Friday the 13th (2009)

         Friday the 13th, or 'Friday the 13th 2009' as it has so been dubbed is a successful movie for two reasons: First, unlike countless other horror movies that fill the silver screen these days, it actually manages to scare you, and second, it reestablishes Jason Vorhees as a force to be reckoned with. The iconic murderer slashes his way on screen in terrifying fashion, filling audiences not with creepy theme music or dry jokes about his hockey mask, but with actual terror.
         Set in present day, Friday the 13th manages to modernize the legend of Jason Vorhees by making the killer faster, meaner and smarter. Let it not be said that Jason was never smart; after all, he did always manage to catch up with his victims, no matter how fast they were. However, this time around an enigma of a master hunter has been added to the once aloof psychopath. An upgrade was necessary; how else was this overlooked killer to compete with a new generation of kids equipped with all-terrain sports vehicles and GPS tracking systems?
         What Friday the 13th does well is to introduce pure terror into the hearts of the audience by making the presence of Vorhees so terrifying that you feel for his victims. Though some of the 'innocent' partygoers are by no means devoid of cliché (avid drug use, purposeful nudity, and, of, course, sex) they certainly don't deserve the brand of torture that 21st century Jason Vorhees dispenses. In the previous films Jason acted as more the portent of a cautionary tale; teens were dispatched in various ways that were often comical. 21st century Jason is far divorced form his predecessor. He makes  it hurt.
         The story follows the quest of Clay, who is in search of his sister who dissapeared in the woods near Crystal Lake after an encounter with the maniacal Jason. Fearing her death, Clay embarks on a impossible quest to try and wrest any clues out of the close knit and shy Crystal Lake community. Seeming to hinder his search are a group of carefree partygoers heading to the lake for a weekend in the lush, decadent lakehouse of richboy Trent's parents. Apart from the partygoers, Clay's mission is often impeded by the citizens of Crystal Lake as eager to bury the secret as Clay is to uncover it. Of course the enigma of Jason lurks in the shadows, highlighting the fact that something very terrible may indeed have happened to his lost sister.
         Fans of the series will undoubtedly be surprised by a new version of Jason who's intelligence and agility leave behind a moronic undead monster of previous iterations of the film. As Clay continues his search, and as Trent's friends fall one by one to the sadistic killer, it quickly becomes known that Jason is in complete control of their fates, and not dumb luck as in previous films. In past Friday the 13ths, the movie's horror and intrigue was captivated through music, atmosphere and the creativity of the deaths...in this one the horror is forced upon audiences through Jason's blind hatred and pure evil. When he is on screen it's truly devastating, and when he's not you eagerly dread his reapperance and his malicious intentions. Even when he's offscreen, the fact is not lost that Jason and Jason alone is in the forefront of this film.
         All in all Friday the 13th does well what a remake is supposed to do: it leaves behind the decadence of the 1980's for the technological advancements of the 2000's, modernizing its characters, settings and plots. The teenages are sharper, meaner and more sarcastic...and Jason is more devastating, cruel and evil than ever before. It is not a movie you can watch in the background, because you know a familiar formula will follow. There is no innocent heroine to face Jason alone at the end, but only scared, unwilling and ill-prepared teenagers fighting for their lives against an unstoppable maniac.
         This movie belongs to Jason. He carries his audience and the movie- along with the bodies of his hapless victims- kicking and screaming back to the heart of Camp Crystal Lake...reinvisioned, reinvented and more terrifying than ever before.