Listen to Mother, Jason (Friday The 13th (Blu-ray))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Friday The 13th (Blu-ray)
Date:	04/11/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun horror, old fashioned (in a 80s schlock way)

Disadvantages: Opening sequence, been there done that (seen similar films, not killed teenagers)

Remake after remake after remake. This is the current state of Hollywood. So scared of spending money on a fresh idea studio execs are rummaging through their back catalogues desperate to resurrect a good name. Many of these new films have nothing in common with the originals except the title and the name of a character or two. Reimagine my disgust then when I discovered that my favourite horror films from the 70s and 80s were ripe for such poor treatment. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'Halloween' have already been sullied, but what about personal favourite 'Friday the 13th'? This was a film that was never the highest of brow to begin with, surely they could not mess a remake up? That is unless they used the same director as the 'Texas' remake!

Camp Crystal Lake was once a thriving summer camp full of children playing and teen supervisors getting into mischief. One courting couple were meanwhile engaged when young Jason was killed leading to his mother going on a killing spree some years later. Several resurrections of Jason later and time has had a reboot, the locals are aware to keep away from the lake, but what about fun loving teenagers? When Whitney Miller goes missing with her friends, her older brother Clay sets out to find her and something keeps drawing him back to the lake. When he meets a group of teenagers staying in a cabin he fears the worst, is there truth behind the stories?

Having seen several remakes and for the most part found them lacking any of the magic of the original films I was very dubious about 'Friday the 13th'. This is a franchise that resides in the shocky gory section of horror; a subgenre that has been taken over by the overly cruel torture films. I worried that Jason would become a deviant that slowly kills his victims in various sadistic ways; this is not what the character is about. Jason in a mentally challenged man whose isolated life has made him insanely territorial. He blames the excesses of youth for his predicament and lasses out with a quick and violent fury. This may not sound pleasant to you, but it leads to a far more entertaining style of horror than the likes of 'Saw I-VI'.

The opening sequence had me upset. The original '13th' stood out by eliminating a traditional heroine before the title sequence to great effect. The remake has a group of annoying teens. These youths got up to the usual shenanigans required of the genre. Those that partake of excess e.g. drugs or sex, are to be dispatched. This is as it should be ... and then. One female character is particularly rude and goes topless! Once again a must for this type of film; but she is fake *shock*. Can this truly be happening? Has the world collapsed so that fake ladies can frolic in my favourite franchise? Thankfully her time is short and when the credits roll things change for the better.

Credit must go to director Marcus Nispel as he understands that the type of film that a 13th should be. There is no torture on show, but lots and lots of short sharp deaths that are fun (in a horror way). There is no lingering on pain, but a quick note to see a person is dead, and then move on. For me this is how the genre should work and it gives the film an old school appeal. The fact that the drugs and sex rule are followed is also good fun as you are pretty much aware who is literally for the chop. I also appreciated the nicer girls that were in the film later on and forgave Nispel for the earlier sequence - perhaps it was a post ironic gesture to how the genre has dropped in quality through the 90s and 00s? Of course the calibre of women on show should not have any impact on the film - but there are also some very handsome men!

There is a sense of fun with '13th' that made me remember fondly the first two original films. Everything is bigger in the remake with more deaths and increasingly elaborate death scenes. As always the cast are pretty expendable as even the leads are forgettable (one bloke from 'Supernatural' and a girl from 'The Mentalist' is the peak). This is not a film that has been made to upset of gross out a viewer, but to thrill and entertain. If you are able to get past a ropey initial (post-ironic?) sequence then you enter a modern horror film that posses a lot of the entertainment factor of yore. With this in mind this film may appeal more to fans of the 80s classics, but also act as a nice introduction for younger film lovers.


Director: Marcus Nispel
Year: 2009
Cert: 18
Starring: Jason!
Price: Amazon uk £15.68 (BluRay)
Play.com £15.99 (BluRay)


Extras

I watched this film on BluRay and it was a very good print. A lot of the film is shot in the dark and there was little bleeding between blacks so that the picture remained sharp. Also, as a rule, forest settings always look good in HD and this is the case here; probably the best looking HD horror I have seen yet.

The extras have some fun elements. There is an option to watch the numerous death sequences without the boring talky bits in-between. There is also a picture in picture commentary which is an interesting use of the BluRay space.

Summary: Surprisingly fun remake