By Geno McGahee
In 2009, I watched the “remake” or “re-imaging” of FRIDAY THE 13TH. After the absolutely terrible TCM re-imaginings, I had low expectations for this one and maybe I walked into it not giving it a fair chance. It didn’t capture the spirit of the character and was a very drab and dark look at Jason Voorhees. I think that I originally gave it a 2/10, but four years have passed and I got a chance to let it make a second impression. I am man enough to admit that I was wrong. This film isn’t great, but it’s not all that bad.
We begin with some forgettable characters looking for some marijuana and it’s driving the point home that if you have sex or do drugs, Jason will come and get you. That happens. Jason looks pretty good and they start him off as the “bag head” Jason. He’s towering over everyone and is incredibly violent and quick…and he also is pretty good with archery and throwing axes.
We fast forward a little bit and meet a new group of people…mostly forgettable, but that’s OK. It is, in reality, following the Jason formula on character development. A lot of characters are merely there to die in interesting ways. So, I can’t complain too much about that.
Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) is in town looking for his missing sister, Whitney (Amanda Righetti). Strangely, Jason has kidnapped her and is holding her hostage. He does a few things that are out of character, but this is a “re-imagining” and in this, he’s not as stupid as he was in the others. He is more of the redneck human version that we saw in FRIDAY THE 13TH III and IV. I do love zombie Jason the best, but this was OK.
Clay meets up with the group and there is a rich prick that immediately starts a fight with him. Trent (Travis Van Winkle) is just a jerk that has been pampered his entire life. You want him to die and you know that it’s inevitable. We have Chewie (Aaron Yoo), a stoner that doesn’t matter too much, Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta), Bree (Julianna Guill) and Jenna (Danielle Panabaker) that make up the rest of the group. Chewie and Lawrence are your typical F13 meaningless characters and so too is Bree. They are merely there to be killed. Well, Bree is there to be hot, get naked and then be killed. So, I guess her role wasn’t meaningless. I stand corrected.
Jenna and Clay find a love connection and also discover the lair of Jason, which has a teddy bear, a kid’s bed and the severed head of his mother. They return and the killing spree goes into high gear. Jason (Derek Mears) does a great job in the role and the film is shot very well. Some of the shots were very creative and interesting. The problem that I had when I watched it the first time, I had once again here. The fun factor that made many of the films so great just isn’t here. They tried to go scary and dark and they did try to add a little humor and quirky characters here and there, but it didn’t come together at the end.
FRIDAY THE 13TH is a decent horror film. In the end, it doesn’t feel like a Jason movie. It takes more than a hockey mask and machete, but that’s not to say that this film didn’t deliver in other areas. Had this not been a Jason film, this movie would pass the test as a decent slasher, but it is trying to fill some big shoes. I recommend this movie, but it could have gone through a couple of rewrites before production. All the elements were here for this to be outstanding, but it ends up being just good.
Rating: 6.5/10
FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION box sex has been released by Warner Bros. Entertainment and is well worth the price. You can own it on Blu-Ray by clicking here and go to the Facebook Page and like the page. Get your ticket to Crystal Lake and get this collector’s set.
