Just when it had seemed that Camp Crystal Lake was already well documented, we return. Things are changed up though, as this is a reboot. New Line Cinema wants you to go see the film if you like the original, but they want to twist the lore to create a new tale. I’m no fan of lazy filmmaking, but director Marcus Nispel’s take outshines the original.
The film kicks off with a recap of sorts, odd for a series reboot. We meet Mrs. Voorhees and she’s explaining to her last victim how her son Jason had drowned in the lake. This doesn’t last long, and soon adult Jason (Derek “Scariest Looking Man on Earth” Mears) is ready to do what he does best. I like this approach because it combines the story from the first two films. It makes me thinks of Batman (1989), where the audience is already well aware of the character and the need for an origin isn’t that important.
There were lots of surprises to be had with the film’s main story, so I can’t say too much about it. Typically, a bunch of twentysomethings go venturing near Camp Crystal Lake for a weekend full of sex and murder. That much hasn’t changed, but what draws the characters to the location is spiced up. There are actually two trips to the grounds. The first group goes in because the legend they know involves Mr. Phelps’ personal favorite crop. I like the idea behind this, only because having been to college I know there are a lot of people who would do just this. On top of that, the majority of the acting is very good. It felt that these were thing these people would say, do, and feel. Though there was one exception were the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship is compromised without a hissy fit. Do the characters do stupid things? Sure, but there is a layer of realism to most of it, enough to make it acceptable and not laughable.
I enjoyed the pacing, or lack there of. It was in the vein of some of the earlier films but very energetic. There isn’t a need for the characters to contemplate an escape plan, but things did suffer slightly when they realized their situation and some failed to stick together.
Reducing women to sex objects in slasher films is an offensive but common practice. Staying true to the root; this reboot goes back to tired ideas. Most of the girls are eye candy. There must had been more silicon than blood flashed through this film. I can however give writers credit for two things. One, there is no scene in which someone stupidly pokes Jason’s body to check for life. Two, no cliché “snob girl vs. nice girl” subplot marking one for death and the other for survival.
The crew working this film really brought their A-game by outperforming the material. The cinematography is consistently excellent; while sound effects, the music (hint at a remix of Jason’s trademark score), and the editing are of very high caliber for this genre. I’m sure that some of the hokier deaths were laser inscribed into the script, so I’m not blaming them.
The shocking thing about this movie, is not that it is better than the original, but it can now be submitted as further evidence that reboots can work. Rebooting a franchise seems like a desperate attempt to cash in with minimal creativity, but in this version of Friday the 13th it felt that there was an honest heart’s effort to make a decent film. Purest may be let down by the lack of gore. Many of the kills come with a quick edit, so I would expect an all-important “Unrated” version for home video. I have to split hairs and straddle the fence on this. It is one of the better films in its genre, but this is a typically a lesser mold in the grand scheme of cinema. If you’re a casual moviegoer not afraid of some shock, then it’s worth a look. If you’re a bleeding heart for this kind of thing, you’ll feel like a kid at summer camp. **½
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