Friday The 13th (2009)

The original Friday The 13th was unique in that (spoiler) the killer everyone remembers - Jason Vorhees - didn't take center stage until the second movie, and he didn't even pick up his iconic hockey mask until part three. I was wondering what direction the remake of this classic film would take, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it rushes through the origin story (via an admittedly captivating flashback/introduction scene with an attractive camp counselor, followed by an abridged campfire tale) in order to feature the villain everyone wants to see - Jason. Though, I thought it was rather interesting to see the whole progression from introducing Jason, to his rise as the killer, and the adoption of his iconic look, all in one film.

Still, the result, while not a bad movie, failed to impress me terribly much. A lot of the characters (young adults, not teens) were hard to care about, being the stereotypical obnoxious jerks that you expect to get killed off in a slasher flick. But Danielle Panabaker (who I recognized as the hot teenage daughter in the magnificent film Mr. Brooks) looked amazing in her pink tank top and jean miniskirt (later swapped for a pair of skinny jeans in the evening). And while the naked flesh on display was mostly of the porn star variety (not that I'm complaining, exactly) there were a couple of hot scenes out in the woods and one really steamy sex scene, which deserves mention despite the characters involved being utterly without redeeming personalities.

As I read some comments from other viewers about this film, it becomes clear to me that this movie does indeed feel quite a lot more like another Friday The 13th sequel than a remake. And the way it's set up, it could well be a reboot of the sequel franchise - that is, a remake of the following story while still holding the original film as more or less canon. In any case, it's got the gore and nudity one ought to expect from a slasher, but I have trouble getting especially excited about it. If you like the series, it's worth a look. Or if you hate the series, but want to know what all the fuss surrounding "Jason" is all about, you could get away with watching a single film if you pick this one. I'd still recommend the original, however.