Venerdì 13

THe Friday the 13th films have never been what you would call good movies. For me they have always been guilty pleasures, but not something I would recommend to fans not into gory movies where there are occasional scares but no real suspense built up. After seeing this latest entry, which is really a remake of the first four films into one, I can't really say its bad. Horror movie fans who love creative killings will love it, but if you're not a horror movie fan of the slasher genre, then I really can't tell you to see this movie. However if this is your type of thing, go see it.

Now on with the plot, which I really won't go into detail about because we already know what it's about. It starts off with a pitiful prelude that goes back to 1980 and found me rolling my eyes, but afterward it gets better. Young adults go camping, young adults die in nasty ways. THe one wrinkle added to the story is that one of the character's (Jared Padelecki from Supernatural on the WB) is brought into the story because he is looking for his sister. THis sister was involved with the first group of victims, and now there is this second group who know of nothing that has happened to the other group because it has been about six weeks since the first group went missing. You all know what happens next, so I won't say anything more.

Most of the cast was competent, better then many of the ones from the earlier films. THere were a few who were annoying, but that is part of the Friday The 13th scenario. I like the new Jason because he is much more active in the role, much like the Jason from the 2nd and 3rd entries back in the early to mid 80s.

I will give the movie a solid 7 out of 10. It went out and did what it was supposed to, but if you are more into the suspenseful horror films, and not hack and slash with a few jump scares, then Friday the 13th 2009 is not for you.

"Friday the 13th" is a Thriller - Horror movie in which we follow a group of young adults who venture to Camp Crystal Lake, only to encounter the iconic killer lurking in the woods.

I wasn't fascinated by this movie because despite the solid scares and brutal kills, it fell into the trap of relying too heavily on formulaic slasher tropes. The film's biggest strength is its ability to provide the kind of slasher violence fans expect-Jason is relentless, and the kills are gory and creative. The cinematography captures the eerie atmosphere of the campgrounds, and the tension is palpable in some of the film's more suspenseful moments. However, much like other slasher reboots, the movie struggles with its lack of compelling characters. The group of victims feels interchangeable, making it difficult to connect with their fates and care for them. Despite offering some enjoyable moments for fans of the franchise, the movie fails to break new ground. The plot is predictable, and while the movie tries to flesh out Jason's backstory more than previous entries, it doesn't do enough to make him more menacing or interesting. In conclusion, I have to say that "Friday the 13th" is an average reboot that offers some thrills for slasher fans but doesn't stand out in a genre already filled with similar movies.

(Synopsis) Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) travels to Crystal Lake, the last known location that his missing sister Whitney (Amanda Righetti) was seen. The police have searched with no luck, and Clay is searching alone. Local citizens have advised Clay not to go into those woods, because anyone who shows up missing is already dead, and he is wasting his time. Their warnings go unheard, because he must find and rescue his sister. During the search, Clay meets a group of thrill-seeking college students who have just arrived at Crystal Lake for a weekend of sex, booze and pot smoking. One of the students, Jenna (Danielle Panabaker) decides to help Clay find his sister, and they go into the woods. They find the abandoned Camp Crystal Lake and search the dilapidated camp house for any signs of his sister. They soon see why people don't come to these woods, because they encounter the evil and psychopathic killer, Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears).

(My Comment) This is your typical teen slasher horror movie. By now, everybody should know that you don't enter the haunted domain of Jason, or you deserve what you get. We now have a bigger and stronger Jason who hunts his prey and not only uses his razor-sharp machete, but other instruments to carry out his nightmarish revenge. There are some terrifying scares scenes that made me jump, luckily there was no one sitting next to me. If you like slasher movies, the hockey-mask wearing stalker Jason will not disappoint, and you will have a bloody good time as Jason increases his body count. I was glad when it was over, because I couldn't take much more of this traumatic experience. (Warner Bros., Run Time 1:37, Rated R)(6/10)

A group of young adults set up tent near the abandoned summer camp where a series of gruesome murders are said to have taken place back in 1980. The perpetrator was a grieving mother, driven insane by the drowning of her child, Jason, whom she believed was neglected by the camp counselors. As legend has it, the last survivor of the attacks beheaded the woman. But then Jason came back, and now he is a vengeful and inexorable killer, wielding crossbows, swords, axes and other sharp instruments. The legend proves horribly true, as these campers quickly discover. Six months later, the brother of one of those campers distributes posters of his missing sister. The police believe she took off with her boyfriend; but he knows better. The brother crosses paths with an uptight young rich guy who is having his girlfriend and friends over at his parents' cabin. The brother ends up at the cabin himself just before his sister's attacker sets upon them all.

In brief: we meet a group of annoying people who, happily, are quickly dispatched. Then we are unhappy to meet a new group of even more annoying people who take longer to get killed off. Didn't we sometimes see things from Jason's point of view in the original "Friday the 13th" series? I would have preferred to see everything from his point of view because I was squarely on his side.

It's depressing seeing this old schlock revived with a glossy sheen, a generous budget and a certain amount of technical efficiency. A certain cold, mechanical efficiency. Everything is shot too dark, with extreme close-ups of the action and in tiny little bits of film that race by too quickly for us to get a good read on what's going on until it's over. My frequent thought: "Oh, that would have been scary." Viewers unfamiliar with the original series will wonder about the superfluous back story regarding the mother, the single hint of the supernatural that isn't followed up on until the end and the mysteriously dwelt-upon moment where the killer discovers a hockey mask and decides to start wearing it. "A MYTH IS BORN!!" Give me a break.

A group of young adults, some in search of the elusive illegal herb, stumbles upon Camp Crystal Lake, where a legend tells of a boy who grew up to be a killer. A few weeks later, another group enters that same woods. The body count begins to climb... is Jason back, and if so, can he be stopped? Let me make a confession: I really didn't want to like this movie. I loved the original series of films, I don't like remakes for the most part, and with Michael Bay's name attached, I knew it was going to be an action-packed film done in ADHD-ready music video format. Sadly, I wasn't wrong about the last part. However, the film as a whole isn't that bad.

The Jason mythology is still here. His mother is still involved, there's still a hockey mask, and it all makes sense. I'm a little unclear as to why he has a home at Camp Crystal Lake (he has a permanent bed at a summer camp), but that's fine. We even have the brother off to find his little sister scenario, which hasn't been in the series since the 1980s... well done bringing back a one-dimensional character. Crazy Ralph isn't here, but an old woman does a weak job replacing him, which is better than nothing.

If you're looking for sex, drugs and rock and roll, this film has it. Plenty of topless girl screen time (thanks, Willa Ford), although you should be warned that the two most attractive women (Whitney and Jenna) don't get naked. Sorry. Marijuana plants and bongs are around, as is the Pabst Blue Ribbon. Some might say "if you only have PBR, you're out of beer" but I disagree. As for the rock... they had Night Ranger's "Sister Christian". What more do you want? The theater audience I went with enjoyed singing along.

Many good one-liner jokes, and the gore here is decent. I'm not going to say it's the best gore I've ever seen, but there's no shortage of bodies getting impaled, hacked up, shot with arrows... another reviewer summed this film up as "killing spree", and that couldn't be more true. There was almost no plot to speak of (this is the film's downfall), but how could there be when characters were getting killed off every five minutes? Derek Mears is a fine Jason. There is a better one -- Kane Hodder -- but Mears' version, where Jason looks like Darkman, is respectable. Despite all my misgivings about this film, it turned out to be alright. Not my favorite in the series, not by a long shot. But if you're into beautiful young people drinking, having sex and dying in bloody ways, this film should meet your criteria for quality. Next on the list, the "Last House on the Left" remake... if there's one film I think should have been left alone, that's it. But if they do as well as Marcus Nispel (a great guy, and director of one of the better "Frankenstein" incarnations) did on this one, it has a chance.