Post by BIGFANBOY on Feb 12, 2009 3:47:13 GMT -5
FRIDAY THE 13th
Review by Dana Place
Starring Jared Padelecki, Amanda Righetti, Danielle Panabaker, Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo, Derek Mears
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
In 1980, Jason Voorhees’ mother went crazy and killed the group of counselors at camp Crystal Lake that allowed her baby boy to drown. This we know. Before the opening credits, this “reimagining” of the franchise plays out the climactic scene from the original film and sets up all the back story we are really going to need. Cut to present day and a group of friends are rooting around the old Crystal Lake campsite looking for a secret crop of weed that is ready to be picked. After they set up camp, the campfire stories begin. As each of the camp members wander off to search for weed, get drunk, or to have premarital sex, the fun begins. The first half hour of the film gives you a taste of the much more violent, aggressive, and sadistic Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears) that we’ll get to know throughout the rest of the film.
Six weeks after the wholesale slaughter of the first group of campers, another group of friends descend on camp Crystal Lake, hell bent on taking advantage of a loaner cabin for whatever debauchery they can get away with while being alone in the woods. While making a pit stop for gas, the group run into a lone biker (Jared Padelecki) looking for his sister, who was part of the original group of campers. The requisite a-hole of the group (Travis Van Winkle) blows him off and it becomes evident who is going to die. Here we meet every cliché in the horror genre: the hero (Padelecki), the a-hole, his girlfriend (always the girl with the best breasts and has no problem showing them off), the stoner (Aaron Yoo), the stoner’s buddy, the nice girl (Danielle Panabaker), along with a few more knuckleheads just to up the body count.
After everyone is settled in and gets a chance to do something that makes them worthy of getting killed by a crazed psycho killer, the rampage begins. The Jason Voorhees horror fans are used to what would probably be described by a famous doctor from another horror franchise as “pure evil” with “no soul”. He was a shark, sniffing out his prey and methodically killing with no real emotion or conscience, only stopping when he was stopped. The Jason of this “reimagining” is better described as a mentally deranged and physically deformed redneck who spends his time hunting and thinks killing city folk who trespass on his land makes for a fun weekend. He is fast, aggressive, brutal, methodical, and even goes so far as to taunt his victims. Director Marcus Nispel puts our doomed group in plenty of situations to showcase the new and improved Jason Voorhees. And while it may take a little bit of getting used to, it does make the killer more grounded and realistic. I think it is a refreshing take on the Friday the 13th franchise.
The formula for a good B movie horror franchise is pretty basic. Start off with a few boneheaded college students (preferably isolated from the rest of the world), liberally add breasts and plenty of blood. Mix with a few inventive kills and a pseudo happy ending, then serve to a happy fan base. Repeat until the leftovers are stale and inedible. Platinum Dunes seems to understand this and doesn’t shy away from any of the ingredients just because this film has a relatively big budget and a wide release. There are homages to the original series sprinkled throughout the film (anyone else out there wonder why a cabin by a lake really needs a barn), that will make serious fans of the series smile while not being so blatant as to detract from a movie that knows that plot is secondary to watching topless women and stoned men die in creative ways. All in all, while the plot and plot twists do pull directly from the original films and seem to just be there only to pass screen time until Jason’s next kill, this Friday the 13th is a welcome return to old school horror on a mainstream level. I’m sure by the time we get to Friday the 13th part 6: Jason Runs for City Council, I’ll be singing a different tune. Until then though, I’ll be happy to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
To go back to BIGFANBOY.com click here - www.bigfanboy.com