10 Horror Movie Reboots (And Scoring How Successful They Were)
8. Friday the 13th (2009)
This was very much a back-to-basics approach for the Friday the 13th franchise, and this 2009 film comprises elements from the first four Friday the 13th films in a kind of slasher movie greatest hits compilation.
A more grounded approach was a good idea after the excess of the later entries into the franchise - Jason heading to Manhattan in Part VIII, becoming a turd-like spirit in Jason Goes to Hell, and heading to a space station in Jason X.
Like many other slasher movie antagonists, Jason Voorhees had been wrung of every drop of horror that the character once possessed. Simply put, Jason was no longer scary.
Where the 2009 movie fails miserably, is setting up a group of characters for you to care about. Instead, we get a group of obnoxious 20-somethings for Jason to prey upon, which is as much a Friday the 13th tradition as the masked killer himself and needed to be included in some form or other. However, even the last survivors we’re meant to be rooting for are as dull as dishwater.
The film performed well at the box office and showed there’s still some appetite for these pictures and for Jason Voorhees. If a little more time had been spent on characterisation, this reboot could have been a critical success as well.
Reboot rating: 3/10