I will die on the hill that says the 2009 Friday the 13th was awesome! I saw this in the theatre and I could not have been any more thrilled by what I saw! This is a reboot of the series and it plays it very close to the first few movies. That was actually one of the things people criticized the movie for, which is just crazy to me.
How to Download Friday the 13th (2009)
Friday the 13th was released on February 13, 2009. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. The Movie Review
At the end of the day, this is about as typical a Friday the 13th movie as you can get, just made for modern audiences, what more did people want? I really do not see what more they could have done with this and I do not see how if you like the franchise, you had a problem with the movie when arguably the first four movies were all very similar!
A Nostalgic Beginning
The movie starts with a flashback to the early 80s when a young Jason sees his mother beheaded! The movie then fast forwards to modern times where a group of young people are looking for a huge crop of weed that is being grown in the woods near Crystal Lake. As you would expect, this is Jason’s territory and he is not happy about this and gets to do what he does best, but there is a twist.
Unraveling New Layers
One of these young people, Whitney is not killed by Jason! Whitney kind of looks like Pamela Voorhees and this leads Jason to take her with him and chaining her up instead of just killing her. It may not sound like much, but I liked this and felt that it did add a little more depth to the psyche of Jason Voorhees.
A New Generation of Horror
We then jump forward a few weeks later to a new group of young people led by a major asshole called Trent heading to his place near Crystal Lake for the weekend. They do a great job of making Trent very unlikable here! This is a good group of characters, you have some attractive people, some jerks, some goofs and one that is very likable, Jenna who is the girlfriend of Trent.
The Pursuit of Redemption
We also meet Clay. Clay is the brother of Whitney and he is trying to find her, the people of this town not offering much help at all. Clay and Trent have a bit of a run-in together, but Jenna does want to help. As you have probably already guessed, Jason shows up and starts killing these people off in all kinds of gruesome and creative ways, while Clay and Jenna try to stop him and find Whitney.
A Return to Classic Slasher Tropes
To be honest, I get why some people may say that this plays it safe and is just another Friday the 13th movie. For me, that was exactly what I wanted. They did some stuff really right here. I felt that the cast of characters for Jason to go up against was excellent. You had people you wanted to see him slay in a very gruesome fashion, but you also had some that you wanted to see survive.
The Evolution of a Horror Icon
I also have to give a ton of credit for the way Jason is in this movie. This is not the supernatural super strong Jason from before! This is a more athletic kind of Jason and the first time we see him actually run and not just do his walk was so awesome. I am a big fan of the way Jason looks and acts in this movie.
Final Verdict
Friday the 13th 2009 did not disappoint me at all, actually the only disappointment was that they never followed this up with a sequel! It is a fun movie and one that I have seen multiple times and never got bored of. It may play it a bit safe for some and if the franchise has never done it for you, I doubt this will change your mind. However, I do not care, I love this movie and it is one of my favorites in the franchise!
