Despite my disdain for remakes I have invested, from time to time, my hard earned money to buy DVDs of some of Hollywood's more famous horror movies. My most recent purchase in this regard was buying DVDs of the updated "Friday The 13th" and "My Bloody Valentine" films. I'll first offer my thoughts on the former, Friday The 13th(2009), directed by Marcus Nispel.
As remakes of classic slasher horror films go I'd rate this one better than average but not a film I would describe as "good". The makeup effects and special effects regarding Jason Voorhee's kills are predictably excellent. The acting is, well, predictably average to stale but given this genre of film I don't think anyone in their right mind would expect any Oscars to be awarded to this movie. Give credit to Derek Mears, who played "Jason Voorhees" in this film, who seemed to infuse Voorhees with a little more enthusiasm, and agility, than the more plodding style of previous "Voorhees" actor Kane Hodder. (I like all of Hodder's performances in the previous "Friday" films, by the way)
As before in the '80's franchise of "Friday" films, Jason Voorhees is a hulking, grubby looking and seriously disfigured fellow who goes on a murderous rampage at Camp Crystal Lake. Several sullen locals warn the group of young people, which includes the requisite young and buxom females and beer swilling, marijuana smoking male counterparts, to stay away from the lake and surrounding areas. The group doesn't, oblivious to the danger. The young people quickly become, along with two locals, lambs to the slaughter for Mr. Voorhees who, after a few kills, replaces the burlap bag on his head with a hockey mask. Obviously this does nothing to improve the killer's appearance but it does satisfy those fans of the '80 franchise, like myself, that have come to associate Voorhees with the hockey mask. The victims are systemically hacked, impaled or outright butchered by Voorhees.
The kills in this update of the '80's classics are similar to those of the second "Friday" film(in 1981) when Jason took over where his deranged mother left off(in the 1980 original): there are impalings, a screwdriver through the neck, an arrow through the skull and other gruesome shenanigans involving a pick axe and machete, all of which turn the camp into nothing more than a human stock yard of corpses.
Slasher horror film fans will no doubt like this film but after watching this remake I'm still much more entertained by the original and its two follow ups.
The trailer for Friday The 13th(2009):
