Friday the 13th

There’s a lot that “Friday the 13th” does right, but there’s a lot more that it does wrong. Calling it a remake is an oversight. It’s not a remake, but like 2007’s “Halloween”, it’s a re-imagining. With Marcus Nispel giving the orders and Platinum Dunes behind the production, there really isn’t a whole lot of room for the film to go wrong. Considering there have been seemingly countless installments in the “Friday the 13th” franchise, I think it’s safe to say it has become a respected series in the horror genre. That’s the biggest problem the filmmakers run into. It doesn’t take much talent to remake a movie, yet remaking a movie that has become a praised classic over the years, now that takes a skill or two.

I walked into the movie theater expecting the next “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, a dark gritty horror picture that wasn’t afraid to take some risks and venture away from the typical slasher formula. Rarely have I witnessed a horror movie, particularly one revolving around a group of rebellious teenagers, where I found sympathy for the characters. With 2003’s “TCM” I was absorbed. The screenplay was compelling, the characters were likeable and the atmosphere was chilling. In the first five minutes of “Friday the 13th”, I knew it would be nothing like “TCM”. I knew I’d let my expectations get the best of me.

To begin with, there are far too many characters thus it’s merely impossible to develop each of their back stories. Of course, the writer had no intention of solidifying his characters. They were there for one purpose and that’s for machete-wielding psychopath Jason Vorhees to hack to pieces. This may not have been such a big issue had the kills actually been inventive. Unfortunately, there’s only so many ways to kill someone with a machete and it didn’t take long for the blade to go dull. It’s sad when the most memorable character in the entire film is the sheriff who has the least amount of screen time. Of course, Richard Burgi has proven to be a tremendous actor regardless of the size of his part.

“Friday the 13th” certainly isn’t a bad movie. Despite the lack of originality in the deaths of the characters, it was still fun (in a guilty sort of way) to watch them get picked off one by one. I also liked the new and improved Jason Vorhees. He’s far more brutal here than in any of the previous installments. Rather than moving at the rate of a tortuous, he actually runs thus leaving no time for his victims to get away.

All in all, the film is amusing and considering the number of lackluster remakes I’ve seen, “Friday the 13th” at least managed to keep me entertained throughout the entire runtime. While I wouldn’t advise spending $10 to see it in theaters, it’s definitely worth checking out on DVD.