Friday the 13th - Movie(remake) discussion, grading and SPOILERS

[StarTrek1701]

Julianna Guill should be required to hang around topless everywhere she goes. "Perfect nipple placement!".

[Spaceman Spiff]

I got to see it with a pretty lively crowd, and as expected, it really did enhance the experience. You get so used to watching these movies on DVD at home that it's easy to forget how fun they can be as a shared experience.

Story-wise, it had its ups and downs, but I think it was a much more solid effort than most horror remakes. The obvious comparison is to Rob Zombie's Halloween, but they're in two separate camps. (Sorry.) This movie made more of an effort to be fun, while Zombie was trying to go for a grittier experience.

The main criticism I have about this one is, after a great opening sequence, the rest of the movie never really gets back up to that level. There are a few logic holes peppered throughout, but I guess that's Friday the 13th for you.

Jason keeping a prisoner was really weird. I get the explanation for it, but it doesn't really ring true. It seems a little forced.

The direction was competent, but not really all that good. The camera movement was usually too jerky, and there were only a few jump scares, and some of those were cheap, like the dog at the screen door. But a lot more could have been done to build the suspense in most scenes. The death of the character they were setting up as the Final Girl should have been a huge shock, but it was really just like they were throwing in one more body. That one really needed more build-up.

I also agree with some of the sentiments I've read that the kills weren't particularly inventive, for the most part. I get that, as that's always been a hallmark of the Jason films. You can't go out of your way to show us a wood-chipper, then not use it.

One thing it really did right though, is it made the dialogue fun enough that it didn't feel like it was dragging toward each kill, which is another unfortunate hallmark of Jason flicks. There were plenty of funny exchanges, and they managed to make some of the characters pretty likable. When Chewie went into the shed, a woman behind me said, "Oh, I don't want him to die." So they did that job well.

Derek Mears was a great Jason. He was pretty intimidating, and while that's not hard to do at his size, he was clearly acting under that mask. He was putting out some genuine hate vibes, there.

Also, the reviews describing Jason as a pot farmer are silly. I don't even think the weed was bait, as I'd guessed. It seems like it cropped up because of the events described in the credits. Pamela whacked a bunch of pot smokers, and the pot left behind grew plants. Seeds tend to do that. From some reviews, I half expected to see him watering them.

I rated it a B+. I can't be too harsh with it, because of the source material and the things they did right, and I had a good time seeing it, partially because of the movie itself, and partially because of the crowd.

[Aragorn]

John Locke taught Jason how to grow weed, and now Jason is selling it to fund his expedition to find the Island.

[Praetor]

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

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Also, the reviews describing Jason as a pot farmer are silly. I don't even think the weed was bait, as I'd guessed. It seems like it cropped up because of the events described in the credits. Pamela whacked a bunch of pot smokers, and the pot left behind grew plants. Seeds tend to do that. From some reviews, I half expected to see him watering them.

I meant my remarks sarcastically, FWIW. I think your comments were pretty spot-on, particularly with regard to it never getting back up to the beginning quality. (And technically didn't Jason whack the first pot-growers? Pam just whacked the love-making counselors.)

However, I disagree on the likability of the second group of characters. The only one of them I felt bad for was the girl who helped Clay. Chewie and the hookah bit was funny, but he still annoyed the crap outta me. I much preferred the first group of characters (the pot-ranchers ) but even they were somewhat 'meh.'

Clay and his sister I felt empathy towards, though, but you really couldn't help but feel bad for them. The writers did everything to make them seem sympathetic, right up to the mother bit.

[Bob The Skutter]

Yeah, my comments about the pot weren't serious either, it was just a thought that went through my head while watching it.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Oh, I wasn't talking about you guys. Sorry about that.

I was referring to genuine reviews in papers and horror sites. A lot of them didn't seem to be joking. I read one that claimed that Jason killed the weed dealer for stealing his crop. Seriously.

Praetor wrote:

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However, I disagree on the likability of the second group of characters. The only one of them I felt bad for was the girl who helped Clay. Chewie and the hookah bit was funny, but he still annoyed the crap outta me. I much preferred the first group of characters (the pot-ranchers ) but even they were somewhat 'meh.'

Maybe "likable" is a little too strong, though I didn't have a problem with Chewie and his friend and liked them well enough.

I mostly meant that the dialogue and performances were decent enough to make them believable enough as characters. Not the usual "these kids are here just to get killed" sort of thing. The characters were a few notches higher than that.

[The Evil Dead]

People died in entertaining ways, I saw some cans with perfect nipple placement, Jason Voorhees reminded me why he's the fucking king of the slasher genre (Beat it Myers).

I don't see many movies that get the audience to cheer and applaud 15 minutes in when the title card comes up. That's why you gotta see this movie in a packed theater.

A (for what it is)

[Gil T.Azell]

ManOnTheWave wrote:

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I haven't seen this yet, however, I like this idea that this film is a remake of the first three films, rather than just one. I'll probably see this now. Thanks.

I didn't know that , though the first clue should have been the hockey mask, as I thought Jason didn't start wearing it until Friday the 13th 3-D ( the 3rd film, and the only one I saw.)

StarTrek1701 wrote:

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Julianna Guill should be required to hang around topless everywhere she goes. "Perfect nipple placement!".

[Captain Craig]

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

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I also agree with some of the sentiments I've read that the kills weren't particularly inventive, for the most part. I get that, as that's always been a hallmark of the Jason films. You can't go out of your way to show us a wood-chipper, then not use it.

The kills were rather "normal" but I do prefer it to the torture porn of Saw that seems to have taken in so many. I agree 100% about the wood chipper though. Its one of my only real negatives on the film.

[ManOnTheWave]

For what it is, I give it an A. It's more or less a remake of three with bits of one and two used as a preamble. I think it's easily the best of the series, however, I was hoping for the film to get into the zombie Jason of later in the series. Perhaps the sequel we all know is coming will go there.

[Dream]

Awesome! Excellent! A+

Whatever the highest grade is.

That was easily the most fun I had in a movie theater in months. Loads of great kills, blood, hot girls, and the really long cliche horror movie sex scene. Sometimes you go to a movie just to be entertained and this movie did that well.

The movie also HAD to have one of the longest opening sequence scenes ever. I checked my watch and I think it went on for 30 minutes before the title finally appeared onscreen! Holy crap that was long. It was cool though. Sort of like a mini movie inside the movie.

We also got the closest we will ever get to a Friday the 13th and Supernatural crossover with Sam Winchester vs Jason Voorhees!

[Skywalker]

Dream wrote:

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We also got the closest we will ever get to a Friday the 13th and Supernatural crossover with Sam Winchester vs Jason Voorhees!

Funny thing about that, I think Jason actually was supposed to appear in a Supernatural episode last season, but either the writers' strike screwed it up or there was some legal issue that got in the way.

[Bob The Skutter]

Skywalker wrote:

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Funny thing about that, I think Jason actually was supposed to appear in a Supernatural episode last season, but either the writers' strike screwed it up or there was some legal issue that got in the way.

I believe it was legal issues, probably because of this movie.