HOME TRAILERS 2013 SCHEDULE PODCASTS REVIEWS POSTERS INTERVIEWS SHORT FILMS NEWS FEEDS ABOUT APPS

FIRST LOOK

First Look: The New Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th!

by Alex Billington
July 19, 2008
Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com

Although there doesn't seem to be a lot of fans of Friday the 13th and Jason out there, I'm sure there are those of you who love the series but just won't admit it. Anyway, STYD has revealed the first photo from the film featuring Jason Voorhees. Although he's not flashing his machete in anyone's face, he's menacing enough, standing there on the edge of Crystal Lake, making sure she won't get out of the water without being hacked to pieces. Does this photo give anyone the chills just thinking about the frightening return of Jason? I'm waiting for a trailer myself, but feeling on the set and the producers' enthusiasm has gotten me quite interested. At least it will be a fun movie - and that's what I'm looking forward to the most.

Although Warner Bros is doing a fantastic job of promoting this movie quite early, there doesn't seem to be any positive buzz at all. So I want to pose some questions, even if you're not a fan of the horror genre or this franchise: What makes this film seem so bad? Why is all of the buzz negative and not positive?

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is directed by ex-music video director Marcus Nispel, of 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Pathfinder previously. The screenplay for this reboot was penned by writing partners Damian Shannon and Mark Swift of Freddy vs Jason previously. Although this Friday the 13th is not a sequel, it is technically the 11th film in the franchise and follows Jason's last apperance in Freddy vs Jason in 2003. Friday the 13th is currently set to open on Friday, February 13th, 2009.

Filed under Discuss, First Look, Hype

From around the web:

Curtis

This could be good like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror (yes im not afraid to say it) or it could end up being terrible like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and The Hitcher.
http://blog.myspace.com/shero_rauf Shero

I really have no hopes or expectations for this movie ... as I wrote before the same story again and again but the knife is not in the heart but in the back ...of the girl are running not just 5 second but 10 seconds ...nothing new and I will not watch this movie ...it is just for the fans who followed this movie and they make it like a historical figure for them selves .... A picture that show a naked girl in the Greene water and the beautiful angel with the mask waiting to take her soul !!!! girl stay in the water until the next hour and half and the movie will finish and he will not enter the water ... he can't swim end of the story .
http://handfulofwires.blogspot.com DCompose

People don't like horror sequels. That's just how the world works. People hate horror franchise reboots more. Friday the 13'th resonates negatively with a lot of people because not enough of them are set in space.
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

I think the negative buzz is from a few things. 1. Do we REALLY need a remake ALREADY?!?! 2. The Friday the 13th franchise really ended on a bad note. Freddy vs. Jason did good, but that really was, because it was the first film of its type in a while. 3. While people liked TEXAS CHAINSAW (including me) and AMITYVILLE (not including me) reboots, the last few such as THE HITCHER, TEXAS CHAINSAW: BEGINNING and HALLOWEEN, like my #2 reason, left a bad taste. 4. People are really intrested now in original horror. When I say original I don't mean "never saw that before", but films like THE STRANGERS, THE HAPPENING did well because it was something different and not seen before (character-wise). While I believe you Alex that this film may be good, I think people need some footage and maybe some reviews for them to change their minds. This could be a pretty big hit, but they have to be smart with the marketing.
L

The problem is is that they are remaking classic genre movies. Comparitive to the genre, that would be like remaking a movie like "The Godfather" or something of the like. These are movies that the originals stand the test of time and still entertain us for what they are. They don't need a new set of teens or new metal bands for us to continue to like them. If they want to release a remastered sound version or something, that's about as far as I would liek them to go/
The Delightful Deviant

i'm actually very excited to see this movie, i LOVE slasher movies and Jason is by far my favorite. i'm hoping this comes out just as good as TCM.
http://www.myspace.com/brianriccimodelidiot Brian Ricci

I think the problem is that its a remake. Too many. That's just stating the obvious. I agree with #1 though
Andy Kenyon

Well i love the Friday series of films, and i cant wait for the return of Jason Vorhees, i Love freddy vs jason and if its better than that then im in for a treat, i also love supernatural and i know one of the brothers who play sam is in it so i cant wait,
REAL6

Weren't they supossed to make 13 films and end it as i recall? JUST KEEP MAKING THE OTHER 3 FUCK A REMAKE!!!
http://www.supersatellite.com Quicksilver

@4: Really? The Strangers and The Happening did well? The Strangers, while making about 6x it's meager $9m budget, made only a paltry $52m gross domestically, and only a bit over $600k elsewhere. The Happening didn't even make the top 20 films of the year in terms of revenue, and very barely made back it's $60m budget domestically, as well as getting pretty well exclusively panned by reviewers and viewers alike. As a viewer of some reboots, I liked The Amityville Horror (I thought it was especially good for Ryan Reynolds to break his mold a bit). I liked Halloween, because I'm a fan of Rob Zombie's style. The Hills Have Eyes? Texas Chainsaw Massacre? The Hitcher (easily one of the worst movies I have EVER seen)? Pretty much none of these have been good for me. I think generally, the treatment of the films is not respectful to the originals, which came out at a point when different things were scary, and those different things don't necessarily translate well to "modern" cinema, which culturally has completely different expectations and tastes. Hollywood is not generally willing to give the reigns of these reboots to directors and writers capable of modernizing it properly (which I do think any of them *could* be rebooted well). I'll give anything a chance, including this, and the Last House on the Left remake, but I generally think they will do poorly and not be enjoyable. I somewhat agree with #4 though, people do like original horror, but not like he suggested. I look to Japanese horror for one, and Korea (anyone else excited about Mirrors?) for another. I've found that people are generally much more positive about remakes from there, where they really understand timing and how to scare a modern audience. And things like the Saw franchise which was able to respin the way horror unfolded. Coming into 5 movies deep there, it's still making crazy money and keeping people interested.
Barry

I haven't heard anything negative about this movie at all. Everything that has come from the makers to the numerous online sites that were invited to the set a short while ago have been overwhelmingly positive and just downright giddy. It could be the best slasher film in ages, but it will always get negative buzz from mainstream people and critics because it's a Friday The 13th movie. Period. So far, I have not seen the level of outcry from people or fans for this movie as there was for Rob Zombie's Halloween(which I liked). Besides, where else was there to go for Jason?. It was basically done. You mention Warner Bros. Warner Bros. isn't doing this movie.
Omega728

Why do they need a remake? It'll be the same old slasher story retold... sex, stupid teens, a heroine who always seems to just escape his grasps, and killing. The only difference is that the picture quality will be better. Nothing new or interesting. Maybe what they need to do is go the TDK route and treat this film more seriously instead of the old sexy teenagers gets killed routine. Sorry but TDK has set standards for the whole movie industry. Unless something new comes up, looks like it's a DVD rental for me.
Mortuus

The big comparisson i feel on this remake and remakes lately would have to be Rob Zombie's Halloween. The thing that intrigued me the most on Robs remake was the fact that it was Rob doing it. His film style has brought a fresh breeze onto the horror world with his films as of late. Theyre very good, very different. To me i do not have the draw to Friday the 13th as i did to Halloween simply for that reason. I wont past judgement on the movie until i see footage or see it for real, but right now im not considering the movie exists because being a die hard horror fan, i dont want to set myself up for a let down.
Rich

I don't think the remake will be that great really. There was something about the 80s slasher films that just became classic and shouldn't be redone (yet). Besides the theme today seems to be let's rehash the story and up the blood and gore factor (ie saw, hostel, etc). I'm thinking it would probably be a shock to have movie not in the same lines (with the huge gross out gore factor). Freddy vs. Jason was popular because it hadn't been seen in awhile and to be honest there was always that question of who would be better. Even though the film came out in after the whole 80s slasher film era, it still had a that old school touch which made it good.
Conrad

This is not going to be good. Marcus Nispel can crank it - his Chainsaw movies were garbage.
Matthew K

I love JASON and Friday the 13th... there are plenty of fans out there and it will make $50 million first weekend... I'm excited, but don't expect it to be good only because Platinum Dunes other horror movies haven't been good. They always seem to miss what made the original loved... But that is a horrible promo photo.
http://www.skonmovies.com/ Sean Kelly

One thing about the Friday the 13th remake/reboot/whatever you may call it that makes me a bit iffy is that they are redoing one of the two most iconic horror franchises (the other being Nightmare on Elm St) from when I was growing up. When I was a kid, I knew who Freddy and Jason were, even though I was way too young to see the movies (heck, they even made NES games for the series). That said, I like the image and may check out the film as a curiosity.
bob

surely its the 12th film in the franchise if you're including freddy vs jason?
Goudos

I'll admit it, I'm looking forward to the new Friday the 13th. I really don't think the series could be ruined. Fans have sat through really bad Friday the 13th movies in the past that didn't connect to each other. Let's review; The first movie: Really a giallo film, not a slasher. Best of the series, but not Jason 2-4: This is the classic slasher Jason series and the ones most hardcore fans hang on to. 5: The fake Jason movie that about everyone hates; yes, it is the worst in the series 6-8: Zombie Jason comes back from the dead, battles a psychic girl and goes to New York. This is the last attempt to connect the stories and while 8 is a real stinker it sort of ends the classic Friday the 13th series. 9: Jason goes to Hell-Really a stand alone movie with its own mythos. Some love it for its weirdness others hate it 10: Jason in the future goes to space. Watch it as a comedy and you'll love it for its delibert satire of the genre. Try to take it serious and it sucks. 11: Jason vs Freddy--sort of connects to 9, like The Searchers connects to Blazing Saddles becuse they're westerns. It's a slasher fan's guilty pleasure movie. So, the first is really its own movie, 2-4 is the first series, 6-8 is the second Jason series, 5 and 9-Freddy v Jason are pretty much on their own and could be called the fourth series already. A re-boot and the squeals that will come from it (if it happens) is just the fifth series is the movies. The formula is simple (Jason+ horny teenagers + nudity + gore -logic = Friday the 13th). Nightmare on Elm Street needed Robert Englund, Halloween needs suspense, both the Hills Have Eyes and Texas Chainsaw needed gritty guerrilla filmmaking, and The Hitcher needed the psychological underpennedings. That's where the remakes or soon-to-be remade series failed. Friday the 13th needs a hockey mask, gore and tits. That's why fans love Jason; its so simple its hard to mess it up.
Shemmie

Great - Freddy Vs Jason script-writers... Friday the 13th is a pure slasher flick - it doesn't need messing about with new 'cool' teens, or 'nu metal' sound tracks - quit messing with the classics. As said above, this is like The Godfather of its genre - it might not be a particularly popular genre, but the FT13's are classics - cheesy 80's slasher-fests - and they're perfect for what they are. The only remake I'm excited about is Hellraiser, as Clive Barker's on-board, and been given a big budget. That's what a remake should be about - the original writers / directors for lower-budget movies that became classics being given more money to properly realize their ideas.
Rob

ok, half of you people posting these comments have no clue let alone an idea of what in the hell you are talking about. After New Line took over as the owners of Jason, it all went down hill. From creating Friday 8, Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, and yes Freddy vs Jason all of these movies sucked!!! I see this remake as a good thing because New Line doesnt have total control over this, so there is a light of hope that this film will actually bring back what the last 4 movies could not accomplish....success!! Hopefully platinum dunes has done their homework and studied the first 7 Friday the 13 movies, because then this movie could actually be a awesome restart to a once great franchise.
http://handfulofwires.blogspot.com DCompose

I hope they do cross promotion with Leprachaun, and in the scene Leprachaun is just getting out of the hood and going back to space. "Break Stuff" by Limp Bizkit will be the song of the hour!
Nate

Have Hollywood writers become so lazy, that they can't create any new stories? HEY, HOLLYWOOD I'VE GOT A STACK OF GREAT IDEAS JUST WAITING FOR YA! What happened to original stories?
http://www.bartleby.com/61/66/C0726650.html Crapola

Reboots? Just fucking end this shit
http://firstshowing.net richie

i think its great 2 bring back jason cuz every1 wondered what happen 2 him after feddy vs. jason and he'S BACK IT WILL REALLY MAKE AN EXPRESSION ON THE CRITICS 2 SAY GOOD THING ABOUT THIS FRANCHIES
http://www.myspace.com/kevjohnphotography kevjohn

The last Frday the 13th movie I saw was Jason X, Jason in Spaaaace! Jason went into space. In the distant future. So after he killed everybody who ever set foot near Crystal Lake, after he got some New Blood then took Manhattan, after he went to Hell and then fought Freddy, he went into space. It's no shock to me that the world isn't lit afire with desire for more of Jason Voorhees' exploits. It'll go the traditional horror movie route -- big opening weekend, followed by like a 90% dropoff in B.O. and interest. With any luck there will be some cool, inventive kills, and the T&A will be above average quality. That's about the most you can hope for with the Jason movies.
otto

What makes this film seem so bad? It's a slasher flick. Blood and guts. No plot. What a stupid question.
jim

number 3 i disagree with you. I hated horror flicks but after watching the first and secon Saw movies im now a big fan of the Saw series and i know many other people who are. so i wouldn't say that all horror movie series suck because Saw is definitely and exception but there are many other horror series that do suck. (Freddy vs. Jason)
Anonymous

You guy's really shouldn't be that prejudice. The new Friday The 13th film is supposidly more dark and sinister, it also takes you back to Jason's past. Also the new Jason will be much smarter, making his own traps, digging tunnels, hunting. By the way the movie is set before Jason became a zombie so he practically is a human. And since he lives in the wild he does the usual survival stuff as i said above a few lines, you know hunting, digging etc...
F13thFan#13

Looking forward to this movie. The key is lots of jump of your seat moments followed by good kills. I like the idea that he hunts and there are tunnels around the lake. Makes lots of sense. Can't wait to see Visitor play Mrs V...hey how cool is that. 2 more things Jason needs to be really strong and menacing and I mean menacing having a machete is not enought he really needs to envoke fear on his prey. I am not too crazy about it being recap of the 1st 4 films; although, that is what a remake is. I wished they would have done something new. I did like the 7th film of the series, when tina drop the porch on him was one of my favorite scenes. The film I believe showed Jason really having a build up of anger. Too bad the ending was the worst. I hate to say it again but if they have good jump of your seat moments the fans will love it. If it's just gore it wont do as well, but then again I like gore...
http://yahoo.com Ken

i cant Wat it should be just as good as Halloween you go rob zombie i just like to know are you going to go 1 throw 7 or what of Halloween and Friday the 13th i hoop
Anyone

I don't see why you people piss and moan over a remake. Just because it is a remake doesn't mean it will be horrible. Some remakes are actually better than the originals. So for all you people who think that the movie will be horrible just because it is a remake, Watch the damn movie and then make your decision. If you don't want to pay the price at the theaters then wait and rent the movie otherwise just stay off the boards flaming movies you haven't even seen and judging them for being a remake.