There is a saying running around the fan base of many genres – ESPECIALLY horror. A lovely two-word phrase that says it all: remakes suck. I’ve covered this partially in my review on Rob Zombie’s version of Halloween. Do you know what today is? It’s Friday the 13th and it’s his birthday! Yes – I was worried when I heard about the Friday the 13th remake. Unlike Halloween, Friday the 13th is more of a reimagining of the franchise whereas Halloween was more linear and just expanding upon the story and mythos of the story.
F13 is one of those movies that I remember with vivid accuracy; a clarity that only drunken frat boys wish they had after an evening of boozing and that goat they have no idea of how it got there. I remember Betsy Palmer coming for those silly, sex starved camp counselors and how she lost her head over the entire matter. I remember Steve Dash (Jason in part II) being called out by a would-be victim when she successfully touches on his mommy issues. He tilts his head to the side like a puppy hearing a different sound. I even remember Friday the 13th in 3D and my two favorites: part IV and V where Mr. Feldman played Tommy. The point is if you remember the old F13 movies you will see many elements in this remake that will strike a chord.
I love how they played homage to many of the films down to the hood in part II and a couple death scenes. This film was directed by the same guy that did the Chainsaw remake and you can tell because there are some similar things he kind of stole from there. Derek Mears IS the new Jason – no bones about it. And guess what? He runs. He has purpose. And even though Jason was a deformed little monkey he was one hell of a camper – makes sense considering his mom was pretty much the camp guru.
There are so many little details here that will have you coming back to see it a few more times to make sure you didn’t miss anything. The acting was really well done and there was humor thrown in to draw you away from some of the jumps which is rarely done. Life is funny – even in horrific situations.
Jared Padalecki (from the WB’s – wait – is it the WB or the CW? Aww who cares..anyway.. he’s on Supernatural) plays Clay; a guilty “bad boy” looking for his sister Whitney that went missing a month prior. Problem is that the local police tell him to look somewhere else but the actual locals (I swear I think I know some of these people) pretty much tell him to leave cause she’s dead and “he” wants to be left alone. Clay runs into a group of college kids out for some relaxing – shame. It’s the age old story… smoke weed – die, get laid – die, eat Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat – die (but you won’t be hungry).
Friday the 13th is truly a honoring of those that came before it and Derek Mears as Jason brings something new to the character that other directors and producers weren’t willing to do. There was a soul there – he was of a man than a monster despite his appearances. He was discarded and witnessed his mother’s demise and formed a delusional fantasy and killing itch to survive. He’s no longer a paranormal force of wrath; a death omen if you will, but a man that runs and uses a network of underground tunnels to “get the jump” on those stupid kids.
It’s a very rare occasion that I attend a film in a theater where the viewers actually clap and cheer at the end of the movie – but this was one of those times. A special note has to be thrown out there about the pre-title sequence (for those not up on lingo this is usually the “hook” in a movie that occurs before the actual title of the movie appears on screen and don’t worry – not every movie does this). It blew me the hell away and I doubt it could be topped. It was like a 10-15 minute short film that really brought you into the story. There was a lot of funny stuff and many creative death sequences.
All I have to say is… SEE it.. you don’t want to make Jason mad…
—————————
MORE INFORMATION
—————————
http://www.fridaythe13thmovie.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758746
