Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th (2009)
New Line/Paramount
Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Derek Mears
Directed by Marcus Nispel
OK, here we go again. Another remake/reimagining of a modern classic horror film. As someone asked the producers of this film at New York Comic-Con, “Why remake it?” Well, I have to give them credit for their answer which was, “Because we wanted to…” There was no smarmy answer about how they needed to recreate the film for a new audience. They simple wanted to make a film they wanted to make and have fun with it.
The movie in itself appears not as a remake or re-imagining in my eyes, but as a new story in the legacy that has become Jason Voorhees. Thankfully all the silly supernatural elements were left behind. It appears Jason is just the flesh and blood killer he seemed to be in the original sequels (i.e. Part II, III and IV). The film opens with the graphic June 13th, 1980, the day the original film took place. We see Pamela Voorhees and Alice in their final fight and Mrs. Voorhees decapitation. The scene was re-shot with different actors (Nana Visitor as Mrs. Voorhees and Stephanie Rhodes listed in the credits as Camp Counselor). Added to the scene is the arrival of young Jason who picks up his mother’s head. Of course, we are still not given an explanation of why Jason is still alive when he was to have drowned, but who cares…I’m just happy he’s there.
The movie then picks up in present day with a group of friends trekking through the woods which we find is part of the now defunct Camp Crystal Lake. And of course, Jason comes to find them. And what comes next is some wonderfully, brutal killings and intense stalk and chase moments. It’s nice to see Jason is no longer the lumbering, slow moving (but still he manages to catch whomever he is chasing) killer. Jason, played wonderfully by Derek Mears, now moves with a purpose. And of course that purpose is to KILL!
The story moves 6 weeks later, and then the movie becomes a textbook example of a slasher film. We are introduced to the typical characters: 1) “the hero” with a purpose (Jared Padalecki of T.V.’s “Supernatural”) who is searching for his “good girl” sister (Amanda Righetti as Whitney), who we last saw being chased down by Jason, 2) “the dick” (Travis VanWinkle as Trent), 3) the “innocent girlfriend” of “the dick” (Danielle Panabaker as Jenna) and of course 4) “the easy girl”, 5) “the party couple” and 6) “the funny guys”. The young cast does do a fine job to fill their roles and make standard parts their own. The stand out is Aaron Yoo as one of “the funny guys”. He has a wonderful delivery and a good screen presence. I hope to see him in more of a lead role in the future.
Marcus Nispel (who also directed the updated “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) did a wonderful job in the 1st third of the film, but then loses his footing. Because we have seen it all before, the movie does tend to slow down, as it becomes very cliche. He does a good job of trying to keep the suspense up, and does give us some pretty good kills. I just was hoping for a little bit more than a typical stalk and slash film.
In the realm of the remake craze, I have definitely seen worse movies and I have seen better. This film sits somewhere in between. It definitely has moments that give more to a familiar story to make the film stand apart, but then the filmmakers go right back to the well rehashing some of the same old stuff. Regardless, it is still a fun ride. But, once the sequel hits, which after its opening receipts of $42 million is inevitable,
I hope to see more of the fresh stuff.
