Friday The 13th (2009) - 4/5

I was shocked by how much I liked this movie. I mean, its still not great, but its a slasher and a remake in one bundle so I was expecting complete garbage. When Micheal Bay starts producing Horror films I tend to get a little nervous but one can't go too far off the beaten path with this franchise (did anyone actually like Jason IX or X?).

Believe it or not, this film has more character development and plot then a majority of the "Friday The 13th" franchise. Yeah, I said it. Not that I really cared for any of the characters, sans Padalecki as the concerned brother and protagonist, but it did. And the plot, although still pretty weak, is stronger then a lot of the earlier "13th" films put together.

Besides actually have something for depth (depth is probably a reach for a term I wanted) in the plot, its really Nispel that keeps they baby afloat. The acting is there and its fine but nothing that is going to keep me thinking about the film afterward. You have all your cliche slasher characters (slutty girl, arrogant dickhead guy, 2 random side characters usually a couple or going to be couple in film, token black and Asian people, female and male protagonist) so there is nothing new there. I liked the prolonged opening before the title sequence with the 'other' group that had many people confused in the theater (one girl ahead of me asked if the film was over) and some of the approaches to light and swift camera movements kept the movie flow going.

Most of my complaints of the film tend to be story induced and have to do with the many twists of the film. So prepare: SPOILERS AHEAD! As a fan of the franchise, there was many moments that didn't feel 'Jason' for me. The underground tunnels that the police had no idea about, the fact that he keeps the girl chained in his lair (I know they explained it as 'she looks like his mother' but really? That makes Jason seem like a serial killer rather than an animalistic little boy trapped in a monster), and his rather stealthy approach to everything. Its small things really, but as a franchiser I was concerned. That and the ending doesn't make a lick of fucking sense. Really, get rid of the evidence? Not a smart move kids!

In the end, I enjoyed this film quite a bit. Yeah, it has lots of cliche slasher motifs in it (lots of weed, needless nudity, and plenty of clever kills) but really its what someone going to "Friday The 13th" wants. Recommended for fans of the franchise to pick out all the elements from the first 4 films of the series, but a pretty solid slasher on its own. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider