Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: September 23rd, 2008
MRSP: $54.99

Stars: John D. LeMay,Louise Robey,Chris Wiggins

Before I go any further, let me just make it clear: Friday the 13th: the series has NOTHING in common with the slasher movies of the same name. This a completely different storyline.

Once upon a time, there was an antiques dealer named Lewis Vendredi. Mr. Vendredi made a deal with the devil: He would sell cursed objects in exchange for immortality.

These items would generally grant fortune to those that possessed them, but with a price, usually the life of an innocent prerson.

After years of working with the horned one, Mr. V decides to back out of the deal. Not surprisingly, he shuffles off the mortal coil shortly thereafter.

The shop was inherited by a couple of his relatives, Mikki and Ryan. The two have a huge sale, with can’t miss prices, and pretty much damn the masses.

After a time, they are visited by Jack Marshak, a stage magician and expert on the occult. It seems that Mr. Jack supplied some of the items to Louis, not knowing what was happening. Jack, Mikki and Ryan agree to work together to recover the items. This is harder that it sounds, since most of the owners are rather pleased with the benefits of the items and thus have little interest in giving them up. They use Uncle Louis’ sales registry to track down the owners.

The show had almost an anthology feel to it, with each week providing a completely new supporting cast and new story.

The series generally aired after the nightly news, given the dark nature of the show and the overt violence it offered up. While many may not remember the show, those that do loved it and with good reason.

The show consistently offered up surprisingly strong stories, ones that still retain a level of creepiness after all these years. I remember finding it enjoyable at the time, but am surprised, upon watching these DVDs, at just how good it really is.

The video quality here is only so-so. Over the years, the tapes have degraded and no obvious efforts were made to clean them up. This is no shock, since the show never really had more than a cult following.

This is no to say that it is not watchable, I simply want to give folks a heads up on what they will be getting. Honestly, this is likely what is looked like on those 1980s television in the first place. The so-so video is easily made up for by the overall strength of the show.

So during the next dark and stormy night, lock the doors and put on Friday the 13th, you will have a blast!

Order season one of Friday the 13th: the series from Amazon.

Jeremy
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.