Post by Dino on Dec 21, 2010 5:31:43 GMT -5
FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009)
Directed by Marcus Nispel
Written by Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, & Mark Wheaton
Based on characters created by Victor Miller
I'm a big horror aficionado but of all the famous horror movies I've seen in my time, there was one franchise that no matter how hard I tried, I just absolutely despised and Friday the 13th was that franchise.
The original had an interesting concept, too -- a mother, devastated by the death of her son due to negligent camp counselors, is driven mad by her loss. That's a great idea for a horror movie antagonist. Unfortunately, that entire concept was completely wasted on a film that director Sean S. Cunningham said was "inspired" by Halloween (a nice way of saying "shameless rip-off" if you ask me).
Whereas Halloween was a great horror film in the tradition of Psycho, Friday the 13th was blatant in its lack of originality. A masked, silent, unstoppable killing machine whose weapon of choice is a blade? Hacking up sexually-promiscuous teens? I'm a little amazed Carpenter didn't bring a lawsuit when Friday the 13th Part 2 came out and completely cemented Jason as a poor man's Michael Myers.
Now, that's not saying I hated all of the movies. I get a total kick out of Freddy vs. Jason and yeah, Jason X was something of a guilty pleasure due to its sheer absurdity. So obviously, I'm not really the intended audience for Friday the 13th as the things I deride it for are the very same things the franchise's fans absolutely love.
When the remake was released almost two years ago, I was intrigued. So I watched it and I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how seriously the filmmakers approached it. This is much more polished than the original films, which may be a source of derision for some.
It's not quite a remake. A straight remake of the first film means no use of the iconic Jason, so instead, the filmmakers combined elements of the first four films. It opens in 1980 with Pamela Voorhees (Nana Visitor) seeking retribution after her son drowned because of negligent camp counselors. Just as she's ready to kill the last counselor (Stephanie Rhodes), the counselor beheads Pamela. Unbeknownst to either of them, young Jason (Caleb Guss) actually survived and watched as his mother was beheaded.
Around thirty years later, a group of college kids travel to the now-closed Camp Crystal Lake searching for some pot that's planted in the woods. They're found and killed one by one by the now-adult Jason (Derek Mears), with one exception -- Whitney Miller (Amanda Rhigetti). Jason takes her captive because she resembles his mother when she was young.
Around a month later, Trent (Travis Van Winkle) brings his girlfriend and friends up to his family's cabin, which sits on Crystal Lake. During the trip, they meet Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki), who's in town searching for Whitney. Amidst Clay's search for his sister and Trent and his friends' weekend of debauchery, Jason arrives to do what he does best.
The set-up is not much different from all the other Fridays but the devil is in the details. And this rebooted version of Jason isn't just a poor man's Michael Myers. There's not even any real suggestion of him being superhuman. Instead, he's more akin to John Rambo. He's spent the past thirty years living in the woods and so he's acquired a lot of survival skills. This Jason doesn't just slowly walk up to screaming teenagers. He's methodical in setting up traps for his victims to fall into. This Jason isn't a stalker, he's a hunter -- and that sets him apart from being just another in a long line of masked, silent stalkers.
This film also has something the other Fridays didn't -- and that's characters I actually want to survive. There are some characters who are absolute tools and you won't shed any tears over their deaths (Trent being the obvious one). But there are others who are really likable. Jared Padalecki is really too good of an actor to be in a movie like this, but I'm glad he is because for once, I care about the main character. Similarly, Trent's friends Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta) and Chewie (Aaron Yoo) are great fun to watch. Particularly Chewie. Aaron Yoo is clearly having a lot of fun with his role and steals every scene he's in.
Of course, we're not talking about high art cinema here. Even with the good elements, this is still a slasher film and like most slasher films, tends to be lacking when it comes to actual scares. But if you're going to watch any of the Fridays, you could definitely do a lot worse than this one. Of all the ones I've seen, this one is without a doubt my favorite.
(Okay, aside from the sleeping bag scene in Jason X.)
Directed by Marcus Nispel
Written by Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, & Mark Wheaton
Based on characters created by Victor Miller
I'm a big horror aficionado but of all the famous horror movies I've seen in my time, there was one franchise that no matter how hard I tried, I just absolutely despised and Friday the 13th was that franchise.
The original had an interesting concept, too -- a mother, devastated by the death of her son due to negligent camp counselors, is driven mad by her loss. That's a great idea for a horror movie antagonist. Unfortunately, that entire concept was completely wasted on a film that director Sean S. Cunningham said was "inspired" by Halloween (a nice way of saying "shameless rip-off" if you ask me).
Whereas Halloween was a great horror film in the tradition of Psycho, Friday the 13th was blatant in its lack of originality. A masked, silent, unstoppable killing machine whose weapon of choice is a blade? Hacking up sexually-promiscuous teens? I'm a little amazed Carpenter didn't bring a lawsuit when Friday the 13th Part 2 came out and completely cemented Jason as a poor man's Michael Myers.
Now, that's not saying I hated all of the movies. I get a total kick out of Freddy vs. Jason and yeah, Jason X was something of a guilty pleasure due to its sheer absurdity. So obviously, I'm not really the intended audience for Friday the 13th as the things I deride it for are the very same things the franchise's fans absolutely love.
When the remake was released almost two years ago, I was intrigued. So I watched it and I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how seriously the filmmakers approached it. This is much more polished than the original films, which may be a source of derision for some.
It's not quite a remake. A straight remake of the first film means no use of the iconic Jason, so instead, the filmmakers combined elements of the first four films. It opens in 1980 with Pamela Voorhees (Nana Visitor) seeking retribution after her son drowned because of negligent camp counselors. Just as she's ready to kill the last counselor (Stephanie Rhodes), the counselor beheads Pamela. Unbeknownst to either of them, young Jason (Caleb Guss) actually survived and watched as his mother was beheaded.
Around thirty years later, a group of college kids travel to the now-closed Camp Crystal Lake searching for some pot that's planted in the woods. They're found and killed one by one by the now-adult Jason (Derek Mears), with one exception -- Whitney Miller (Amanda Rhigetti). Jason takes her captive because she resembles his mother when she was young.
Around a month later, Trent (Travis Van Winkle) brings his girlfriend and friends up to his family's cabin, which sits on Crystal Lake. During the trip, they meet Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki), who's in town searching for Whitney. Amidst Clay's search for his sister and Trent and his friends' weekend of debauchery, Jason arrives to do what he does best.
The set-up is not much different from all the other Fridays but the devil is in the details. And this rebooted version of Jason isn't just a poor man's Michael Myers. There's not even any real suggestion of him being superhuman. Instead, he's more akin to John Rambo. He's spent the past thirty years living in the woods and so he's acquired a lot of survival skills. This Jason doesn't just slowly walk up to screaming teenagers. He's methodical in setting up traps for his victims to fall into. This Jason isn't a stalker, he's a hunter -- and that sets him apart from being just another in a long line of masked, silent stalkers.
This film also has something the other Fridays didn't -- and that's characters I actually want to survive. There are some characters who are absolute tools and you won't shed any tears over their deaths (Trent being the obvious one). But there are others who are really likable. Jared Padalecki is really too good of an actor to be in a movie like this, but I'm glad he is because for once, I care about the main character. Similarly, Trent's friends Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta) and Chewie (Aaron Yoo) are great fun to watch. Particularly Chewie. Aaron Yoo is clearly having a lot of fun with his role and steals every scene he's in.
Of course, we're not talking about high art cinema here. Even with the good elements, this is still a slasher film and like most slasher films, tends to be lacking when it comes to actual scares. But if you're going to watch any of the Fridays, you could definitely do a lot worse than this one. Of all the ones I've seen, this one is without a doubt my favorite.
(Okay, aside from the sleeping bag scene in Jason X.)