Review by Peter Syslo
In the past several years, we have seen a slew of horror remakes (some better than others) and a few of the “biggies” of the genre have been included in that. Both the HALLOWEEN and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remakes have been met with mixed reactions from fans and the modernization of our beloved horror characters has seemed a little unnecessary (and a blatant grab for box office cash). It puzzles me how these remakes get the “green light” because most people that I talk to groan and roll their eyes, upon hearing of remake news. My whole position is that I would rather see directors make sequels in these franchises and leave the originals alone. If Rob Zombie just did HALLOWEEN PART 9, I think that it may have been better (the same goes for TEXAS CHAINSAW). In the case of FRIDAY THE 13th (2009), I also wish that it was just made as a sequel. But on the other hand, it's actually a decent remake/re-imagining and it does have sort of a sequel feel to it. I don't think that it is a spectacular film, but it does dish out what the fans keep coming back for – Jason Voorhees and his inventive ways of killing people.
FRIDAY THE 13th (2009) is directed by Marcus Nispel and is written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. The film stars Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Richard Burgi, and Derek Mears as Jason.
The story is pretty familiar territory. In a way, it is a combination of the first three films. It opens with an update of the final scene of the original film, when Jason's mother was beheaded. Next, the film moves forward, several years, and a group of teenagers/twenty-somethings are camping near Crystal Lake. They are hoping to harvest marijuana, which is abundant in the area, but they unwittingly cross into Voorhees territory and he hunts them down and kills them. Next, weeks later, a second group of teenagers/twenty-somethings travel to a cabin that is near Crystal Lake. The usual hi-jinks occur and the group encounters a young man (Padalecki) who is looking for his missing sister (Righetti). She was in the first group of campers that disappeared and he wants to know if she is still alive. Everyone gets more than they bargained for because, again, they have trespassed into Jason's territory and he goes on a killing spree. During the remainder of the film, you see Jason up to his old tricks, you catch a glimpse of how he lives, and you inevitably see him don the iconic hockey mask.
Okay, there are positive things about this movie and there are negative things. First, I will talk about the positive things, which include: Jason Voorhees, the neat kill scenes, and the whole mythology of it all.
I was mulling this over all week and I came up with this thought: if Jason wasn't the killer in this movie, it would have been pretty dull and there would be little reason to watch it. That is a pretty accurate review, right there. Jason makes this movie and quite honestly, he should – he is what fans want to see in these films. As for Mears playing Jason, I thought that he did a great job; he has that formidable presence of Kane Hodder and he seemed to retain the “animalistic” qualities of Jason (you know, the watching and preying qualities). They did speed-up Jason in this (which I have mixed feelings about) but I felt that it worked and they managed to retain a bit of the physical vulnerability, of the character. As far the look of Jason goes, he seemed to be wearing a little less clothing but it was still in the spirit of the dirty “rags” that he traditionally wears. Concerning the mask, he begins by wearing an updated version of the sack and then he discovers the hockey mask – which also slightly updated (but looks great).
Getting to the topic of the kill scenes, I thought that the filmmakers did an excellent job conveying the spirit of the original films. I remember going to school the day after seeing a new FRIDAY THE 13th film and everyone would be talking about certain kill scenes and the things that Jason did in the film. Surprisingly, the 2009 film brought some of that back to the franchise and I was very happy with that. Jason still uses his trademark machete, most often, but he also employs the use of a bow-and-arrow, an ax, and his bare hands. For the most part, the kill scenes each had their own identities and were memorable. My favorite kill was when a girl swam under a dock to hide from Jason. He plunges the machete straight down into her head, lifts up her body when he withdraws the blade, her head hits the bottom of the dock, and she falls back into the water as she slides off of the machete. That's a classic FRIDAY kill and things like that made the movie better.
Aside from that, the whole mythology of the character of Jason gave this film a boost. It seemed like the filmmakers were fans of the original franchise because they did remain faithful to the Voorhees story. They did attempt to add content involving Jason's “lair” (which I thought was a negative) but overall, they kept the story to its roots and I was pleased with that.
Now, I'll just take a minute to sum up the negatives of the film. First, the cast is extremely annoying and you could take 'em or leave 'em – it's that kind of thing. Basically, the best actors in the movie were Mears as Jason and Richard Burgi as the Sheriff. All of the young actors brought little to their roles and they were not memorable at all. Sadly, there's no Alice, no Tommy Jarvis, no bicycle twins, and no Junior and Ethel. Those days of quirky and interesting characters are gone. Second, Jason's “lair” was an okay idea but it seemed too staged, like it was part of a display at the Universal Studios theme park. Also, the underground tunnels were an interesting idea of how he gets around camp so fast, but it really didn't add anything to the movie, for me. Third, Jason is a hulking man who could easily lift a 200 lb. guy with one hand. How does a 110 lb. chick stun him with a few kicks? Fourth, the film started out great and the first half-hour is very satisfying but it kind of hits a wall when the second group of victims are partying in the cabin. Fifth, the minimalist musical score worked but I honestly missed the classic Manfredini themes. Finally, the end fight is a little disappointing. I don't want to give anything away, but I felt it could have been a little more imaginative. Although, the epilogue scene is excellent and it is exactly what you want to see.
Gnawing through the flesh: So, the verdict is that FRIDAY THE 13th 2009 is a decent entry into the series and it isn't a bad remake/re-imagining. It does have its flaws, and maybe I am being tough on it because I am a fan of the franchise, but I do think that the Jason aspects of it were very good and it does show promise for new sequels. Basically, this one was about parts 1, 2, and 3. If they did the next one (the 13th one, by the way) with a Tommy Jarvis storyline, it could possibly quick ass. Who knows? We'll have to wait and while I am waiting, I give FRIDAY THE 13th 2009 a 6/10.