Friday The 13th Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Welcome to Crystal Lake
Jason lives. Many will die.
A group of young adults discover a boarded up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.
| Jared Padalecki | Clay Miller |
| Danielle Panabaker | Jenna |
| Amanda Righetti | Whitney Miller |
| Travis Van Winkle | Trent |
| Aaron Yoo | Chewie |
| Derek Mears | Jason Voorhees |
| Jonathan Sadowski | Wade |
| Julianna Guill | Bree |
| Ben Feldman | Richie |
| Arlen Escarpeta | Lawrence |
| Ryan Hansen | Nolan |
| Willa Ford | Chelsea |
| Nick Mennell | Mike |
| America Olivo | Amanda |
| Kyle Davis | Donnie |
| Marcus Nispel |
6.10 out of 10 (13761 votes)
Visitor Reviews
utter garbage...what a surprise!
posted on 30 Aug 2009As if they were doing us any great favors, the creators of Friday the 13th decided to present this instantly forgettable remake/redo/reimagining, or whatever it is about the cult icon Jason Voorhees (yawn) who's on screen yet again for the latest barrage of violence and chaos. Begins with a promising opening scene to help devotees recall the series origins but eventually falters into total disaster; no scares, no suspense, no character to care about, no plot to keep it afloat, not to mention lackadaisical direction and the expected crummy dialogue are the driving force of this brainless slasher exercise that offers interested viewers the chance to watch stupid teenagers terrorized by the masked murderer at the infamous Camp Crystal Lake. Plenty of extreme violence and gratuitous nudity for the target audience, but no skill, no craft, and really no point, with a final scene that manages to provide more shock value than anything that precedes it. Why do movie studios continue to make this trash? *
Should be sunk in Crystal Lake
posted on 30 Aug 2009I'm sorry - anyone who states this brings back the good old days of the franchise - forgets one thing, the good old films at least, occasionally, had some new twists or original ideas in them.This film doesn't just make a nod to the old Fridays, it rips them off and rehashes their guts out. I felt like I was watching a highlights clip show on MTV of all the other Friday movies with some extra loud sounds thrown in.Not one iota of the film tried to do something different or original, the deaths were laughably predictable, and yes there are one or two cheap scares thrown in but for eight bucks a pop we should be getting terrified all the time.Of course the originals were not masterpieces either but at least they tried to develop the characters - this one has us meeting people we could care less about, and as satisfying as it is to see shallow model types get bludgeoned - it would have been much more terrifying if we actually liked or believed any of their motivations.Yes Motivation! Any idiot who says motivation for victim or monster is not needed has no concept of what makes a good story or a good scare.The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw, even Halloween revamps were put together much better than this p.o.s. because they had some realistic aspect in their story, some motivation that worked on some level, and characters that we could identify with in some way.I give this dud 2 stars for the curves of some of the actresses but thats all.
Well.... Executed?
posted on 30 Aug 2009I had a hard time deciding just how good or bad a movie this one is, not because I was unsure of my reaction (I enjoyed it), but because I wasn't really sure what to compare it to.Friday the 13th movies have always been a sort of guilty pleasure among the slasher breed. On one hand, you have Halloween, which had a very tight script, excellent direction and pacing with honest to god suspense, and no point whatsoever. On the other hand, you have The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was low on production value, gritty, exploitive horror violence in it's most primal and artistic form, and no point whatsoever. Neither of these movies had any value from a plot or character development perspective, but they were primal in nature, expertly crafted by filmmakers at the top of their game, and struck a very strong chord that made them bona fide classics of the genre.And then there was Friday the 13th. The stalker aspects of Halloween combined with the brutality and grittiness of Texas Chainsaw, with possibly less of a point than either film, on their own storytelling merits. Since this movie is intended as an amalgamation of the first 4 Friday the 14th movies, it should be noted that the stalker element was heavy in those films. The formula involves a lot of POV and shots of the killer's feet, until the momentum towards the end chase. In later F13 movies, Jason was no big secret, and he was seen full-body from the get go. It's the same way here, and although this is a redux of the first 4 Friday movies, we lose much of the stalker POV aspect that made Jason kind of a ghost in the woods, and are given a Jason that is a huge, violent, brutal, *motivated* ambush killer.I suppose it's worth noting that so many of the kills in the original Friday series involved Jason walking into frame, the victim cowering, defenseless, Jason sticking a sharp implement into the victim, and walking off screen. It wasn't really until Kane Hodder took over the role that there was any, for lack of a better concept, character development or emotion from Jason. Here, he's PO'd from the get-go, and there's no victim cowering in a corner just waiting to die on cue. Jason comes and gets them, brutally, and there's no sense that the victim is being killed because the script wants them to, but because *Jason* wants them to. I suppose that's a positive point.Production value is another point. The original Texas Chainsaw was gritty and hand-held and looked like it could be an actual snuff film. That was part of its power. The remake managed to increase the production value without losing too much of the grittiness of the original. That was a positive point for that film, and one of the things I really liked about it. Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween, on the other hand, somehow managed to have less production value than the cheaper original, as well as some arguably unnecessary core character changes, and was worse for it. The new Friday the 13th, if anything, might have *too* much production value on the screen for its own good. It's not quite dark and gritty enough.On the other hand, it's been arguably 25 years since we've had a "serious" Jason-in-the-woods movie. Ignoring the New Beginning, Jason Lives and the later films played Jason up as an anti-hero and developed the formula into a comic book aspect with a "gimmick" for each film... the resurrections by lightning, the telekenisis, the toxic sludge, the demon worm, outer space, dueling with Freddy. So its been a long time coming that we have a back to the roots story of Jason running amok in the woods without a campy gimmick to make him the protagonist of the story instead of the villain. Here, he's definitely the villain and, like the movie itself, he means business.What we have, in the end, is probably the best Friday the 13th movie ever made. But, that's not really saying much, since the originals weren't very good to begin with (although definitely my favorite guilty pleasure as far as horror goes). Friday the 13th 2009 looks a little too slick and is missing some of the ghost-in-the-woods stalker aspects that worked in the originals, but the new Jason is definitely very menacing. You don't get the sense that he can only catch you by teleporting or because the script says you have to fall down. He's coming to get you, and he's going to do something awful to you. Would-be victims fight back and are beaten down viciously. One rips the sack off his head and is stunned by Jason's deformations. Among the clutter of the attic setting is an old hockey mask. The ending, with Jason bursting up through the dock, is pure, classic Friday the 13th. And it has absolutely no point, whatsoever.So what we're left with is a brutal slasher film that's light on literary credit, a little too heavy on production values, but which pays due respects to the source material to be recognizable beyond the hockey mask and machete. A handful of the characters are either likable, memorable, or get under your skin. None of them is dynamic in any way. The plot is formulatic. Yeah, it's a Friday the 13th movie, and a pretty good one, as those things go. *Slightly* above average 6/10, with high hopes for a solid sequel next year that doesn't try to cram 4 movies worth of backstory into one script.
Seeing Friday the 13th on Friday the 13th
posted on 30 Aug 2009I saw the late showing of this at my local cinema. I thought it would be good to see it on Friday the 13th (the day of its release here in the UK).I wouldn't exactly say I was disappointed with this, but I certainly wasn't pleasantly surprised either. Let's face it you know what to expect from a Friday (even a remake). There was nothing new here. Gratuitous sex was put in (excuse the pun) to make up for a lacklustre script. I find it insulting when these totally unnecessary scenes are inserted to supposedly appeal to the younger audience, who I am sure have access to porn dvds, should they wish to indulge themselves. Of course like many porn films every sexual scene was directed to ensure that the woman's body was on full show, while the man's was obscured. Nice bit of 80s sexploitation there. I have nothing against sex in movies. I thought the sex scene was totally essential to the plot in films like 'Fatal Attraction'. But I think that the formula for character development for this was that if you can't think of anything for a character to do, either show them having sex, or failing that, have them talking about sex. Even if they weren't doing it to one another, they were attempting to do it to themselves. Twice the 'porn mag' routine was used when the writers clearly had no other ideas.The camera work at the beginning was deliberately jumpy, and I found this totally unsuitable for this type of a film.Only one saving grace was Jason. It was good to see him behaving more like a mortal once again, than the superdemon that he had become in the later Fridays. BUT the problem with the film in general was that Jason just wasn't frightening. We saw too much of him early on, and the 'less is more' theory certainly went out of the window in this production.Seeing this at the cinema added nothing to my experience of this film, and my advice would be to save your money and see it when the DVD becomes available to rent. This film has less of the death factor and more of the cringe factor!
Hot Garbage
posted on 30 Aug 2009I understand that remakes can make money especially when they profit off our childhood so I can see why this was made. Being a huge fan of the original films though I was horribly disappointed.Part of the mythology of Jason is that he DOES NOT RUN AFTER YOU! he stalks and then appears in front of you after you've gassed yourself from running breakneck speed through the woods. He had that supernatural mystique associated with him and that is COMPLETELY GONE in this film. I mean come on, he has his own underground lair and sets booby traps up? LAME he wasn't scary at all in this movie and that was unfortunate. Once again Hollywood tries to "improve" on something that didn't need to be improved upon. The subtleties of his character before were much more menacing than they are now where he runs around like some normal serial killer. BLAH! This Jason is much like the zombies in the remake of Dawn of the Dead from a few years ago where apparently when you die you turn into a Kenyan sprinter. The original slow pace was more terrifying because no matter what they'd catch up to you or would be around the corner. You could not outrun forever. This incarnation of Jason is in the same mold as the new zombies. Bigger and faster does not equal scarier! I miss Kane Hodder! The woods also looked like crap, WAAAAY too fake looking. Sorry but moonlight does not play perfectly to heighten the mood over and over. This one lost the original feel of the woods and made everything way too dark.I think the absolute lamest thing about the film was when Jason needed to turn the power on to see around his little homebase. Seriously, it's JASON VORHEES! since when does he need to flip the lights on to do something? lol HORRIBLE FILM
Jason!
posted on 28 Aug 2009I went into this movie not having seen a single Friday the 13th movie all the way through. I originally didn't want to see this one, not because it looked bad, quite the opposite: because I thought it looked genuinely scary. And I scare easily.As 2/13/09 drew closer and I began watching the trailer more and more I decided that I really did want to see it. Overall, I liked it. I couldn't help but compare it to My Bloody Valentine 3- D which I saw a little less than a month ago, and this was without a doubt a more technically sound movie. The storyline was better, the cast was better, the dialogue was better by a slight margin. That leads me into what I liked. Director Marcus Nispel gave the movie a great atmosphere; things were almost always tense or creepy. Jason was imposing and definitely quite frightening. The situation was believable for the main group of characters.Now for what I think hurt the movie. First of all, I am not a big fan of the decision to have two sets of characters. I understand it was necessary to introduce Whitney's predicament but I thought it really hurt the main group. The movie is only one hour and thirty-five minutes so the first set of characters drastically depletes the time we have to get to know the second set. We know them for less than a day before they all start getting picked off. I think Willa Ford's character had maybe five lines, the Nolan character less than that. I just really didn't care about the characters that much. The second thing I disliked was the backstory/captivity of Whitney. The Mrs. Voorhees part in the beginning felt jarring and tacked on and then I just felt that the Whitney in captivity part was preposterous and weird. Also, it is simply not feasible for Jason to appear everywhere completely unnoticed. He is a huge guy, there's no way you wouldn't see or hear him coming, yet he appears completely out of nowhere so many times. Jumpy? Yes. Plausible? Not at all. These elements combined unfortunately made the movie not scary. I jumped a lot during it but I was not scared afterward, not at all.I really did like the movie, for me the detractors were not so bad that I came out hating it. It was well-done in my opinion with effective jump scares and I liked the different take on the series. Now let's see if a sequel comes out in this same vein.
One of the Best Horror remakes since Dawn of the Dead
posted on 28 Aug 2009My Friday list goes like this:1. Part 2 2. Friday the 13th 3 Part 4 4. Part 6 5. Part 7 6. Part 3 7. Freddy vs. Jason 8. Part9 10. Jason X 11. Part 8Now for the real point....the review. The movie was the best Friday since Part 4 and the acting was the best I've seen in a Friday flick ( not that it's saying much). Like critics had said it's a greatest hits of the first 4 films. U can see elements of all 4 films in there( certain deaths, Jason's mom, girl that looks like jasons mom, the plot of about the brother finding the sister, but instead of one day and acting like she's been lost for six weeks...it's actually been six weeks). Jason's faster, smarter, better than before. Kane Hodder is probably proud of Jason Mears but before I get to the good stuff lets get to the bad...It's a horror movie right...so somethings have to be given a break compared to others ( like Jason's love of teleportation)but the acting was meh to say the least). like I said it was the best of all Friday flicks but..there were cringe worthy moments( most of the acting in the beginning) and dumb moments( you really had to go to the same cabin 3 times and you know Jason lives there) and questionable dialogue and stereotypes. Jason got really smart compared to last filcks... but there were still some really dumb moments from him also. And any attempts they made on making him human compared the unstoppable killing machine we all know and love. And then there was the TCM feel to it..where some moments felt like leatherface with a hockey mask...but i kinda expected that since it's directed by Marcus Nispel.Now for the good. The pacing was great. People say it felt like a remake then a sequel right after...I never felt that. I felt it was a great beginning ( Friday wise) and leadup to the rest of the film. By the time the title appeared on the screen the audience went wild ( anyone experience that too). Though took off for the acting...it was still one of the best (and probably longest) openings to a movie ever. Derek Mears is Jason...I can't stress that enough. Every other Jason( except Kane Hodder) and suck it. He made them look like chew toys in this movie. If your'e look for slow dumb Jason, don't watch this movie...he's smart and he's relentless. The story was good in my opinion. Though it feels like a more fleshed out version of part 4's brother looking for sister storyline it was pretty decent. Oh to the idiots who think Jason is a pot farmer...it becomes pretty clear he isn't after the kids enter his house. The kills were pretty effective. One in particular that didn't fall into cliché mode made me happy and well as a unexpected one. The leadup at the end for the sequel was OK, though i'm sure that's not what Marcus intended.Overall I'll put the new Friday in the fourth on my list ( and technically third killswise cuz I feel like the first is barely watchable now) and a 7.5/10 overall but based on the scale here I'll lean more towards an 8. If the sequel is about as good as this one...count me in.
Jason is reborn!!
posted on 28 Aug 2009First of I would just like to say to all of you that don't like this one, why? It is a very good remake I think. Me and my friends have seen all the other ones on DVD many times, and this is a perfect adaptation of the classics. The horror, the music, the hunt, Jason himself, everything is on point! All the people in the cinema was screaming when he attacked, it was very joyful!! I really loved it! And I am a huge Friday The 13th and Jason fan. For me this was perfect, just what I were hoping for! I liked that they played with us all the way... Like the wheelchair in his hideout, now that was funny, for us that has seen the original!! And all the weapons he could kill them with, but chose not to use... Teasing! I loved it!I liked the fact that you don't have to see all the others before seeing this one. For the new generation, this would be the first one!9/10 for me... Thanks for a good movie!
13th
posted on 28 Aug 2009It's a shame that true horror fans and artists have to suffer. This film is making lots of money from people who don't actually understand what a good movies is, therefor Hollywood will continue to make junk.Things that i did NOT like- #1. All actors sucked except Yoo and Mears.#2. The kills were ultra boring.#3.Why does everyone shop at Abricombe & Fitch? #4. The camera shake deal has been done and done. Enuff of it already. It's obvious that directors use this to cover up the fact that they can't actually film a fight or action scene.#5. All the things I don't like about the first 10 Fridays are used in this re-make. However anything that I love about the first 10 films are not used at all.#6. Enuff with models that cannot act but are used to show off boobs. Some of us Horror fans are smart. Please don't try to divert my attention from the good stuff that is actually missing from the film.#7. The strongest person in the film is a 90lbs. girl that has been chained in an old mine shaft for 6 weeks without proper food or drink although is able to effortlessly ram a 4inch wide machete through the chest plate of a 250lbs. Voorhees.#8.Does everyone in the world smoke pot? And if you do is it really the most important thing in your life? #9. Dialog......it's important.#10. Did anyone like the garage with all those wonderful tools that Jason did not use except for an axe "that Jason had to stop and pull out of wood" and throws it at the fastest runner in the film and catches up with him? And to top that off he's 15ft. from the house and yet no one in the house can see him...#11. No offense to Mears, he is an excellent stuntman but Nispel did not let you show enuff of the rough stuff. The fights were soft and super short.12. Although the sound quality is very good in this film, is it really necessary to have that cliché' dark ages sword sound all 5 times that he pulls it out of a leather sheath? Again this is the type of thing that is used to help dumb people get a sense of horror. Another fave is when horror films use creepy music......before the scare! This is also used on TV shows with laugh tracks. It's to let the mindless audience sitting at home that it is now OK to laugh because a joke just happened.#13. The Jerk. Does anyone know of a bigger jerk? This dude played the part as if it were a SNL skit. Super lame.I did find one thing that I did like about this remake. The sets. The sets are very cool and looked real. I guess thats the one nice thing Bay did for this film. A big budget.I sometimes wish I was as dumb as most Americans. You know, the ones that think we are at war to fight the "Terrorists" and we are not actually over there for oil. This way I could enjoy horror films these days. Or so that I could laugh at stupid lines like "thats one fierce pussy". 80% of the guys in the theater laughed at that. Ummmm i said things like that when i was 13. No pun intended.
A so so remake of Friday the 13th Part 2
posted on 28 Aug 2009This wasn't a terrible movie and certainly beats any of the other recent Jason sagas to come out but when compared to the original it so clearly follows (part 2 by the way, not the first one) it's clear that it doesn't fill all the elements that made part 2 the way it was. I'd like to start off by saying that Friday the 13th Part 2 is on of the greatest horror films ever made not because of the story. The story is predictable and slow. But because of the editing and directing where everything had the perfect timing to make the bravest person jump out of their seats constantly. Jason himself in that movie still goes down as one of the scariest looking villains in a horror film. The acting wasn't overacted and the makers of Part 2 created one of the most perfect horror films ever made.This film tries to recreate the story but falls flat on the timing and acting to really be convincing and as scary as the original. It isn't a terrible film and is pretty amusing at times. The acting was well acted and so I lay the blame on the director of this film who made it predictable and slow. Jason himself just didn't carry that scary persona like he did in the original Friday the 13th and Part 2 and as a result the film itself just wasn't that fun to watch. Perhaps a film like this is just to impossible to remake without losing the beauty behind the first Jason films.Even still, to be fair, compared to most horror movies released today this movie is a blessing. Using semi-well known horror actors with some talent such as Padalecki and Pababaker instead of casting well known actors that don't fit the part separate this film from just about any other horror film made since Saw. With the exception of Jason (who was about as scary looking as my grandmother) the art direction, scene, and costuming helped play an important role in helping this film succeed. Overall, perhaps not quite a film that all should see in theaters but at the very least a film true Jason fans should check out when it's released to the small screen.
Friday the 13th...ON STEROIDS
posted on 26 Aug 2009Hyper is a word I would use to describe myself in the days leading up to this re-launch of the "Friday the 13th" series. Back in 82 my parents let me watch the original. I was only seven years old. I'm sure that alone was a case ripe for a children's social worker but I digress. I grew up on a nutritional diet of "Friday the 13th", "Halloween", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies as well as every other Zombie, Slasher, Possession film I could get my hands on. You name it I've seen it. So to say I was hyper going into this movie is probably somewhat of an understatement. To say I was elated upon leaving is definitely an understatement. It surpassed my expectations in every way. I had fears that this re-launch might just bury the series closer to hell. Many things didn't sit comfortable with me leading up to its release. Some of these included the screenplay being written by the two guys behind Freddy VS Jason, Damien Shannon and Mark Swift. Although it was an enjoyable movie it played too much like a "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequel and I wondered if these guys knew how to make a straight "Friday the 13th" movie. Next was the replacement of composer Harry Manfredini with Steve Jablonski. Would the movie lose its trademark "Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma" echo effect? Most importantly was bringing on Marcus Nispel as director. I really enjoyed his take on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in 03. To me it was clearly the master of the remakes. It was Gritty, terrifying and suspenseful but could he make a "Friday the 13th" movie that wouldn't play like a carbon copy of his "TCM". As I said above the "TCM" remake WAS the master of the remakes "Friday the 13th" 2009 IS the new master. We all know the story by now. 1980. Psychotic Mother slaughters camp counsellors in an act of revenge for the accidental drowning of her son Jason. The only surviving counsellor decapitates Mother. Flash forward 29 years later. Five teens visit the area of the original massacre to score reputable marijuana. They disturb Jason who never actually drowned but has survived in the wilderness alone like an animal. Jason slaughters most of them very quickly in extremely violent ways. Six weeks later some more teens are visiting their friend's country home in the same area. They cross paths with a guy who's Sister went missing in the area six weeks earlier. Same guy while searching for his Sister disturbs Jason lair and inadvertently leads him back to the other teen's holiday home where mayhem ensues. Same old tried and true slasher formula but this time the formula is on steroids. Jason is a nuclear power in this movie. He's fast, intelligent, savage and scary. I must say the first twenty minutes of the film are definitely the best. This is where we see Jason's most animalistic, violent nature and the audience I watched this with were left speechless. The move drops somewhat in tension and then plays out for the next 50 minutes or so like a classic "Friday" movie of old but once it reaches its third act it powers forward again to its edgy climax. Marcus Nispels Direction is solid. He knows how to play with the audience and he doesn't withhold on brutality. He doesn't over-do it either. A handful of powerfully violent kills are more effective than a heap of them. He uses the edge of the frame in some scenes that make it look like Carpenter has directed and his timing of the movies jump scares are next to perfection. The performances are above par for this type of movie but particular mention must go to Amanda Righetti as "Whitney". She's the best final girl since "Ginny" from part 2 and her energy in the role is infectious. Good mention must go to Jared Padalecki as "Clay" and Danielle Panabaker as "Jenna" however major kudos to Derek Mears as Jason. He doesn't just take Jason to a whole new dimension; he makes Jason feel like he's alive in IMAX 3D. The score by Steve Jablonsky is also worth mentioning. At times it felt like John Carpenter had scored the movie and to me it really energised the chase scenes. Plus the use of the original "Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma" is saved for crucial moments where is underlines the action on screen very well. Jablonsky has also given the movie a haunting lullaby theme that's akin to the "Nightmare on Elm Street" theme. I hope this returns in the planned sequel. To conclude, "Friday the 13th" 2009 has managed to return this series to its darkest roots and I believe this is only the beginning of something really incredible.
Just as you'd expect, except actually quite good
posted on 26 Aug 2009The formula is as one has come to expect... young people get butchered in suitably impressive ways for daring to have sex, use drugs, or doing any of the other things which gets you killed in slasher flicks.Now, realize that the "Friday the 13th" films have long since degenerated into parodies of themselves. The series started pretty well, the first few films were variations on the "psycho killer" theme with just a tiny hint of supernatural tones sneaking in... Jason was always strong, fast and supremely deadly in varied ways, but for a while he could just about pass as human... later in the series, he is clearly far beyond any normal, or indeed abnormal, human. Pairing the late-in-series Jason up with Freddy Krueger was a good match (and another film that was surprisingly enjoyable).This film takes the entire franchise in a slightly different direction, and returns Jason to the role of supremely strong, fast, stealthy and seemingly impervious to pain, but nonetheless human. It seems to reboot the entire continuity, which appears to be a popular trend with old franchises these days.Are the characters believable? Not very. Everyone is a walking stereotype. The plot is cookie cutter; you will not be surprised. In fact, I can't point to a single outstanding feature of this film.And yet, there's something to it. I can't really say it any better than this: it was worth my time to watch it. There were several startling moments, everything just... WORKED. I had very low expectations to this film, and I was very pleasantly surprised... give it a chance, but don't forget that it's entertainment, nor art.
Nothing new. Why be a "remake" when it's just another bad Jason sequel?
posted on 24 Aug 2009The biggest problem with this new Friday the 13th is that is that it is simply everything that has been done in the franchise 11 times before. Except for a handful of moments that conflict with continuity of the previous movies this one could easily have fit in as a sequel to the previous films. I expected an actual remake since given that's what the filmmakers and actors talked about in early interviews. But this "new" Friday the 13th does not retell the story of the first three films but instead gives us a new set of worthless teens to have Jason kill off, while loosely throwing in short moments of how Jason went from a bag to a hockey mask.I wasn't a big fan of the new Halloween film but at least it took the story of the original and updated it, gave it more teeth and gave fans of the the original a sense of uncertainty of what might happen next. This new Jason film is nothing more then a poorly thought out continuation of what has made the later Jason films boring and predictable.
Good movie but not a remake
posted on 24 Aug 2009I'm not even sure at this point if this actually was intended to be a remake, if you're a Jason fan or even an classic horror movie fan like I am then you'll know what I'm talking about.This is NOT a remake of Friday the 13th because it has nothing about the first one except for a couple of scenes at the beginning of the movie, some "tributes" to the old franchise and that's it! The killer of the first movie is Pamela Voorhes (Jason's mom), not Jason (I know! big 'no way!' right?...) and during the entire first movie we didn't even knew who the killer was until the very end, we don't see anything like that in this movie.Now, with all that, is this a bad horror movie? No. Is it a bad Jason/Friday the 13th movie? No. Is it a remake? No. Is it worth your money? Yes.This feels more like a remix of a Jason story... a mixture of the end of the first one combined with certain things from parts two and three but to me it only feels like a sequel, a good one that is, not like Jason X which to me is like what Batman & Robin is for the Batman franchise, good, but not what we wanted.Now, the acting was quite good, Jared Padalecki gives us something to look forward with what feels like a very hands on performance and commitment to the franchise, the other actors do deliver and Derek Mears as Jason is just fantastic, I could see and feel and deduce what this version of Jason was about with only Mears' body language to guide me trough, and it couldn't have been easier for me as an audience to understand it (not an easy feat.) This is a great Friday the 13th movie, but it is NOT a remake in my book So go watch it, and see if you can spot the three actors from the "Texas chainsaw massacre" remake that make cameos in this movie.$0.02 -J
This is Jason Modernised; Deal with It.
posted on 24 Aug 2009As I was sitting watching Friday the 13th, I could tell almost straightaway that there would be a significant amount of people who would loathe this movie. If you hated Marcus Nispel's re-imagining of The Texas Chainsaw, it's likely you'll feel the same way about this. I, for one, thought it was a great film. And for the record; I adore the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The reason why I think both films work so well, is because of one thing: Separatation. The TCM remake is based on the premise of the original film, but that's where it ends. Yes, it has a group of young people in a van driving through Texas. Yes, there is also Leatherface and his family, who are hunting these kids down. But, to me, the remake takes place in a different world to the original. Not just in the obvious sense that it was made in 2003, and updated. (Although, I thought the 70's vibe was captured very well.) But, I look at both films, and I really don't see very many similarities, aside from the obvious basic idea and characters. Isn't that the best kind of re-imagining? I'll certainly take something that brings new ideas and characters to the table, than a bland, shot-for-shot remake.So, what then is so polarising about Friday the 13th, already? I'll be the first one to admit this isn't a spectacular movie. The script is pretty weak, the acting is very questionable in parts, but it kept my attention throughout. It has a sense of humour, the opening sequence is a blast, the kills are neat, there's a few different elements, and, most importantly...Jason. He's faster, more creative and more intelligent. I honestly don't see how a fan of the series couldn't love what they've done with Jason here. I think Marcus Nispel has made him fearsome again.What I honestly think is that a lot of fans can't deal with both a modernised Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees. I think people are being very harsh on this. Let's be honest, here. Just how much originality can you inject into a Friday the 13th flick? This is a ten film series, that has successfully run on a very simple premise. Everyone knows the set-up. The only two films that truly took a risk and stepped outside of F13's comfort zone, are Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X; The latter being one of the most hated of the series. I, myself, thought it had A LOT of guts and was very good fun. Some fans are being too stubborn, here. People want a reboot, yet they aren't prepared to move along with the times and work with it. People whined and trashed Jason X because it took our villain out of Crystal Lake. What, then, do these people want? It's Friday the 13th. You don't watch it to see a gripping, emotional storyline. Nobody watches a F13 movie expecting to be challenged or moved. We all watch it to see Jason doing what he does best. And Jason will always sell; this just isn't 80's Jason, anymore. He's moved on, and so has the series. I guess some people just aren't ready to move with them.
Let Jason Rest in Peace
posted on 24 Aug 2009Wade (Jonathan Sadowski), Ritchie (Ben Feldman), Amanda (America Olivo), Mike (Bick Mennell) and Whitney (Amanda Righetti) travel to Crystal Lake to camp, but Wade and Ritchie have found a plantation of weed and intend to raise some money selling the dope. However, the group is brutally attacked by Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears). Six weeks later, Clay (Jared Padalecki) is seeking out his sister Whitney in Crystal Lake, distributing a missing poster with her picture to the locals. In a gas station, he stumbles with the arrogant Trent (Travis Van Winkle) that has invited his friends Jenna (Danielle Panabaker), Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta), Chewie (Aaron Yoo), Nolan (Ryan Hansen), Chelsea (Willa Ford) and Bree (Julianna Guill) to spend the weekend in the cottage of his wealthy family. Jenna teams up with Clay in his quest and they discover that Jason is killing her friends. They run back to the cottage to warn her friends of the dangerous situation while Jason kills each one of them. "Friday the 13th" is an unoriginal and flawed collection of clichés with the omnipresent and indestructible Jason Voorhees. The story follows the same pattern of the other screenplays, with breasts and naked bodies of beautiful girls, drugs, booze, a group splitting and violent deaths. The imbecile conclusion of this sequel is terrible, and I hope that Jason had said "hi" to his mommy as recommended by Whitney and rest in peace without any other sequence, rip-off or remake. My vote is four.Title (Brazil): "Sexta-Feira 13" ("Friday the 13th")
Not very good
posted on 24 Aug 2009I, like a lot of people, am starting to get tired of these horror movie remakes. But they'll keep making them, because I'll keep watching them. Maybe one day I'll be surprised when a really good horror film gets made.This movie felt like it took too many elements from Saw and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake (same director?).It's pretty par for the course as far as Friday the 13th movies go. Lots of hot, dumb, blond chicks that make easy targets, the douche bag guys and the stupid stoners.I really didn't like the hostage situation - Jason doesn't seem that smart, and that girl looked way too normal for having been in that hole for 6 weeks. Jason must be a good host. She doesn't look at all malnourished or dehydrated! Finally they started developing two of the characters and then went nowhere with their story. The cute brunette, and the guy who was looking for his sister. It was obvious their characters were supposed to have something, but it seems like they abandoned that idea in favor of another kill, which was really, really unoriginal. That, and the guy could have made a good nemesis for Jason. But they kept them in the realm of typical cardboard cutouts. What a waste.This movie was fun enough to watch but ultimately it's just another slasher that I'm not even sure should be called Friday the 13th.
Jason is back and better than ever before!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted on 24 Aug 2009Okay, we can all admit that this movie could have been a bit better, but only a tiny bit. Compared to the crappy bad acting and stupid story plots that we've seen from the previous Friday the 13th films, this was stupendous! The acting was pretty good except for that girl Bree. She didn't have a big roll, but I think she was probably just a porn star that was given an opportunity to star in this. IDk...maybe I'm just thinking that. This story had a pretty good plot. It wasn't very original, but still pretty good. I loved how they put the ending of the original first movie in the opening credits. That was pretty good! Another thing I loved about this movie was that it had smart characters. I am sick of seeing horror films where the characters could easily escape, but are stupid and end up dying! Especially My Bloody Valentine. I hated that movie more than any other movie (besides Sharkboy and Lavagirl). Freddy vs. Jason was also horrible. I remember that I wanted to see that movie so much when I was a kid, but when I finally saw it, I felt stupid. The acting, writing, and almost everything else about it was bad. The Freddy vs. Jason plot wasn't that bad, but they really screwed up the smaller details and definitely the acting!!! I swear they found hobos off the street and let them be in the movie. The only negative that really stood out to me in this new movie was the whole mine thing. I mean, does Jason really need to have an underground "lair"? I liked how they made him smarter (running, setting traps, etc), but I think they went a little too far with the mine thing. I also was wondering how they were underground and then came above the ground through a bus. ??? Well, IDk, but I do know that I love this movie and cannot wait to watch on my flat screen TV downstairs and not up locked in my room with my little 20" TV. My dad is completely against me seeing this and doesn't know that I bought it. Shhhhhh...but my mom is semi-fine with it. GO MOM!!! My dad is going on a business trip to Michigan next week, so I'll be able to watch this beautiful flick on a larger TV and with the volume higher than 2.Sorry about this ranting, but I just love this movie. I highly recommend it to not only the old F13 fans, but also new people who are into the slasher genre. It will be a relief if you just saw My Bloody Valentine!!! Hahahaha!!! See ya!!!!
Pleasantly Surprised
posted on 22 Aug 2009It's rare these days I enter a movie theater to see a horror film and leave anything short of sorely disappointed but today differed from recent past experiences. I've been a fan of the original Friday The 13th for many years now and was of course skeptical of this "remake" but decided to give it a shot nonetheless. I'm a fan of horror movies - this includes good, bad, and indifferent so I figured why not? Being that Friday The 13th was one of my favorites, I didn't expect much. From start to finish the film keeps you on the edge of your seat. It isn't so much the suspense but instead, the moments you know are coming just not when or how they'll be approached exactly. It takes quite a bit to frighten me and I counted a good 2 or 3 times I actually jumped throughout the film. There's plenty of gore for the gore lovers, plenty of sexual explicitness for the perverts, and plenty of drugs for the stoners just like an old fashioned horror movie should contain.This film is not a remake but rather a revision and one I came to appreciate much within the first 10 minutes. The action begins almost immediately and builds steadily throughout the hour and thirty five minutes it lasts, right up until the very last shot. I say to those of you who bash this or claim it's a "rip off" or a "poor remake" consider this - It's neither. It is instead a different look at our old pal Jason and one that can be appreciated greatly if given the opportunity. Don't shun the film simply because it bares the title of an old favorite of yours and mine... Look at it as a modern take on an old time classic with new characters (who admittedly are annoying and overly obnoxious at times just as most teenagers/twenty-somethings in films, especially of the horror genre, usually are) and an (almost) entirely different plot. This movie wasn't made to be compared to the original. It wasn't trying to replace what it was to begin with and people need to keep this in mind before going to see it. Do not enter a theater with expectations, especially not high ones. Whenever you do, you find yourself let down at your own expense, not the expense of the film you're seeing or your experience seeing it.With this in mind, I highly recommend checking this one out. You won't be disappointed if you're seeing it in the right mind set and that is a very open minded one.
Not bad but not great either.
posted on 30 Aug 2009Friday the 13th is not a bad movie, but not a great movie either. Friday the 13th is just an OK movie. The beginning of the film is strong and scary. The first 3rd of the movie is interesting with Sam Winchester off supernatural looking for his sister. The character just acts like Sam would from the Supernatural series. Then, the viewer loses interest when the story becomes bogged down with character development. I read once they make the characters annoying in the Fridaday 13th series because if the audience become to attached to the characters the audience gets to disturbing watching the film. There where some scares, and tension with the movie. However, I have seen a few of the other 13th movie and a few of the scene in the new movie become predictable. The movie was worth going to I would give Friday the 13th a six out of ten, or a 7 out of 13. I would call this movie a rental or cheap night movie. They still managed to give present film an 80's feel like the older Friday the 13th movies.