Having watched this entire franchise over the course of two weeks, the movies are all fairly fresh in my mind & I was looking forward to seeing how this one dealt with the old ones. I saw this in the theater when it came out and only remembered one thing about it - and that is what I consider to be about the most brutal death that Jason has doled out. These are campy films with campy deaths....but being strung up in a sleeping bag over a campfire and being slowly roasted to death is about as horrible a death as I could think up.
Oh...and also....there is Amanda Righetti.
They did a decent job of hitting some major plot points (to the extent that these movies have plots) of the first four films, so it's hard to classify this as a straight-up remake of the original film. But it also fails to acknowledge much of what came after Part IV, so it's also not really a sequel. It's a bit of this & a bit of that.
But, as with all of the post-Paramount films (although this film was actually a co-production with New Line Cinema), these are not so much Friday the 13th films as they are horror films featuring some version of Jason that isn't quite the Jason of the original films.
The Jason of this film is simply too conscious, too plotting & planning, and....too fast.
One thing that has made most of these films somewhat boring is that Jason seemingly has no Achilles heel. I mean, what villain doesn't have some method - no matter how small - of defeating them? Jason's only kryptonite appears to be the memory of his mother - it is the only reveal that Jason may have an iota of humanity. But this idea, which could have been interesting, has only ever appeared, until now, in Part 2. This idea, which could have been explored throughout the length of the series, ends up being nothing more than a plot device, a way to exploit his last remaining humanity for the final escape which we know must eventually come. The idea that Jason would actually take Whitney hostage is such an incredible betrayal of the character. To what end is he holding her? If he has enough intelligence to take her hostage, isn't he aware that his mother is already dead? I mean - he cares for his mother so much he keeps her decapitated head....above the toilet? Is Whitney being given food & water? She must be....for someone held captive for six weeks, she seems to be fairly healthy.
Giving Jason some actual humanity, some actual intelligence, wouldn't have been a bad thing to explore over time, and I'm surprised no film ever really tried it until now. But it's half-baked and leaves the film confused.
I know characterization isn't a big deal with these films...but let's talk about the group of friends - the one led by Trent, whose father owns the nice house on the lake. How are these people even friends with each other? Trent is the good looking rich kid with the big house who seems to hate fun and every single person who he took on vacation with him. "Don't touch that table"...."beer pong should be played outside"...."I don't want to go hiking"...."don't touch my boat". Not to mention how he treats Clay in the beginning of the film who just wants to find his missing sister. Fuck you, Trent....fuck you. You suck and I'm glad you're dead. One of the least likable characters in the entire franchise....his "friends" deserved better.
Cool to see Ben Feldman who plays Richie in the prologue of the film (the guy who gets his foot caught in the bear trip and whose girlfriend burns to death) who was great in Silicon Valley.
And, of course....*sigh*....Amanda
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