough experiences from cast and crew working on the "Friday the 13th" movies. And it was fun enough to hear about their experiences, but it hardly gives you anything new to bring to the movies when you watch them.Whether or not if you have seen "His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th" or not, then it doesn't really change the way you perceive the franchise, nor does it give you much of any kind of enlightenment of issues and questions that you might have for the this long-running franchise.Sure, this was entertaining enough for what it was, however this is a niche documentary, that caters only for fans of the "Friday the 13th" franchise. If you are not a fan of this franchise, then there is very little of any worth or interest for you to have by sitting down to watching it.Having seen it now, I doubt that I will return to watch it a second time. I could have wanted for a more in depth look at the production of the movies as well, with focus on the special effects. Sure, it was there, but not just as elaborate as I would have liked.This 2009 documentary hosted by Tom Savini scores a 6 out of 10 stars from me.

utgard14 Friday the 13th movie series retrospective with lots of actors, directors, producers, etc. associated with the series, as well as other celebrities and fans. The best part of the documentary is that they were able to get so many of these people back to talk about the films. As a matter of fact, they got just about everybody I think except Corey Feldman and Thom Mathews. But, as great as that is, it's also a problem. They have so many commenters they don't spend a significant amount of time on any subject. It moves quickly from talking head to talking head, allowing for no stories just sound bites. Whether this is because they wanted to squeeze in every single person they could or because they believe the audience is suffering from ADHD, I do not know. Still, it's a fun watch for fans of the series.

Nicholas Dubreuil I was about to enjoy this documentary at least as much as I loved the 20 minutes bonus featurette on the first DVD edition of "Friday the 13th" Part 1. Alas, even if it has some irresistible elements (Tom Savini tremendous hosting, all the cast and crew reunited, occasional nice info...) I began to get quite irritated by some pretty obvious flaws half way through: what is it all about this horrible and distracting heavy metal score endlessly spoiling the viewer's pleasure? It sounded as if I had an inconsiderate neighbor having his stereo playing out loud just to p*** me off.At times, I could also get fed up with the bloody effects systematically interrupting the interviewee just when he or she was about to tell us something interesting. Will anyone tell me what guideline exactly the editor used to do his work? It is as if the interviews had been put together pretty much at random, for all I could understand. Finally, the last 10 minutes outrageously promoting the so called remake recently released (which I didn't much like by the way, but that's another story!) was the last straw. And I ended up almost hating what I was bound to love in the first place. So paradoxically, I put 5/10 because the good elements just couldn't be overlooked. But, please Mr Farrands, try to be a little more modest next time. YOU'RE NOT the interesting part of the show, the SUBJECT IS. Be a little more at the service of it, not the contrary. When you get that, try and make another documentary.

Scarecrow-88 There is an army of loyal Friday the 13th fans who have waited for a documentary like HIS NAME WAS JASON and will get their money's worth.. it's fabulously informative documentary that details everything about the franchise and it's popular hockey-masked psychopathic icon, featuring a plethora of anecdotes from cast and crew who worked in the films in one way or another. Make-up effects legend, Tom Savini directs our tour through the genesis of the film's beginning until the "re-imagining" coming out to theaters February, Friday the 13th, 2009, highlighting the impact such a popular franchise had on those who were a part of it and pop culture in general.I do, however, recommend seeing "From Crystal Lake to Manhattan", a documentary which dissected each film from the original until JASON TAKES MANHATTAN, individually(..it's featured within the Paramount packaged box set with all the films released a few years ago)because Corey Feldman isn't associated with HIS NAME WAS JASON, and had a great deal of input in his interviews for THE FINAL CHAPTER and THE NEW BEGINNING..which were not featured or discussed at any length on the new documentary. HIS NAME IS JASON benefits from(..and is it's greatest strength, in my opinion)from very entertaining and enlightening interviews from victims and survivors of Jason Voorhies and his loony mama. Also present are directors of the movies(..except, like in FROM CRYSTAL LAKE TO MANHATTAN, director of parts 2 & 3, Steve Miner, is again absent, which is a shame since he would be able to add a great deal of information for fans regarding the pains of making and distributing films highly scorned by film critics), those who were cast in the role of Jason, make-up artists, and others vital to the process which created a franchise so recognizable on a global scale. There are also familiar faces who were not directly involved with the franchise(..like Adam Green, director of HATCHET, Seth Green whose own ROBOT CHICKEN beautifully parodied Jason, James Roday of PSYCHE who was very funny, and Felissa Rose of SLEEPAWAY CAMP fame)but add to the fun of the whole documentary. While HIS NAME WAS JASON covers an enormous amount of territory regarding a franchise consisting of 11, soon to be 12, films, I still think true fans should see "From Crystal Lake to Manhattan" because it, despite the lack of participation from a number of cast members who add so much to the quality of the new documentary, spends more time with each film. There's still a wealth of information here for those of us who watched these damned movies over and over again as teenagers growing up, and to see so many actors and actresses who playfully acknowledge their participation as both victims and survivors was just a blast. We even get their Freudian opinions about Jason and his plight, which is awe-inspiring in itself;I'm pretty sure those critics who just hate everything about Jason and his franchise would be banging their head against the wall. We also get interviews from a number of those associated within the horror universe, those who run popular Internet websites(..like Bloody Disgusting and DREADCENTRAL)to festival organizers. Tom Savini takes us through the documentary inside the Universal tour of Friday the 13th, having a little fun in the process using grisly sight gags made popular in the movies. If you are a beloved Friday fan, this will be a real treat. If you're not, why are you watching this anyway?!