• Release year: 2009
• Director: Marcus Nispel.
• Producers: Michael Bay, Sean S. Cunningham, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller.
• Screenplay by: Damian Shannon and Mark Swift.
• Cinematography by: Daniel Pearl.
• Music by: Steve Jablonsky.

Shotgun Commentary: a generic Friday the 13th sequel with big 2000s energy.

Review

Friday the 13th is a 2000-coded version of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter that thankfully spares us from having to endure the cringy child again. Instead, it turns the almost incidental account of the man searching for his sister into the main storyline of the feature. The similarities between both films provide the perfect opportunity to study how much the portrayal of gender dynamics in cinema has, or hasn’t, changed in two decades.

Starting with a bang

The film begins with a retelling of Alice’s fight with Mrs. Voorhees. That is, the franchise’s first final girl showdown with the killer. While the reconstruction helps maintain a similar style throughout the whole film, an actual recap of the original confrontation would have been way better in terms of franchise nostalgia and continuity. Then again, the franchise’s legal battles are almost scarier than encountering Jason in the middle of the forest, so one has to believe they did their best.

After this “we don’t have all the rights to the films” flashback, the film truly begins. It does so with a fantastic opening sequence featuring fake boobs, gnarly murders, drugs, and very stupid decisions. That’s right, everything you expect to see in a Friday the 13th movie, you get from the get-go.

The lack of slow-burn (pun totally intended for all those who have watched the film) did bring with it some moments that are weirdly similar to a In a Violent Nature (2024). A lonely guy on drugs in the middle of the forest makes for a very classic first victim. But when you pair it up with the big zombie that used to be bullied as a child, plus the zombie’s mother’s necklace stolen from its lair, you get a weirdly close story to the 2024 movie. Only, thankfully, Friday the 13th was smart enough to keep the POV where the interesting events take place. You know, instead of giving us to hours of mindless walking through the forest.

The discount Scooby gang

But enough with the filmic letdowns. Let’s focus on this story in particular, a narrative where all the characters are cocooned by a very specific 2000s cringe. On the one hand, you have your average group of adults pretending to be teenagers. There is some racial diversity, as one expects from a horror film of this decade, but not a big assortment of personalities.

They are going to have some fun at the rich kid’s parents’ house. The rich guy in question, Trent (Travis Van Winkle), is not as keen on having friends over as he is on showing off his wealth. So, of course, he’s going to be miserable the whole film. Still, he’s too much on a douchebag to provoke any empathy. That’s the real magic of this film, really. All the characters are so cliché and empty that you will be incapable to connect with any of them, making the story all the more enjoyable and comedic.

The only two characters mildly human are Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) and his kidnapped sister Whitney Miller (Amanda Righetti). It is no coincidence that they are played by the only two actors that have had somewhat popular roles in bigger shows such as Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) and Supernatural (2005-2020), in Padalecki’s case; and The Mentalist (2008-2015) in Righetti’s. In addition to being pretty decent actors, they also have previous experience in other horror features, which explain why, despite being given one-dimensional characters, they manage to make they almost look real.

All in all, Friday the 13th is another hilariously ridiculous instalment that brings the only novelty of 2000s aesthetics. Nothing else about the film feels new or fresh or mildly original, but it is still good enough for a few laughs if you are into slashers that way.

Advice to take from this movie:

• If you know your friends have no respect for other people’s property, don’t invite them to your very expensive home?
• If your friends are incapable of respecting your boundaries, maybe it’s time to find new friends.
• You need to respect yourself more than staying with a cheating partner.

What’s your take? Have you watched Friday the 13th? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀