You all know the story at this point. You know about Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears), his mother, Pamela (Nana Visitor) and the numerous counselors that have died as a result of the two insatiable murderers. Friday the 13th tells the story of Jason, his mother and those victims. After the death of Jason, due to neglect, he and his mother go on a killing spree in order to avenge his own death. A slew of teenagers are the subjects of the Voorhees’ twisted games, and their intellect, physicality and resilience will be tested like never before. As the teens fight for their lives Jason becomes more and more menacing, pushing them to their limits.
In 2009, New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures teamed up to create a newly revamped and an entirely more modern rendition of the classic tale of Jason Voorhees, Friday the 13th. They felt that it was time to start fresh, attempt to erase the memory of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and Jason X and intrigue a new, younger audience. Modern audiences are accustomed to fast-paced films with as little down time as possible. Director Marcus Nispel and writers Damian Shannon, Mark Swift and Mark Wheaton ensure that modern audiences never feel bored and are provided that fast-paced, energetic thriller that they have become familiar with.
Franchises that span more than a few films often find themselves watered down by the time they reach their conclusion, leaving production companies with difficult decisions in regard to how to proceed when rebooting famously long series. Nispel, Shannon, Swift and Wheaton make the perfect decision when determining that a concise, but accurate adaptation of the first three films would make a somewhat high-octane modern-day mystery/slasher/thriller. Condensing the original three films (Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2 and Friday the 13th Part III) into one allows the company to speed up the action and save a little cash in the process. While the majority of Friday the 13th focuses on the events depicted in Friday the 13th Part III, the first two films are represented in unique and appropriate ways (never providing a lull or allowing audiences to become complacent with the story). The writing is brilliant, and audiences fall in love with nearly everything about it. The story is modernized enough to engage new audiences but stays true enough to the original story that fans of those films are able to appreciate what is done.
Along with the story, Jason is completely revamped. He is more physically imposing, meticulous, sadistic and intelligent than ever before. The writers find ways to bulk up Jason’s presence without going overboard like the franchise eventually did with the character. Friday the 13th sees Jason as more of a character and less of just a simple terror as he has emotions and outsmarts his targets like never before seen on screen. He is humanized like never before and audiences are able to appreciate (not like, but appreciate) his methods and his madness. In general, the characters present on Friday the 13th are more enjoyable and audiences connect better with them than most characters in the original saga.
With Michael Bay attached as a producer, audiences who are familiar with him understand that blood and gore are a must and that most of what takes place throughout the film is sure to be over exaggerated. While Bay sticks to his MO to some degree, I never felt that he or the writers tried too hard to accentuate aspects of Friday the 13th. All in all, the thrill of the reimagined Jason, the enhanced action and the delivery of the mysteries present throughout the film are stupendous. It seems impossible that a remake could live up to the original film, but Nispel’s Friday the 13th comes incredibly close.
Directed by Marcus Nispel. Written by Victor Miller, Damian Shannon, Mark Swift & Mark Wheaton. Starring Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Derek Mears, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
Comments