A Different Approach
Friday the 13th was released at a time when Hollywood was obsessed with remaking classic horror films. Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Fog, The House of Wax, The Hills Have Eyes, Black Christmas, and My Bloody Valentine were all rebooted for the 2000s. Most of these didn’t live up to the quality of the original they were updating.
Friday the 13th took a unique approach in comparison to the other remakes. Rather than simply refashion the plot of the original film, it combined elements from the first four Jason movies into one cohesive story. It’s a clever and creative way to fashion a plot. We actually see Jason as a boy, a sack-head monster similar to Part II, and the hockey mask icon. This succession of Voorhees incarnations doesn’t feel forced either. The writers paced these changes successfully.
Some people love this film and rank it as one of the best in the franchise. I have mixed opinions about it. There are things this movie does well and other things I just can’t stand about it.
Friday the 13th: Where It Hits
Let’s start with the positive elements of this remake.
The Opening Scene
The opening scene is a little over twenty minutes long, but it doesn’t drag at all. We are introduced to Whitney Miller and her group of friends, which includes her boyfriend Mike, Wade, Richie, and Amanda, Richie’s girlfriend. They are deep in the woods, searching for marijuana plants and decide to set up camp nearby. Whitney and Mike leave the group to explore the abandoned site at Camp Crystal Lake. Jason shows up and kills Wade and Amanda, while Richie gets his foot stuck in a bear trap.
Meanwhile, at Camp Crystal Lake, Whitney and Mike discover the shack Jason lives in. They find his mother’s head severed in the bathroom and drop it in the tub. This angers Jason so he kills Mike. Whitney runs back to campsite and tries to free Mike, but Jason shows up again and kills him. Then he goes after Whitney with his machete held high. The screen cuts to a title card right before he brings it down.
It’s a great sequence full of action and suspense and it’s elevated by great characters. Richie is a likeable asshole, reminiscent of Ted in Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter. Amanda is self-assured and has a sense of humor. Wade is a cool nerd. He’s a stoner, a smart-ass, and clearly the kind of guy who doesn’t give any fucks about anything. Whitney is the sweet, girl next door and Mike is a perfect blend of basic bro and hipster.
The Storyline
As mentioned earlier, the storyline is a combination of elements from the first four films. Six weeks after Whitney and her friends run into Jason, another group of teenagers travel to Crystal Lake. Trent, his girlfriend Jenna, and their friends Bree, Nolan, Chelsea, Chewie and Lawrence are spending the weekend at Trent’s summer cabin. Whitney’s brother, Clay, arrives in the area too. Similar to Rob Dier in Part IV, he’s searching for his sister, whom he believes is still alive.
Clay runs into the teenagers a couple times, but on each occasion he’s met with hostility by Trent. Jenna dislikes her boyfriend’s rudeness, so she ditches the gang and teams up with Clay. Together, they explore the old Crystal Lake campground. Unknown to them, Jason has Whitney held captive in an underground tunnel system below the site. Whitney resembles his mother, so he’s formed a bizarre attachment to her (a reference to the climax in Part II). And while Jenna and Clay are away, Jason begins picking off the friend group one by one, plus a few unfortunate locals.
With all this going on, it shouldn’t be a surprise there are multiple conflicts running parallel to each other. Whitney has to figure out a way to escape the tunnel, Clay and Jenna have to find her before its too late, and everyone has to figure out how to survive Jason. Beautiful stuff. Every great story contains high stakes situations.
Jason’s Brutality
Like most remakes that were released around this time, Friday the 13th is grittier. As a result, Jason is brutal. He’s runs fast and nearly all of his kills are fierce. He burns Amanda alive in a sleeping bag, throws the machete through the middle of Mike’s head, slowly rams a screwdriver in Chewie’s throat, and destroys Trent with a chainsaw before impaling him on the back of a pickup truck.
Jason is a savage in this film. He’s out for blood and doesn’t care who he hurts or how he hurts them. Maybe one day the young adults in this universe will learn to stay the hell out of his woods.
Friday the 13th: Where It Misses
The second group of teenagers in Friday the 13th are terrible characters. They are all stock characters that appeared far too often in teen movies in the 2000s. Trent is a conceited, privileged, douchebag. Chelsea and Nolan are the airhead hot couple with no personality. Lawrence is the token African-American that has little to no character development. And Chewie is the stereotypical tag-along stoner friend. Even Jenna, the angelic, final girl of the group, lacks depth. Honestly, she’s sort of just Clay’s sidekick.
Bree is the best character out of the bunch by far. She’s vivacious, pretty, and cold-blooded. How is she cold blooded? She seduces Trent behind Jenna’s back, an opportunity she’s obviously been waiting for. In the femme fatale department, Jenna might give Melissa from The New Blood a run for her money. The only difference is Bree hides her true colors. Melissa proudly shows her true colors twenty-four-seven.
And when Jason raids Trent’s house near the end of the second act, it’s underwhelming. He doesn’t chase anyone around. He sneaks in, kills Bree, and then when Trent discovers her body everyone runs outside. That’s lame. He should’ve at least had a one on one fight with Trent or Clay or knocked out Jenna. He should’ve done something that would’ve left audiences biting their nails or put them on the edge of their seats.
Final Verdict For Friday the 13th
Personally, I would’ve enjoyed this movie more if Whitney’s friend group had been the one we followed throughout the entire story. It’s not a drastic change, but it would certainly alter the plot. Some other misfortunate souls would have to die in the opening sequence and Whitney wouldn’t be Clay’s sister.
Overall, I’d give Friday the 13th a 6.5 out of 10. It’s not bad enough to be considered trash or great enough to be considered a high quality slasher film. It’s watchable. And that’s all a movie really needs to be.
