Friday the 13th (2009) by Marcus Nispel

Director: Marcus Nispel

Year: 2009

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Slasher

Plot:

Looking for his missing sister, a young man joins a group of friends partying at Crystal Lake, where they realize their actions have brought the attention of masked madman Jason Voorhees living in the area and slaughtering the group, forcing them to fend him off.

Review:

This was one of the more enjoyable and entertaining efforts in the series. About the only thing really wrong here is that the opening was a massive mistake, as to waste twenty-five minutes here with them since the first is only body count kills and doesn't sit too well. Considering we've only got slightly more than an hour left to go in the film, with the main part of the film being the second set of campers, and no way it should've lasted as long as it did, which cheapens the impact of the second group coming up. This could've easily been trimmed down, and that gives them more screen time to avoid becoming the stereotypical drunken teenagers they are that populate the original series. The other flaw here is the out-of-character move where Jason kidnaps the one, which serves no real purpose other than to get the brother involved, and this whole part was massively flawed and really didn't do anything.

Thankfully, the rest of it was utterly awesome with a lot to really like here. Despite the storyline problems, the opening attack is incredibly fun and full of action with three big stalking scenes, some brutal kills, and several solid, suspenseful moments that serve as an amazing intro. Other fine stalking scenes, from the couple out on the speed-boat at the lake, the initial spying scene that brings them to the full realization of what's going on seeing him maneuver the dead body around the abandoned camp, and the fine ambushes on the several friends who go into the shed outside which come off rather fun. The house attack is also rather fun as the closed-off location and darkened lightning makes for an eerie feel, the extra bodies piling up at the right moment and the panic leads to them falling victim to several of his set-ups resulting in some more deaths and making for a greater time here as lead-in to the high-energy stakes in the rather frantic, action-packed series of chasing is incredibly fun.

As well, there's the really fun and enjoyable final battle here in the tunnel where there's some really fun battling between Jason and the lone survivor, some brutal brawling that's vicious and intense while also getting in some decent suspense and action here from the rather fine stalking throughout in the creepy tunnels in his lair. This leads to a solid final battle that makes good use of his invulnerability as well as the knowledge gained by moving through the hidden areas and spaces within the tunnels and surrounding equipment since these get brought into the battle, leading to some creative tactics designed to stop him or shift the tide during the final battle. Along with a fantastic-looking Jason that's really intimidating at times as the trimmed-down, agile hunter makes for a fun shift away from the imposing bruiser he was before, and copious, well-supplied nudity, there's a lot to really like here.

Overview: ****.5/5

A highly impressive and enjoyable remake with a lot to like about it, there's far more going on here that makes for a generally fun enough time, so that the few drawbacks here aren't that detrimental. Give this one a chance if you're intrigued by the approach taken here, are curious about the franchise's attempts to reboot itself, or are fans of the creative crew while most others out there should heed caution.