REVIEW: Friday the 13th: The Remix

So, I got to see Friday the 13th on my 36th birthday last Saturday because the Friday the 13th showing of Friday the 13th was sold out. I did start to feel a bit mortal that day knowing that in my lifetime I have lived through twelve Friday the 13th films, and now with Hills Have Eyes, last House on the Left, and coming soon... A Nightmare on Elm Street all being remade I guess I might be at the top of the hill and about to go down age wise.

Watching Marcus Nispel's remake of Friday the 13th was fun but also somewhat of a missed opportunity in my mind. I am a big Friday fan, so I knew going in they were going to cram Parts 1-3 into one film. That's no biggie, but they crammed 1 and 2 in before the opening credits were done! So there was no buildup really of Jason and why he and his Mom had such a tight relationship. It was all crammed into a fast cutting music video style open. Lame. The slower methodical way of previous Fridays has been replaced with shaky cam. I have no problem with shaky cam mind you, but when it's done poorly it reeks of "hey guess what I can't figure out how to frame?" There is a lot of that here. And as a result it takes away from Jason's creepiness. By far the best scene in the film is when Jason shows up in a long shot as a girl is trying to swim to safety. It's a very eerie shot that actually works in full on broad daylight. And the kill of her under the dock is also the best kill. If only the rest of the film was as good as the lake sequence.




Derek Mears I think plays Jason and he is fine, but I longed for the days of Kane Hodder who played Jason in 7-10. That dude had it down. The rest of the cast shows up at a cabin, gets naked and gets dispatched but I was just really disappointed they didn't do the great 80's Camp counseler thing. (oh and all the actors look like Abercrombie and Finch models or on Gossip Girl) I think if your going to rebuild a legend, then do it in it's natural environment. I remember going to camp in the summer and the first thing we would do is start telling stories to girls about how Jason was out there and how he was coming for us. There is NONE of that kind of campfire-eque fun here. In fact you may as well just called it Friday the 13th Part 12, cause its in present day so if just forget the fact he finds the hockey mask in this one, it's as if life went on at Camp Crystal Lake.



Keep in mind I liked director Nispel's Texas Chainsaw remake, which was also shot in Austin, TX as is this one. But come on dude, maybe its because I'm from Texas but for me this was the most distracting thing about the movie to me. I would have titled it Jason Takes Tejas. Most of the other movies had a kind of East Coast Vermont feel to them. This is summertime dead tree Texas. I kept waiting for him to team up with Leatherface. (maybe that's the plan) But I never in my mind saw Jason in Texas, he lived on the East coast and ended up in New York!

Something popped in my mind though after it was over, The director of the TCM prequel TCM: The Beginning. I think its Jonathan Liebesman was originally attached to this, and he should of stayed on board instead Nispel. TCM: The Beginning is a utter brutal film, and this one is just a fun ride. Nispel just plain does not get the joke here. I had high hopes for my hommie Mr. Voorhees, but alas he has been dissed in another crappy remake. I guess as a fun slasher movie its not bad, but my hopes were higher for something that could have really setup an interesting new franchise. Instead there is really nowhere to go with a sequel without starting over yet again. Or maybe I'm just old.