Friday the 13th (Marcus Nispel, 2009, USA)

Michael Bay's 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th franchise via his Platinum Dunes production company seems to get mixed receptions. Some fans of the franchise claim it is one of the best films in the series, while others criticize it as one of the worst. Arriving six years after 2003's Freddy vs. Jason, and almost 15 years into the reconstruction/deconstruction of the slasher franchise with Scream, Friday the 13th (2009) was helmed by director Marcus Nispel, who also took on the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

The film is not bad per se - it is a generally competent slasher film. If there is one film that this reboot does well in comparison to prior entries in the franchise, it is the kills. Having arrived in the wake of Eli Roth and other "torture" movies, this film did not have the issues with censorship that previous Friday films encountered with the MPAA. That being said, the film feels generally blander than many of the earlier entries in the series. There are some odd lines here and there, but the characters for the most part are quite forgettable and don't stand out in any meaningful way. Most of the humor in the film centers on pot. It seems that Michael Bay was trying to figure out what teenagers think is funny.

There are some weird soundtrack choices (lots of garage rock?) but overall the film is passably entertaining. Jason transitioning from the bag over his head to the hockey mask is a fun touch, but overall there is nothing here to distinguish Jason from his other iterations in the franchise. Nispel does a passable job, but it is not a film I would return to, as I might with other entries earlier in the franchise. For Friday completists only. 

5/10