In the long and bloodied history of slasher films, few franchises are as iconic—and as overextended—as Friday the 13th. By the time the 2009 reboot arrived, the hockey mask had been worn thin. Yet with Friday the 13th (2009), directed by Marcus Nispel and produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, Jason Voorhees was given a modern, grittier makeover.
It’s loud, it’s violent, and it’s faster than its predecessors. But for all its kinetic energy and high-gloss finish, the 2009 reboot often feels more like a soulless remix than a resurrection. There’s some fun to be had—especially if you’re in it for creative kills and aggressive pacing—but if you’re hoping for nuance, atmosphere, or lasting dread, you might feel like you’ve just wandered into a metal concert when you were promised a séance.
Back to the Woods: Plot in a Blender
The film opens strong. In fact, it opens twice. We get an efficient black-and-white prologue that replays the beheading of Pamela Voorhees at Camp Crystal Lake—setting up Jason’s murderous motives—and then cut to a 20-minute “first act” featuring a group of stereotypical campers looking for weed and debauchery, only to be wiped out by a feral, fast-moving Jason.
Then, after the title card (a full twenty-five minutes in), the “real” movie begins: Clay (Jared Padalecki) arrives in town looking for his missing sister Whitney (Amanda Righetti), who disappeared in the first group. Along the way, he crosses paths with a fresh batch of horror cannon fodder—a mix of rich-kid partygoers and horny twenty-somethings—setting the stage for another round of slasher slaughter.
It’s essentially Part 1 through 4 condensed into 100 minutes, stirred with Bayhem, and delivered with a straight face. You can admire the efficiency. But that same speed undermines any sense of buildup or dread.
Jason Reimagined: A Predator in the Woods
Derek Mears’ take on Jason Voorhees is one of the best parts of the reboot. Gone is the slow, hulking brute of previous installments. This Jason is agile, tactical, and brutal. He sets traps, uses underground tunnels, and sprints with predator-like precision.
He’s more Rambo than zombie. While purists may balk at Jason showing this level of intelligence or aggression, it gives the film a kind of raw physicality that distinguishes it from the lumbering slashers of the past.
Jason’s lair beneath the campgrounds—a maze of tunnels and surveillance—feels more like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than Friday the 13th. It’s a controversial change, but not a bad one. If you’re going to reboot Jason, turning him into a feral survivalist is at least interesting.
The Cast: Attractive, Doomed, and Forgettable
As with any good slasher, the real meat is in the cast—not because of their acting, but because they’re meat for the grinder.
Jared Padalecki does his best as Clay, our earnest and brooding protagonist. He’s the typical older brother figure, searching for his sister with stoic conviction, and while he’s serviceable, there’s nothing particularly memorable about him.
Danielle Panabaker plays Jenna, the film’s red herring final girl—intelligent, likable, and ultimately disposable. Her unexpected death is one of the film’s few subversions.
Then there’s Travis Van Winkle as Trent, the insufferable rich kid whose every line screams, “Please kill me in a spectacular way.” Fortunately, Jason obliges.
The rest of the cast fills the usual archetypes: the stoner, the comic relief, the oversexed couple, the expendable black guy (sigh). No one really gets enough screen time or writing to stand out. They exist to die, and they die with style—if not substance.
Sex and Violence: Cranked Up to Eleven
One thing the reboot refuses to skimp on is sex and gore. It’s arguably the horniest and bloodiest entry in the franchise. From topless water-skiing to one of the most pornographic sex scenes ever to appear in a mainstream slasher, this is exploitation cinema turned up to modern standards.
The kills are brutal, varied, and impressively practical. You’ve got arrow shots, machete impalements, fireplace hook murders—Jason uses his environment with the creativity of a Final Destination spirit.
But herein lies the problem: while the body count is impressive, it becomes numbing. There’s little suspense. No slow build. Just fast deaths, one after another, like a music video with murder. The film doesn’t seem to fear Jason—it just expects him.
Visuals and Sound: Style Over Substance
From a technical standpoint, the movie looks great. Daniel Pearl’s cinematography is rich with texture—shadows in the trees, firelight on skin, sweat and rain and mud. The nighttime scenes are moody and immersive. It’s slick, cinematic, and polished.
But that polish comes at a cost. Gone is the lo-fi grime that made the early films feel dangerous. The reboot is glossy horror for the Maxim generation. Everything is lit like a perfume ad, even the corpses.
Steve Jablonsky’s score is serviceable but forgettable. The iconic ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma is used sparingly, and the rest feels like generic action-horror filler. It lacks the eerie minimalism of Harry Manfredini’s original work.
What It Gets Right
-
Jason himself. Derek Mears is a beast, and his physical performance brings back some much-needed menace.
-
Pacing. For better or worse, this movie moves. There’s no downtime, no exposition dumps, no lingering. It’s lean and mean.
-
Kills. While lacking in suspense, the sheer variety and execution of the deaths will satisfy gorehounds.
-
Respect for the legacy. Nods to the original series—Camp Crystal Lake, the hockey mask, the shrine to Pamela—are respectful and cleverly integrated.
What It Gets Wrong
-
Tone. Is it a remake? A reboot? A sequel? It wants to be all three, and ends up emotionally hollow.
-
Characterization. No one sticks. There’s no Alice, no Ginny, no Tommy Jarvis. Just walking targets.
-
Lack of suspense. Everything is delivered at a sprint. Tension evaporates under the weight of velocity.
-
No atmosphere. This may be Crystal Lake, but it doesn’t feel like it. There’s no eerie isolation, no campfire dread.
The Final Verdict
Friday the 13th (2009) is not a bad film. It’s just not a memorable one. It’s well-shot, well-paced, and efficiently brutal. But it lacks the weird charm and creeping dread that made the originals—warts and all—so effective. It tries to have its machete and swing it too, but never quite nails what made Jason more than just a mask.
This reboot is best enjoyed as a bloody B-movie with a big budget. It’s fast food horror: tasty going down, forgettable the next day.
It’s a Jason film for the era of reboots and remakes, and while it doesn’t insult the franchise, it never quite reinvents it either.
Final Score: 6.0/10
Slick, brutal, and hollow—Friday the 13th (2009) is a decently entertaining bloodbath that forgets the soul in its rush to update the icon. A serviceable slasher that leaves you wishing for something with a little more camp—and a little more heart.
🔪 The Friday the 13th Retrospective Series
A look back at every machete swipe, scream, and sequel in the Friday the 13th franchise:
-
Friday the 13th (1980) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-1980-the-one-that-started-it-all/
-
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-2-1981-the-birth-of-jason-the-middle-child-of-the-franchise/
-
Friday the 13th Part III (1982) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-iii-1982-mask-on-shirt-off-and-body-count-rising/
-
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-the-final-chapter-1984-the-best-lit-death-march-yet/
-
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-v-a-new-beginning-1985/
-
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-vi-jason-lives-1986/
-
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-vii-the-new-blood-1988/
-
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-viii-jason-takes-manhattan-1989/
-
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) – https://pochepictures.com/jason-goes-to-hell-1993-the-body-hopping-butcher-and-the-death-of-a-slasher/
-
Jason X (2001) – https://pochepictures.com/jason-x-2001-a-space-odyssey-of-slashes-and-silliness/
-
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) – https://pochepictures.com/freddy-vs-jason-2003-when-nightmares-meet-crystal-lake/
-
Friday the 13th (2009) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-2009-the-brutal-reboot-that-forgot-the-soul/
