Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: The disfigured Jason Voorhess kills anyone who comes near the abandoned Camp Crystal Lake after the death of his mother.
Review: So now we finally come to the most recent entry in the franchise, but it's more of a retelling or reboot than a true remake. I actually really liked this movie especially when compared to the laughably bad "Halloween" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" remakes; those movies did not stay true to what their stories were all about and changed too much. This remake was true to what the franchise has always been about and uses a ton of plot elements from F13 part 1-4 to help build the story. For some reason a lot of fans loathe this installment, but I can't figure out why except for the fact that the fodder are noticeably annoying. I've heard whining about Jason being different, but he hasn't been changed; he's who he always was except that they emphasized certain aspects of his character that were downplayed in the main franchise. I would think more so-called fans would appreciate the many nuances and nods that went into constructing the story, but I guess I'm in the minority. I will say this though, what kind of respectable remake wouldn't include a Crazy Ralph reference?! Come on, his character was in two movies, he narrated the opening to one, and he has two wannabe brothers in two movies!
The movie starts off in 1980 much like the original with a character that, I guess, is supposed to be Alice beheading Mrs. Voorhees. This time Jason is alive from the start or something since his drowning is never addressed, and he watches his mom die. I think this is where people are annoyed, because Jason has more motivation for killing since he wants revenge, but how is any of this different than before? Isn't that what Paul says about Jason in part 2? Didn't Ginny try and empathize with Jason in part 2 as well? I mean, look at the lengths Jason went to, to kill Alice; he has never put that much effort into killing someone since. The only difference between this movie's interpretation and the Jason of yesteryear is that we see Jason getting angry here and the main franchise focused on his transition into a mindless, zombie killing machine--so much so that people forget his more humble human origin. This film's representation of Jason, with actual thoughts and feelings, bothers people, but it did not reach beyond the already established lure of the character so it works for me; this is nowhere near as ridiculous as when the "Halloween" remake tried to make Michael Myers a little emo bitch boy! Anyway, Jason's look has been tweaked a little as he's more lean and a lot faster, but he's still a large guy and his speed makes him even more imposing; this made more sense because the whole Jason walks while the victims run charade was reaching comedic levels. At first Jason starts off with the sack he had in part 2, but then he stumbles upon the hockey mask a little less casually than part 3.
The wide array of fodder in this movie is admittedly annoying and is a big reason why I have the rating for this film where it's at. The thing about most of the early entries was that they tried to make their characters somewhat likable or personable and not wholeheartedly deserving of death. It was only with part 7 did we see the introduction of a bitchy or douchebag character. Unfortunately, this film decided to make nearly every character a bitch, douchebag, or so stupid they rival Jar Jar in annoyance; that fucking Chewie character needed to die so much earlier! Thankfully we are introduced to the awesome Clay character, played by Jared Padalecki (Saaaaaaam!!!), better known for his role on "Supernatural." Essentially he is the Rob character from part 4 except he is significantly more pivotal to the main story which is what I wish part 4 had focused on. There are a few other decent characters like Jenna and the sheriff, but for the most part the fodder were the weakest aspect to the movie. The kills are excellent and varied a good degree in how Jason dispatched of all these idiots; I want to give a little extra credit for keeping things interesting considering this is the eleventh entry! The heart of the story is that Clay is trying to find his sister, Whitney, but unbeknownst to him, she is being held captive by Jason because he thinks she looks like the mom I guess. Once everyone is sliced and diced, Clay and Whitney must fight Jason who is chasing them all over a rundown Camp Crystal Lake. The defeat for Jason is surprisingly devastating as he has his head ripped open by a wood chipper, he's strangled by a chain, and he has a machete plunged through his chest. Later, Clay and Whitney dump Jason's body in Crystal Lake, but he comes ripping up through the dock and grabs Whitney in classic slow motion. Not sure how he took that much abuse and lived, but if we ever see a sequel I guess they will be going right for the zombie-Jason route.
I can completely understand criticism of this film, but I do not agree with most complaints as they're unfounded and show a lack of understanding of the evolution of Jason from film to film. Now if people were expecting a straight up remake of the original with a new Mrs. Voorhees running around, that's a fair argument, but what would have been the point? I will agree with fans that the characters were stupid and maybe even the most annoying in the whole franchise, Jason's look and feel could be a turnoff, and they did not really add anything we hadn't seen before. On the other end of the spectrum, I liked the exploration of Jason's character and the emphasis that was placed on him killing because of the mom's death; it's just important that people remember that that was always Jason's reason for killing. The deaths were great, the girls are hot, the music was a decent addition, the pacing worked nicely considering this is the longest F13 film, and there were enough references to the past films and nuances to create a faithful update to the series. And there you have it, another franchise down, and the poetic end of the F13 reviews on Friday the 13th. Hope you can do a marathon or something to celebrate!
Notable Moment: When Jenna is killed, because you think she will be one of the main survivors and her death comes so unexpectedly.
Final Rating: 6/10
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