Review: Friday the 13th (2009)

First off, I was not going to watch this film because I didn't think a remake would be any good but... 

Despite the title of the film being "Friday the 13th," this is NOT a remake of the 1980 classic. It is more of a film based on the first four Friday the 13th films.

I was a fan of the older films and some were better than others, but nevertheless they were classic films that helped shape the way horror films were made. I was hoping that a remake would keep the same magic that the original series had.

This movie was amazing!! It had profanity, drug use, violence, gore, suspense, and nudity. These were the staples of the films in the 80s, so it was good to see that this "remake" didn't wander too far from its roots.

My understanding that the main reason anyone would watch a Friday the 13th movie are blood and boobs. This movie delivers both starting within ten minutes.

The main focus of the movie covers two separate groups of party hungry beer thirsty kids who wind up getting slashed to pieces by Jason Voorhees. The real story line of the film revolves around Clay who is searching for his "missing" sister Whitney. The search obviously leads right to the forest's legendary masked terror. The "remake" is well-done on all fronts, with a solid story threading through rip-roaring horror blood and carnage, and a high level of sexuality featuring a gorgeous female cast. The biggest change is with Jason himself.

The character has been changed. While he's still a machete wheeling figure but it's not the same Jason as was in the previous saga. Jason is faster, more brutal, and less bumbling. He seems to have lost some of that no thought killer instinct that made him such an icon back in the 80s.

I found Jason to be a bit more violent and foreboding in this movie than in some predecessors. The characters in this movie were routine, but still interesting, even the story was good. I am sure there are some people who will complain about this movie.

Here are a few things that I had issues with this film.

#1 shaky camera syndrome. (it is played out stop it)

#2 Jason burns one victim alive. Jason does not torture ... he is a cold, ruthless killer.

#3 Jason does not keep victims alive and hold them prisoner. Again he is a cold, ruthless killer.

#4 Jason shows a lot more intelligence in this movie. Jason is not smart enough to pull off some of the things he does in this movie.


Bottom line … gratuitous nudity, sex scenes (with morality lessons), someone wanders off by themselves in the dark, completely pointless deaths, corny jokes (requisite for fun horror movies), a solid amount of blood spatter and flying brain chunks, good shock/jump scenes, and pretty good special effects. Awesome!!

Why reinvent the wheel? (the reason it's not a 5-star)

Body count 14 (13 of which are killed by Jason).

If you are a fan ... WATCH THIS MOVIE! It will not disappoint at all.

I'll give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.