I’m not a fan of the FRIDAY THE 13TH film series but there is no denying the impact it has had not only on the slasher genre but on the horror genre as a whole. It is one of the longest running horror franchises (unless you include GODZILLA in this group) and there has never been a doubt that there would be another film (even after the abysmal response to JASON X). If there is any franchise that needs a make-over it would be this one and when I heard about the remake I was actually intrigued by the concept as it was not going to be a remake of the original film (in which the killer Jason Voorhees only shows up in a dream sequence) but a loose origin film.
Hearing that director Marcus Nispel, who so excellently revived THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE franchise, was at the helm was a plus as I enjoyed both that film and his other film PATHFINDER, so, I knew the film was in good hands. And even though I hate just about every film Michael Bay has ever directed, his production studio Platinum Dunes has crafted some of the best remakes in the past few years. When I saw the first trailer of the remake I was hooked; I was definitely going to be in line to see this new Voorhees on the coveted day Friday the 13th (aka Feb. 13).
Boy was I let down.
Even though I had high expectations for the remake (which so very few films ever reach) I was not expecting this completely derivative hack ‘n slash film that resembled some of the worst FRIDAY plots from past films. A bunch of party and sex crazed kids go out to the woods for the ultimate party weekend and piss the “killer in the woods” off and then get killed one by one, all the while continuing to do the “stupid” thing rather then the smart thing. Is it my opinion or has the horror genre gotten worse over the years. In this new age of “smart” horror films (i.e. 28 DAYS LATER, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE MIST, THE DESCENT, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF), why is it still customary to have these throwbacks to bad ‘80s horror movies that don’t even try to be better then the films they are remaking?
This new FRIDAY starts off with a bang with the beheading of Pamela Voorhees (like the end of the original film) and then jumps to present day with a group of back backers looking for weed in Jason’s back yard. They stumble upon the dilapidated Camp Crystal Lake and soon fall victim to Jason’s blade. All of this is done with style and flair by Nispel and gets you hooked into the film (even though the prologue is a bit long). The running Jason actually is an improvement and as played by Derek Mears I say he is the best Jason so far, hands down. Then once the title “FRIDAY THE 13TH” graces the screen it all goes down hill from there. Clay Miller (Jared Padelecki) is in town searching for his sister (who disappeared during the opening of the film), again, when he crosses path with the group of party drinkers and sex seekers (that I mentioned before), none of which are at all remotely interesting.
Clay and the partier’s paths cross once they step into Jason’s playground, but there in lies the biggest problem with the film. The characters don’t actually have to enter Jason’s Camp Crystal Lake to be killed. The first two are killed on the lake (in one of the best kills seen in any of the franchise’s films); a lake, which is used by presumably hundreds of people all the time. I hate to say this but if Jason just killed random people on the lake all the time he sure wouldn’t have been able to keep himself secret for as long as he has. The next thing is that Camp Crystal Lake (or what’s left of it) is suppose to be on the other side of the lake from the house in which the main action takes place. If the two people killed on the lake had to take the car out to the dock to get to the boat (which has to be near the camp) then how in the heck can Jason get from his camp to the house and why would he even want to?
From the moment you learn that Jason did not kill Clay’s sister (but kept her as a prisoner in his domicile) the logic behind the film is thrown out the window and it’s hard to bother with the rest of it as each of the impending victims do the opposite of what they should do even when they are warned not to. The film is filled with everything that killed the slasher genre to begin with.
This isn’t all of Nispel’s fault as he brings the “scare” back to one of the horror icons biggest characters. Death scenes are extremely well done and the production design overall is better then all the other films combined. The cinematography is top notch for a horror film of this type but much of this will get over looked by the bad screenplay with all to often flat characters that you want Jason to kill.
Hearing that director Marcus Nispel, who so excellently revived THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE franchise, was at the helm was a plus as I enjoyed both that film and his other film PATHFINDER, so, I knew the film was in good hands. And even though I hate just about every film Michael Bay has ever directed, his production studio Platinum Dunes has crafted some of the best remakes in the past few years. When I saw the first trailer of the remake I was hooked; I was definitely going to be in line to see this new Voorhees on the coveted day Friday the 13th (aka Feb. 13).
Boy was I let down.
Even though I had high expectations for the remake (which so very few films ever reach) I was not expecting this completely derivative hack ‘n slash film that resembled some of the worst FRIDAY plots from past films. A bunch of party and sex crazed kids go out to the woods for the ultimate party weekend and piss the “killer in the woods” off and then get killed one by one, all the while continuing to do the “stupid” thing rather then the smart thing. Is it my opinion or has the horror genre gotten worse over the years. In this new age of “smart” horror films (i.e. 28 DAYS LATER, THE SIXTH SENSE, THE MIST, THE DESCENT, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF), why is it still customary to have these throwbacks to bad ‘80s horror movies that don’t even try to be better then the films they are remaking?
This new FRIDAY starts off with a bang with the beheading of Pamela Voorhees (like the end of the original film) and then jumps to present day with a group of back backers looking for weed in Jason’s back yard. They stumble upon the dilapidated Camp Crystal Lake and soon fall victim to Jason’s blade. All of this is done with style and flair by Nispel and gets you hooked into the film (even though the prologue is a bit long). The running Jason actually is an improvement and as played by Derek Mears I say he is the best Jason so far, hands down. Then once the title “FRIDAY THE 13TH” graces the screen it all goes down hill from there. Clay Miller (Jared Padelecki) is in town searching for his sister (who disappeared during the opening of the film), again, when he crosses path with the group of party drinkers and sex seekers (that I mentioned before), none of which are at all remotely interesting.
Clay and the partier’s paths cross once they step into Jason’s playground, but there in lies the biggest problem with the film. The characters don’t actually have to enter Jason’s Camp Crystal Lake to be killed. The first two are killed on the lake (in one of the best kills seen in any of the franchise’s films); a lake, which is used by presumably hundreds of people all the time. I hate to say this but if Jason just killed random people on the lake all the time he sure wouldn’t have been able to keep himself secret for as long as he has. The next thing is that Camp Crystal Lake (or what’s left of it) is suppose to be on the other side of the lake from the house in which the main action takes place. If the two people killed on the lake had to take the car out to the dock to get to the boat (which has to be near the camp) then how in the heck can Jason get from his camp to the house and why would he even want to?
From the moment you learn that Jason did not kill Clay’s sister (but kept her as a prisoner in his domicile) the logic behind the film is thrown out the window and it’s hard to bother with the rest of it as each of the impending victims do the opposite of what they should do even when they are warned not to. The film is filled with everything that killed the slasher genre to begin with.
This isn’t all of Nispel’s fault as he brings the “scare” back to one of the horror icons biggest characters. Death scenes are extremely well done and the production design overall is better then all the other films combined. The cinematography is top notch for a horror film of this type but much of this will get over looked by the bad screenplay with all to often flat characters that you want Jason to kill.
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