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He has appeared in over ten movies (eleven if you count Freddy Vs. Jason)
and unleashed havoc on countless oversexed and loaded teens, as well as
those downright unfortunate enough to have simply just crossed his path.
While the series, to many fans, became stale and largely self mocking with the "Jason In Space" themed Jason X, the character rebounded nicely with Freddy Vs. Jason and had many fans clamoring for a second match up between the two iconic bad guys.
Eventually the powers that be decided to go the remake route, which has proven successful with Halloween and My Bloody Valentine, and have crafted a new Friday the 13th which they hope would re-energise the series.
With an opening American Box Office weekend of just over $40M, we can now safely assume this one is "re-energised".
The
film opens with a modern re-telling of what was part of the finale of
the original film, and hits the ground running with an impressive
opening sequence that has Jason menacing a group of teens camping in
the woods.
The intense first twenty minutes of the film had the
audience gasping and cheering as the events set the stage for the body
of the film, which revolves around another group of young adults taking
a trip into the woods for a scenic getaway.
As the group stops
for supplies, they encounter a young man who is looking for his sister
who vanished in the area six weeks earlier.
Despite little luck
in his search (and insistence by the local police that his sister is
not anywhere in the area) he remains undaunted and continues his search.
At
the same time, the group of young adults embarks on a frenzy of sex,
drinking, drugs and carefree living in the woods unaware that they are
about to gain the attention of Camp Crystal Lake's most infamous former
camper.
As Friday The 13th
unfolds, Jason soon unleashes his customary brutality on the group as
well as any townies that come across him - and the film deftly mixes
some humor with classic horror mayhem.
In the time honored
formula, a group of survivors soon finds themselves under siege by
Jason and must find a way to survive his machete driven wrath.
While
the film lacks much in the way of plot and is loaded with a cast of
largely unknowns, the film is a refreshing update to the series -
knowing exactly what the fans want and providing plenty of gore and
scares.
Since the cast exists to be little more than fodder for
Jason, there is little effort devoted to fleshing them out as
characters (other than to provide excuses for most of the ladies to
shed their clothes) and a few of the male cast to establish themselves
as comic relief - or the jerk who is destined for something special.
Director Marcus Nispel who has a solid pedigree with the recent The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, viral videos of Resident Evil 5, as well as the pending Alice.
He
clearly knows his subject matter and working with Producer Michael Bay
and a script from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (the duo behind Freddy vs. Jason), have produced a solid, if not slightly "by the numbers", horror film.
Fans
of the series will note clever references to past films (such as
Jason's original mask) and will find themselves yelling at the screen
over the constant stupidity of the victims as well as the inventive way
Jason dispatches his prey.
There is a lot to enjoy about the
updated Jason - because while the movie is faithful to the character,
it revitalises him, providing a more cunning predator who is not above
using traps, bait and plotting to achieve his violent goals.
While there seemed to be a major plot thread left unresolved and under developed, Friday The 13th delivers the goods and sets the stage well for future outings of the machete wielding Jason Voorhees. DVD Special Features
There are some fun Extras included on this release,
and well worth checking out if you are excited about the new Freddy
movie (and in the mood for more slasher fun).
Included here is
"The Rebirth of Jason Voorhees", and some fun features like "Hacking
Back", "Slashing Forward", "Best Kills" as well as a bunch of fairly
lame Alternate Scenes.
Conclusion:
Movie 60% Extras: 68%
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