New 'Friday the 13th' movie pays homage to predecessors

02/20/09 - Remakes (or "re-imaginings") seem to be all the rage in Hollywood lately. Personally, I don't have much of a problem with them. There have been so many films over the past century or so that a truly original film is fairly rare. Horror films, more than any other genre, seem to be getting remake-treatment overkill. Some excellent horror films have come out of this ("The Hills Have Eyes," 2006; "Halloween," 2007), but some truly awful ones have as well ("The Fog," 2005; "House of Wax," 2005). I was not a fan of director Marcus Nispel's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I heard he was remaking "Friday the 13th."

"Friday the 13th" (1980) hasn't held up as well as slashers like "Halloween" and "Nightmare on Elm Street," so it seems like a good choice for a remake: the original is fairly dated and the sequels couldn't get any worse. "Jason X," the last film in the series (ignoring "Freddy vs. Jason"), was absolutely awful in every way. It was about time someone updated the series or tried something new (without sending Jason to Hell or outer space).

"Friday the 13th" (2009) starts off with a nod to the original film. The new film is more of a remake of the first two sequels to "Friday the 13th" (1980) than the original. Those who have seen the original know (spoilers here) that Jason's mother was the killer, not Jason.

I wasn't surprised that they wanted to rush Jason right into the killings in the remake, but they did acknowledge his mother's role. Afterwards, Jason picks off a group of teenagers camping out near Camp Crystal Lake, with very bloody results. This is all before the opening title, by the way.

Six weeks after this string of killings, Clay (played by Jared Padalecki of TV's "Supernatural") sets off to Crystal Lake to find his missing sister. He meets up with a group of horny teenagers partying in the woods and all chaos ensues. Yes, the usual slasher movie rules apply here. Anyone who drinks, does drugs or has premarital sex will probably be decapitated before the credits role.

That's problem No. 1 with Friday the 13th: the characters are all unlikable slasher movie stereotypes. There is Trent (seriously, has there ever been a character named Trent that wasn't a douchebag?; the rich kid that invites everyone to his cabin in the woods and hates Clay; Chewie, the goofy stoner that just wants to have a good time; Jenna, Trent's sensitive, naive girlfriend who likes Clay; and a handful of other teenagers planning on spending the weekend smoking pot, playing beer pong and wearing little to no clothing.

The only character who is fleshed out at all is Clay, so it's hard to care who lives or dies. That's not to say any of the acting is particularly bad; I just felt like the actors weren't given much to do with their parts.

My other big problem with the film is a development in the story that happens about a third of the way in. It involves Clay's sister, but I'd be giving too much away if I said anything else about it. I'm fairly certain that anyone who sees the film will know what I'm talking about. It's an illogical plot development that kept me waiting for an explanation that I never really received.

One thing I enjoyed about "Friday the 13th" is the many tributes it pays to previous films in the series. The film doesn't forget that Jason didn't always have his signature hockey mask, and it shows his various incarnations. There's also a screwdriver scene that will make any fans of "Part II" smile. The film has a sense of humor too. It's difficult for a slasher film to be played completely straight (especially since "Scream"), and I was pleased to see that both this film and last month's "My Bloody Valentine" remake were fairly self-aware.

Despite its issues, "Friday the 13th" was an enjoyable 90 minutes. It just didn't do enough to set itself apart from other films in the genre.

Although many won't agree with me, I thought Rob Zombie did a spectacular job re-imagining "Halloween" in 2007. He took the story from the original and injected it with a stylish, modern feel.

"Friday the 13th" is a step up from any of the sequels released in the past 25 years or so, but doesn't offer anything other than cheap scares, nudity and gore. If that's what you're looking for, though, then "Friday the 13th" will probably be a great way to spend a Friday night.