Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Starring: Jerad Padalecki
OK, so this is not a good movie and if you expected it to be then you should just stop reading now. The setup for Friday the 13th here is the same as the original; a roller coaster ride, nothing more, nothing less. If you want or need more then go watch Silence of the Lambs. This is about exploitation and gore. So, to get a good score this film really just needs to be a good ride right?
The Movie
This remake, brought to us by the director of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, is culled from the original first four Friday the 13th movies. That may seem like a lot to cram into one film but when you take out all of the sex and kills there’s not much left in those films as far as plot. If you’re a fan of those original films you’ll be extremely surprised at just how much of the plots from the first four films is actually included here though.
The story opens with Jason’s mother seeking revenge for the neglect of her son and her eventual demise. By opening, I mean that literally. That story is told during the opening credits. Jason grows up and does what his Mommy wants him to do, even long after her death, anytime young people come near Crystal Lake.
This film isn’t much of a reinvention of the character or stories; it’s mostly just a modern looking retelling of those original films. The only thing director Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) does to differentiate his films from the originals is make Jason just a little smarter. He runs, he sets traps, and he steals kerosine from a local farm for a generator.
In the end there are tons of leaps of logic and plot holes in this film but as I mentioned earlier it’s not about that, it’s about the kills. The early kills in the film are cut a bit to music video style making them a bit hard to follow and very lacking in the gore department. The later scenes do improve leading to soem memorable moments. There’s also quite a bit of humor in this film all coming from Jason’s quirky neighbors. Smartly Nispel keeps his conedy releif far from Jason choosing insted to keep him completely dangerous, and just a little sympathetic.
Friday the 13th really goes for the 80’s feel featuring more gore and nudity than any of a half dozen PG-13 remakes of Asian horror films we’ve been treated to in the last year. It’s not even close to being a good movie and even some of the things that are supposed to make it a fun movie fall a little short but the good scenes and all the nods to the original films make this a must see for fans of those films or someone looking for an entertaining diversion. Hopefully the next film in this new series will take the gore level up a few notches and cut back on the fast edits. It would have been nice though to have seen something new done with the Jason character other than the tiny tweaks made to him. What that something different could be I can’t say but hey I didn’t agree to make this film.
6/10