Reviewing Friday The 13th Movie: More Body Count

Yet another remake of an 80's classic movie has been released. This one is a reboot of Friday the 13th, the famous Jason series that managed 12 films since the original release in 1980. This one, however, is worth watching because some of the killings are inventive and brutal. And with Jason updated, he's faster and meaner. We get to see him run and move around, unlike the 80's depiction where he trailed and tromped and still managed to catch up to his victims. He's also good with the bow and a throwing axe, making him the perfect hunter.

Somehow, I believe that the film makers, Michael Bay and his crew, who likely saw the 80's series are not able to bridge in their mind the discrepancy in movements between hunter and prey, so they changed the formula a bit and created a faster, nastier Jason.

The storyline stays true with the 80's. But the entire first movie, is done away with in the first segment. Jason's mom is killed and young Jason later discovers her body in the woods. By adding this segment, the rest of the movie is able to focus on Jason as the killer and not his mother. Hence, in that sense, this film is a combination of Friday the 13th 1 & 2.

And as a Friday the 13th movie, the major elements of horror are there. Teenagers camping in the woods. Check. Hot teenage girls showing their breasts. Teenagers getting high on weekds. Check. Sacrificial authority figure getting killed. Check. Jason hacking away with a machete. Check. Jason and his hockey mask. Check. Jason as an invincible killer. Check. Creepy and dark surroundings. Check.

For good or bad, other elements are also added as this movie feature at least two actors with star power, namely Jared Padalecki and Amanda Righetti, as the brother-sister duo who seemingly survived Jason's nightmare. In the original movies, the actors are new and unheard-of. Even Kevin Bacon dies early in the first Friday the 13th movie.

Also, I like the play on with pot. We know that wild teenagers and pot are a mixture ripe for hilarity in the movies. But Jason and pot? In some of the scenes, you can't help but think and smirk...what if Jason is a pothead who is only defending his grove.

There are two things that are missing. First, the play on Friday the 13th as a date is not mentioned. I don't remember Jason's mother saying anything to indicate that day Friday the 13th is important at all.

More importantly, the eerie sound of "kill kill kill" is missing. More than anything this theme song defined the movie series. Instead, we get loud thunderous bangs that are startling, but not scary. Perhaps that's how Michael Bay like his movies.

All in all, the new Friday the 13th is worth a watch at least once. But if you and your friends are in the mood for watching Friday the 13th on a boring night, and haven't seen any of the series for awhile, you should watch the first two of the original movies instead. You'll see why they're a classic.

The author is a web producer and writes freelance on various topics including "geeky" stuff like Friday the 13th costumes. But also on how to plan careers, especially on finding the best massage therapy college.