Friday the 13th Theatrical Cut DVD with Derek Mears, Jared Padalecki, Arlen Escarpeta (R) +Movie Reviews

Felt Like A Genuine F13 Sequel

C. Sawin | TX | 05/06/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1980, Pamela Voorhees set out to kill all the counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. Several years ago, the counselors did nothing as Mrs. Voorhees' son, Jason, drowned in the lake. Now, as the camp is about to re-open, Mrs. Voorhees has returned to seek revenge for her son and she only has one more victim before she accomplishes that goal. Unfortunately for Mrs. Voorhees, she didn't count on this particular camp counselor decapitating her and ending her reign of terror once and for all. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Jason was still alive and witnessed his mother's gruesome death. Now, in the present day, Jason is the one who seeks revenge and anyone who even comes near Camp Crystal Lake is at risk of feeling his onslaught.

It's been something like five and a half years since we last saw Jason Voorhees in the theater. So was it worth the wait? Does the remake measure up to the rest of the franchise? Is it a remake worth seeing at all? Does it continue the trend with 2009 being a strong year for the horror genre? The short answer to all of these questions is yes.

I've always been partial to the Friday the 13th franchise. Jason Voorhees has always been my favorite when it comes slasher films. So I was beyond excited by the time this hit theaters. The film opens with a flashback that chronicles what would be the ending to the original film. Jump to the present day. Some kids decide to hike out into the woods to have some fun and wind up about a half mile from Camp Blood. Everything is fun and games until one of them turns up missing. The survivors wind up exploring and get picked off one by one while Jason wears a bag over his head. After the scene in the trailer where Jason runs towards the girl on the ground and swings his machete, we get a black screen with "Friday the 13th" in red plastered across it. Six weeks later, Clay is looking for his sister, Whitney. She was one of the victims of the attack we just witnessed. It seems as though everyone has given up hope looking for her except him. Meanwhile, Trent and his friends are going up to his dad's cabin for the weekend which just so happens to reside on Camp Crystal Lake. It's basically just more pigs being sent out to slaughter from there. Jason's bag gets pulled off right before he disposes of one of his victims in a barn. It's there that he stumbles across a hockey mask and things begin to pick up from there.

The film definitely delivers in all of the elements that make up the formula to a Friday the 13th film. There's plenty of T&A and sex for any sexhound. I haven't seen any R-rated film with this much nudity and sexual content in quite a while. The kills are also pretty satisfactory for a Friday fan. I think Trent's death is probably the most memorable, but I'm partial to Amanda's death because it was an interesting twist on the sleeping bag kill. Officer Bracke's kill was also a favorite of mine. Then, of course, there's Jason's death. It's interesting since it seems obvious how things are going to turn out for Jason, but it winds up happening in a round-a-bout way. Something is thrown in there to throw the audience off and that not many would see coming. Kind of like a, "Oh, maybe he'll die this way instead," kind of thing. Thinking back on it, it also felt like a throwback to one of the earlier sequels, which is pretty cool.

We can't finish this review without talking about Derek Mears as the man behind the hockey mask. I feel like he did a great job. I prefer him over Ken Kirzinger in Freddy Vs Jason. He kind of reminded me as a cross between C.J. Graham(part VI) and Kane Hodder(parts VII-IX). He also ran at times, which may put some people off. I actually enjoyed the running quite a bit. It reminded me of Jason in The Final Chapter, which is my favorite F13 film. He had the body movements down to perfection and is a worthy addition to the list of actors who have donned the hockey mask.

My one complaint is that it seemed like it was hard to see what was going on in certain scenes. The camera would be too shaky or scenes wouldn't have enough lighting and be too dark. It's really a minor complaint though as it usually only lasted a few seconds when it did occur.

So, all in all, I feel like it was well worth the wait for this film. I am really hoping it does well because I would welcome sequels with open arms. The remake follows the Friday the 13th formula extremely well. Right down to the ending. I guess the only thing that's not like some of the previous sequels is the acting, which seems to be top notch for a slasher film. As a Friday the 13th fan, I'm more than satisfied with the remake. To tell the truth, it was just nice to see a film with Jason Voorhees in theaters again.

Rating - 7.5/10"

DISAPPOINTING, BUT WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? BUY THE UNRATED VERS

! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b | TRI STATE AREA | 06/20/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Friday the 13th series has never been known to be anything more than a pretty cool looking horror icon (Jason Voorhees) and a series of inventive death sequences and gore FX....don't get me wrong I happen to think Jason is a pretty scary guy, but for some reason I feel he has never reached his potential on screen.

Even though none of these films are all that great, I do like Jason and most of the films are entertaining for what they are. I watched both the theatrical release and "killer cut" of the 2009 installment and found both to be disappointing only because I felt they could have brought the series to another level that the character deserves.

This is a slicker looking film and Jason is a bit faster, but it's pretty much the same old thing. This film is better than at least a couple of the Friday installments with some nice gratuitous gore and nudity even in this theatrical version!

The killer extended cut has longer gore sequences at least that's all that I noticed. The way Jason gets his trademark hockey mask is also the same, but they do give you an alternate scene where they changed how it happens. I don't know why they changed it as I actually liked it better! The unrated release has two short extras about a 10 minutes each including deleted scenes and a feature-ette. These two extras are short I remind you, but considering the theatrical version has nothing!...not even a trailer, you should buy this version as it is the better of the two cuts of the film. My favorite scene is when Jason is running down a victim and he throws an axe into his back!....very nice!

If your a fan of the series you will probably like this film, but if your looking for a true upgrade in the series, then forget it. The DVD transfer seemed a little dark and there are no extras on the theatrical release! BOOOOO!

"

NOTHING NEW HERE, BUT A NICE LITTLE TIME WASTER JUST THE SAM

the masked reviewer | Boston, MA | 06/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"FRIDAY THE 13th (2009) is a fairly effective entry into the FRIDAY franchise. One could not begin to call it a remake in any sense of the word. (It doesn't even try.) The title is misleading. It should have a roman numeral after it.

The film itself has a rather big budget for this genre and it really is a bit off-putting at first. Having grown up on these low-budget 80s slashers, its disconcerting when you see a little more money thrown at them. Sort of takes you out of the genre entirely. We're use to seeing our cast and locations more cut-rate - except for the colors. The old FRIDAYS all seemed to have that bright technicolor look to them and nowadays the tendency is toward more natural hues. This makes the proceedings seem a bit less lurid in our opinion. At least they resisted the temptation to use those horrible sepia-like filters that they usually do in these modern re-imaginings. (Hmmmmmm . . . re-imagining is definetly not the word for this movie. It's really just more of the same ol' formula lifted verbatim from the old Paramount days. But in this case, that's a good thing.)

The timing is adequate, the gore is right up there and there's even a surprising amount of gratuitous nudity - just like the good old days. Our only problem? It just was not that frightening. This is probably more our fault than the cast and crew of the movie because we haven't found any of these things truly terrifying since 1978s original HALLOWEEN. But, it is entertaining -- especially if you enjoy watching pretty (but really stupid) 20-somethings being "thinned-out" from the herd. And Mr. Voorhees actually runs after his victims in this one - as opposed to simply teleporting from location to location. (Those of you familiar with the original films will know exactly what we mean.)

Certainly worth a look.
"

Jason Is Back, and Deadlier Than Ever...

Justice0309 | Joplin, MO USA | 07/23/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After hacking and slashing his way through ten films, although to be fair his mother did the killing in the first film, Jason Voorhees' film career looked to be getting more mundane and inept with each passing sequel. With every new installment the killing was getting bloodier and more pointless as each victim became less and less likeable; meanwhile, the stories were becoming even more simplistic and at times downright ridiculous ("Jason X", need I say more). Even after horror fans flocked to see the masked one go toe-to-toe with Elm Street's master of our nightmares in "Freddy Vs Jason", it seemed that getting Jason to go on another solo spree in a new "Friday the 13th" wasn't something fans were all that anxious to see. However, in the same year the two titans of terror came to blows, producer/director Michael Bay released a successful retooling of an old horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". With the success of that reboot, along with the remake of "The Amityville Horror" two years later, it appeared audiences were interested in seeing some of their old favorites dusted off and brought into modern times. This brings us to 2009 and the return of Jason Voorhees in Marcus Nispel's re-imagining of "Friday the 13th".

"Friday the 13th" follows the bloody exploits of masked killer Jason Voorhees as he disposes of any and all trespassers who are unfortunate enough to come onto the property of the now defunct Camp Crystal Lake. Six weeks after a group of hikers mysteriously disappeared near the former camp; a brother to one of the hikers (Jared Padalecki) arrives in search of his missing sister. At the same time, a group of friends looking forward to a weekend full of carefree merriment soon find themselves inadvertently wandering off the beaten path and catching the eye of Jason. With the body count rising as Jason mercilessly dispenses his sentence upon all who come near; survival quickly becomes the order of the day. The question is, "How many of these unwitting young adults will make it out of the area alive?"

After ten movies focusing either directly or indirectly on the story of Jason Voorhees, not to mention that after the fourth or fifth sequel the quality of the remainder of the films dropped drastically, one would not be out of place to wonder if yet another "Friday the 13th" was warranted. Personally, I've never been all that much of a fan of the "Friday the 13th" series; I was more intrigued by the "Halloween" franchise (at least the first two films and then "H20"). I will admit that "Freddy Vs Jason" was an entertaining horror film that was much smarter than anything either of the series' had delivered separately to audiences in some time. With that in mind, I didn't exactly walk away with a desire to see another stand alone sequel in either character's series of films.

With all that being said, perhaps you may be wondering why then did I choose to watch this reboot of "Friday the 13th", especially since I wasn't a fan of the character's previous films. My answer would be this, based on what I had seen in the various trailers for the film, it appeared that this installment may be a little more realistic and of a slightly higher quality than all of its predecessors (neither of these achievements would be all that hard to accomplish by the way). Written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift ("Freddy Vs Jason"), and directed by Marcus Nispel, who is no stranger to the re-imagined horror film after helming the reboot for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", this newest "Friday" film is arguably the best this series has seen in its nearly 30 year history.

The story this time around is much tighter in focus and aimed primarily at returning Jason to his roots, minus (for the most part) the cheesy dialogue and bad acting that plagued the initial series' run. In general, the plot is fairly believable, or as much as it can be given the type of movie and genre it's in; however, there are a few instances where we're asked to suspend our brains a little too much in order to go along with something despite it clearly being impossible. Another complaint was that for a little while early on in the movie I found myself wondering if I was actually going to see much more from the story and its characters besides references and usages of drugs and numerous sexual escapades. Eventually, the story finally got moving, and the sex and drugs became less rampant within the movie. In regards, to the dialogue, for the majority of the film it was full of typical teenage banter, but without it being overly annoying. Yet there were a couple of moments where the dialogue took a nosedive and became far too clichéd or inane for its own good. The plot point involving the search for the missing hikers was a neat way of tying the entire movie together, and provided one of only a few characters you actually hoped would survive through to the end of the movie.

The cast of "Friday the 13th" was surprisingly better than your typical horror film cast. That being said, there were still only a handful of characters that I actually became interested in. Leading the cast of semi-familiar faces is Jared Padalecki (TV's "Supernatural") as the estranged brother of one of the missing hikers that ran afoul of Jason six weeks prior. Jared brings a charisma and likeability to the character that allows the viewer to actually root for his survival regardless of the built-in sympathy card the writers have included in the movie for him. Joining him in his search is actress Danielle Panabaker ("Mr. Brooks") as one member of a group of friends that are spending a fun-filled weekend near the old Camp Crystal Lake site. Danielle imbues her character with warmth and innocence, plus there's a surprising sincerity in her portrayal that cannot be ignored. By all rights, Danielle put more effort into her character than any horror movie role ever calls for, but it was that dedication that elevated her performance far above those of the other actors playing her vacationing friends. The remainder of the supporting cast ranged from good to slightly irritating, but what else should one expect when watching a horror movie?

Lastly, I wanted to touch briefly upon the main driving force of the movie, the monstrosity that is Jason Voorhees himself. In this movie I finally believe that Jason could actually catch one of his victims as he is more proactive in his approach to "hunting". A much needed new twist to the character was showcased in the time the writers took in showing Jason as more of a predator stalking his prey rather than just a brainless behemoth. The fact that Jason actually runs in pursuit of his victims is a definite, and much appreciated, boost to how much more fearsome he is this time around. As for the Jason's killings, they are definitely prevalent throughout the story, and the writers have clearly taken advantage of the opportunity provided them by Jason's newfound smarts to become a little more creative with how he goes about his business. For the horror junkies out there, don't worry about your favorite, or perhaps I should say one of your favorite, killers going soft after his thirty year run. This is the most violent and hard-hitting of the Jason movies, at least in my opinion.

At its best "Friday the 13th" is a decently entertaining, fast-paced slasher film that cleverly combines all of the strongest elements of the first three movies in the original series while applying a modern twist. When not at its best, the movie devolves into bouts of irritating arguments and conversations that are pointless from the get-go, moments that stretch believability too far or just relying far too much on an over-abundance of sex and drug related scenes. It's not the best horror film I've ever seen, but it is one of the better ones that have been released here lately.

"Friday the 13th" is rated R for violence, language, gore, and sexuality/nudity."

Movie itself is great, DVD itself sucks

Michael DiGregorio | Croydon, PA United States | 06/26/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge fan of the entire Friday The 13th (F13) series. I went into this movie not expecting much but was very much suprised. It is a great entry in the F13 series, taking elements from the first 4 movies.

With that being said, I do NOT recommend the DVD. This DVD is completely bare bones and has no special features, no commentary, just the movie. If you want the special features, you have to purchase either the "Killer Cut" DVD (which does not contain the theatircal version of the film) or the blu-ray version.

Granted, the description doesn't say that it contains special features. However, I just assumed it would contain special featues, considering I know of no other big budget new movies released on DVD that don't contain special features. Older movies released on DVD sometimes don't have special features, but not newer movies, particularly the ones that are bigger budgets.

I have no problem with vieweing alternative cuts of movies. However, when I purchase a DVD of a movie I like, I prefer to buy the version I saw in theaters. I don't like being forced to purchase a second version just to get special features. Nor do I like being forced to purchase a blu-ray player just to see those special features.

Shame on the company who made this decision!"

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