Critic Reviews
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Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
Ultimately, the new movie seems destined to become exactly what the last one was: a sleepover rite of passage, specifically the moment when discerning viewers realize they can do much, much better.
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Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies
I got extremely bored.
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Ben Lyons, At the Movies
We've seen it all before.
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David Edelstein, New York Magazine
You really have to screw it up to dishonor the memory of a movie as s****y as the original Friday the 13th. Heads should roll.
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Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
This film is so last-century.
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Adam Graham, Detroit News
The series reboot is much the same, but it's easily the most effective -- and scary -- entrant in the franchise.
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Steve Newton, Georgia Straight
Five nauseating 20-somethings head out to Camp Crystal Lake to guzzle Pabst Blue Ribbon and have loud tent sex, but Jason roasts one of them like a weenie and says howdy to everyone else with his trusty machete. And that's just the intro!
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Ali Gray, TheShiznit.co.uk
Friday The 13th is essentially critic-proof - it's been cynically designed from the ground up as a fun but forgettable slasher flick with a one-week expiry date.
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Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
The theatrical cut was effective enough, but you'll get those extra bloody seconds in this extended (although still R-rated) version of the film for home viewing purposes.
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James Rocchi, Common Sense Media
Horror remake isn't for anyone, let alone teens.
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Sonny Bunch, Washington Times
Friday the 13th isn't great cinema by any means, and you probably know better than I whether you'll enjoy the movie.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Useless remake
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Anton Bitel, Little White Lies
Unfortunately, no matter how clever-clever the all-new screenplay might (occasionally) be at acknowledging the faults of the original, this does not make them magically go away.
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Anders Wotzke, Moviedex
It's a case of 'he's behind you!' repeated ad nauseum, where sudden bursts of sound stand in for real scares.
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Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
The first Friday the 13th is not a masterwork by any stretch of the imagination, but it has one crucial thing the 2009 edition lacks completely: the element of surprise.
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Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central
[Blu-Ray DVD Review] Friday the 13th 2009 is at its heart a mediocre slasher film that just happens to have Jason in it.
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Brian Juergens, CampBlood.org
A boring retread that downgrades one of our great masked men to being a hillbilly with mommy issues and no sense for decorating. And if I wanted that, I'd rent Nell.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...this 2009 remake looks slick and well produced. Too bad it has nothing fresh to add to the franchise. (Blu-ray Edition)
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Rossiter Drake, San Francisco Examiner
Be assured that the acting is passable, the effects are impressively convincing, and the suspense is real. It's not a great film, but it is a frightening one, and what more do you need to know?
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Clay Cane, BET.com
Friday the 13th Part 12 will not sell at the box office, so they toss the word 'remake' out there to dupe its audience into another installment of this crappy horror flick.
Read all 21 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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It may be a heartless series rehash but to be honest it's a sophisticated one. The story is much more efficent in structure than the original film and I did jump a fair few times which is more then I can say for it's inspirational predecessor. A majority of critics only… More
It may be a heartless series rehash but to be honest it's a sophisticated one. The story is much more efficent in structure than the original film and I did jump a fair few times which is more then I can say for it's inspirational predecessor. A majority of critics only reacted to this harshly because it was made by the satan of cinema Michael Bay and I didn't want to like it but I did. Friday the 13th wasn't the most horrific franchise in the world to begin with but this was a terrifying remake worth doing. It does grow to have a built in repetitive feel after a while. It wasn't a great film but hey, it was scary enough.
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This movie has been relentlessly panned since it's release. Don't get me wrong, the film should be considered, at least, a missed opportunity. Really though, in comparison to it's predecessors, it's one of the better Friday the 13th's. In fact, the first 20… More
This movie has been relentlessly panned since it's release. Don't get me wrong, the film should be considered, at least, a missed opportunity. Really though, in comparison to it's predecessors, it's one of the better Friday the 13th's. In fact, the first 20 minutes is probably the best segment in the history of the franchise. Too bad it just didn't end there. This version of Jason was well done, but the hostage situation was uncharacteristic and it alienated me. If you hated these movies before, run like hell from this one too. Otherwise, worth a mild recommendation.
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Nothing really new here, except more blood. I was a bit let down from this reboot. It moved to fast and felt like a teen movie. I wish they would have focused more on how Jason became Jason; just like they did for Michael Myers in the Halloween reboot.
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Truly one of the worst Horror remakes ever, avoid at all costs. It ticks all the boxes of a modern day slasher, without anything different to offer. Remaking a Classic 80's Horror film, I feel, just needs an uptodate makeover, instead the mask is pretty much the only thing that… More
Truly one of the worst Horror remakes ever, avoid at all costs. It ticks all the boxes of a modern day slasher, without anything different to offer. Remaking a Classic 80's Horror film, I feel, just needs an uptodate makeover, instead the mask is pretty much the only thing that is the same.
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What a crappy remake! It has basically no action. The guy barely looks like Jason!
Grade: D
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Money-spinning remake of a formula done hundreds of times before... but no one does it like Mr.Voorhees. Admittedly it was a thrill to see Jason brutally wield the machete once again turning Crystal Lake into Camp Blood again. Mildly entertaining throughout, but not quite as gory as… More
Money-spinning remake of a formula done hundreds of times before... but no one does it like Mr.Voorhees. Admittedly it was a thrill to see Jason brutally wield the machete once again turning Crystal Lake into Camp Blood again. Mildly entertaining throughout, but not quite as gory as other slashers around these days - Freddy Vs. Jason was much bloodier!!
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Obviously one goes into this movie expecting plenty of gruesome deaths, huge breasts and a lot to laugh about, just like when watching any other film of this trashy, brainless series. But this remake is never scary, tense, inspired or anything else than a painful, predictable… More
Obviously one goes into this movie expecting plenty of gruesome deaths, huge breasts and a lot to laugh about, just like when watching any other film of this trashy, brainless series. But this remake is never scary, tense, inspired or anything else than a painful, predictable imbecility.
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I really thought this was a great movie and certainly compiles the best things about the franchise. You'd think that people would be happy to see Jason back in action, but the fact that it's a remake inevitably made it unworthy amongst average viewers and critics. However,… More
I really thought this was a great movie and certainly compiles the best things about the franchise. You'd think that people would be happy to see Jason back in action, but the fact that it's a remake inevitably made it unworthy amongst average viewers and critics. However, any true fan of the series knows that this is a great movie. Jason has never looked better, he is so physically imposing and disturbed. The movie is shot incredibly well and gives a legitimacy to the characters and story. This sort've blends all the great moments from the first four movies in the series and leaves out all the camp and flaws. This is about as realistic Jason Voorhees will ever get and I commend Marcus Nispel for doing such a great job with bringing such a beloved character back from the dead. This movie has some very good acting and realistic decision-making, something that has been missing from the series for a long time. This is not for everyone, obviously, but I think it was really amazing.
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Not great, but it is certainly one of the best tries to remake a horror movie classic! It has even more cliches than the original, and there is far too much gore and nudity mixed together just to make the movie drag along. Still, standing alone, it does a better back story than the… More
Not great, but it is certainly one of the best tries to remake a horror movie classic! It has even more cliches than the original, and there is far too much gore and nudity mixed together just to make the movie drag along. Still, standing alone, it does a better back story than the original, which almost all remakes seem to get right. Putting all this aside, it is very average, but I had a fun time at the movies, seeing Jason one more time!
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it was okay. the first 20 minutes was good. the movie isn't as nearly as good as when the first group of teens were around. C
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At first I was quite pleased as Marcus Nispel seem to get rid of all the expected cliches within the first 20 minutes. Cue the opening titles and you think 'Great, it's all good from here on in'! but alas, it's not. He can't seem to get The Texas Chainsaw… More
At first I was quite pleased as Marcus Nispel seem to get rid of all the expected cliches within the first 20 minutes. Cue the opening titles and you think 'Great, it's all good from here on in'! but alas, it's not. He can't seem to get The Texas Chainsaw Massacre out of his system as Jason seems a little too much like Leatherface for my liking and borrowing all the best bits from all the Jason films (which isn't many) and making them more gorey and in your face doesn't improve anything. As subtle as a fork in the eye but a little less entertaining. If Marcus Nispel was asked to make a love film it would probably be the most graphic porn film of all time but not at all sexy, time to find a new career dude, or at least prove yourself worthy and come up with your own ideas!
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This was okay. Not that scary.
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Horror movie lovers: recoil, putrid remake strikes all the wrong notes. Loud instead of scary; badly drawn archetypes of archetypes; convenient plot holes and mind-cringing situations, Friday is a sad disaster
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OMG so boring, jumpy in places but other than that its annoyingly boring!
Its reminds me of bloody halloween where the mortal beings seem bloody impossible to kill so its just boring and annoying and after a while the constannt darkness gets annoyingly boring!
The storyline is crap… More
OMG so boring, jumpy in places but other than that its annoyingly boring!
Its reminds me of bloody halloween where the mortal beings seem bloody impossible to kill so its just boring and annoying and after a while the constannt darkness gets annoyingly boring!
The storyline is crap and the movie just isnt great boring not worth a wtach!
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A very good "re-imaging" NOT a re-make! I can't believe how many people have said it's a remake, Jason wasn't in the first one hello! Rant over.
Comparing it to the original series of films this has a flash back of the ending of the first, for those who… More
A very good "re-imaging" NOT a re-make! I can't believe how many people have said it's a remake, Jason wasn't in the first one hello! Rant over.
Comparing it to the original series of films this has a flash back of the ending of the first, for those who haven't seen it shame on you, and has more in common with the 2nd and 3rd installments. I actually enjoyed it, it gives the fans of the original films an updated version of what they loved about the films. There are plenty of inventive death scenes, sex, drugs and boozing with plenty of gorgeous girls in it. I thought it had a bit too much stoner behaviour, which seem to dumb down the film a bit. It has a slick visual style similar to the recent Texas chainsaw remakes, same director, as well as the same style of old gritty locations and sets. Overall a cool update for anyone who was a fan of the original films and better than nearly all of the previous films apart from the first which is a cult classic at least. Definitely one for slasher fans.
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Entertained me by giving me the Jason I know and love...
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A group of young adults discover a boardered up Camp Crystal Lake when they decide to go to one of their friend's vacation home. They soon encounter Jason Voorhees and what his deadly intentions are. Another way to say this is, friends get drunk together, Jason finds them,… More
A group of young adults discover a boardered up Camp Crystal Lake when they decide to go to one of their friend's vacation home. They soon encounter Jason Voorhees and what his deadly intentions are. Another way to say this is, friends get drunk together, Jason finds them, everybody runs around, Jason starts randomly killing people, "Help!"
No matter how many flaws to this film there are and no matter how many stereotypes the film can come up with, it still scared me and I did jump lot, and that's all a horror movie is really trying to do. So, yes, I can say that this movie acheived it's goal. Also, this remake seems like it has a little more creativity than the others had. It wasn't the killings that were more creative, but how the story incorperated an underground dungeon for Jason with who knows what in it.
That said, the film is packed with almost every horror movie cliche possible. Girls get naked, then their boyfriend dies, the girl gets captured, that type of thing. I think there has been eleven movies before this one and every time they have the same ending. The movie makes you think that somebody has killed Jason but then he comes back to life in the very last shot for another Friday the 13th.
I don't want to sound like I'm contradicting myself but I think I have to. There are a lot of the same jumpy moments used in other scary movies but somehow they still were scary. So if you're not looking for a good movie, but just a fun one to see with your frends then go see Friday the 13th.
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Well it was kind of how I expected it to be...Jason was there...the mask was there....the stupid teens was there...sounds like a friday the 13th movie to me
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This was totally pathetic. Every character in this except the one played by Jared Padalecki was horrible. Half the time as they were getting killed off, I'm thinking "haven't we already seen this one die at the beginning?". Yes, they were all that generic. Why… More
This was totally pathetic. Every character in this except the one played by Jared Padalecki was horrible. Half the time as they were getting killed off, I'm thinking "haven't we already seen this one die at the beginning?". Yes, they were all that generic. Why do the kids in these always have to be drug minded, obnoxious morons?
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It's impossible to enjoy, or even recommend, any movie where you hate all the characters and just want them to die.
The original Friday the 13th movies were poorly produced. But what is strange about them is that the worse they were, the more enjoyable they became. The… More
It's impossible to enjoy, or even recommend, any movie where you hate all the characters and just want them to die.
The original Friday the 13th movies were poorly produced. But what is strange about them is that the worse they were, the more enjoyable they became. The sex-crazy teens, the potheads, the rednecks, they were never likeable, and all you wanted to see was Jason slice them up in creative and often hilarious ways.
Friday the 13th 2009 does all that. But these kids are downright idiots. When they are killed off, you're not so much cheering as you are thinking to yourself thank god I don't have to put with them for the rest of the film. And they still manage to act like caricatures even as they're being killed. The kills are less creative than they are sadistic, and I mean sadistic. This is a film made without style, without skill, and without a care in the world as to what is supposed to constitue horror.
Kids all around me in the theatre were screaming at every boo scare, loud noise made, and every appearance of the killer. All I kept thinking was, how is this audience stupid enough to get scared by things you could have predicted fifteen minutes before they happen? Haven't you seen this tired formula retreaded time and time again to the point where it's a comedy?
Thanks Michael Bay for adding another nail into the coffin that is American horror cinema.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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