Good documentary on the franchise. For fans

The retrospective documentary _His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th_ is a mediocre propaganda piece. Legendary special effects artist Tom Savini hosts a look back at the twelve Friday the 13th films and at the fandom that it built. However, no real perspective is given to the series or to its place within horror cinema. And while many cast members return to give interviews, they’re mostly the B-list actors of the series. _His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th_ shows a lot of enthusiasm for the material, but doesn’t explore the franchise in any depth or answer the big question as to what made the series so popular.

Surface level documentary (really more of a "collective memoir" if there is such a thing) that suffers greatly from a breakneck pace and non-existent structure. It feels like it could have been cobbled together from outtakes from Crystal Lake Memories. It almost sounds absurd to say a movie suffers from being 90 minutes as opposed to 6+ hours, but in this case it's absolutely true. I actually can recommend the DVD because it has a ton of extended interviews included as bonus features, so if you just want "more Crystal Lake Memories" it's worth picking up, but the 90 minute documentary with Tom Savini-hosted interludes (sorry Tom) simply does not work by itself.