Friday the 13thAaagh, Jason Voorhees...welcome back ya big lug!! When it was announced that uber producer Michael Bay was behind the remake of the 1980 classic legions of gorehounds were worried. Could the man behind such Hollywood A-grade muffins like Pearl Harbour (peeuw!) and Armageddon ( one of my favourite films) actually come through with the goods? The Friday the 13th franchise was pretty much on its last legs thanks to the last few entries in the series and it desperately needed a new injection of blood. There was still a glimmer of hope, Bay also produced the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and that was gory good fun, so maybe Jason would be in safe hands after all? Director Marcus Nispel (who directed the afore-mentioned Texas) knows what the typical Friday the 13th audience wants, namely creative deaths, tits, a have-sex-and-die message and a MEAN Jason and all those elements are featured in abundance. Starting with a flashback of Mrs Voorhees meeting her demise the film moves forward to a whole new generation of current day campers/victims. They meet surprisingly fast ends in typical Jason fashion (a great machete through the head bit is a highlight) but this is actually a tease, the REAL film starts after this prelude with a whole new bunch of Jason bait. The cast, for the most part, is likeable and believable but you know from the get-go, this being a slasher film and all, that most of them are going to end up a lot worse for wear. Along the way the cast do display some weird character traits, including the (token) black actor who goes to investigate Jason’s whereabouts armed with, of all things, a wok! But logic has never been a strong point in a genre where the words “you wait here and I’ll go and see what that noise was” are uttered. Haven’t these people ever SEEN horror films?? I’d NEVER say that!! Jason, as portrayed by Derek Mears, is a hulking behemoth but he’s no Kane Hodder (the definitive Jason) but he still does a good job. The film cruises along to its predictable though enjoyable finale and a sequel has already been announced for release in 2010 with Mears reprising his role. The DVD release features some great extras including an analysis of “7 best kills”, alternate scenes, “The Rebirth of Jason Voorhees” and “Hacking back/ Slashing forward”.
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