I of course grew up watching the
Friday the 13th series. I appreciated the boobies, but was never as into Jason as I was with Freddy and Chucky. I enjoyed the humor of Jason X and some of the action of VI and VII, but I liked V the best because it had the most (and best) boobies.
Review: Friday the 13th
The remake of Friday the 13th makes the remake of Halloween look like the remake of Psycho. In more intellectual terms, it is the best new vision of a horror classic.
Jason is back with his most devious kills ever. It's like Saw in the woods. He's not just brutal. He kills in ways that are just mean. He's the most aggressive Jason we've ever seen, and the greatest screams.
It honors the staples of the mythology but is able to get right to it. They address Jason's mom in the prologue, and they even do the raghead look before the momentous occasion of his ultimate identity. They've got the townies but not in a way that takes you out of the movie.
They get a little postmodern with jokes about the name Crystal Lake, but never take it into Scream territory. Most of the boobies are postmodern too but they make Julianna Guill's natural rack look even more fabulous.
They've really captured the essence of A-hole kids. The Friday films always had victims you didn't care about one way or another, but these folks are not just stupid. You really hate them.
This is also the only Friday that actually feels like a real movie. It's not just some knock-off with no names. A tracking shot through the van is fancy, but it's generally shot with intention. There's a higher tech sound design that really plays with the jump scares more than they were ever able to before.
I think this Friday the 13th is better than all 10 Friday's combined, although Jason Goes to Hell really brings down the curve for the oldies. It's the best Friday the 13th because it has technique and the best kills. They're surprising, or in horror terms, shocking. This will be the horror film to top come Halloween.
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