Friday the 13th Has an Identity Crisis

By Broadside Staff Writer Joshua Hylton. Photo by John P. Johnson.

Fun fact: the fear of the day Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. I wonder what fear of men in hockey masks running around murdering people is called.

Since reliable old Wikipedia could not come up with anything, it is probably safe to say that such a fear does not exist.

Could it be because not a single film in the Friday the 13th franchise has managed to be remotely frightening in even the most basic sense?

After 12 flicks, I am so desensitized to psychos in hockey masks that if Jason Voorhees came busting through my door right now, I would probably just keep writing this review.

Luckily for Friday the 13th, scares have never been the draw of this franchise. Unlike a franchise like Halloween that is more effective when subtle, Friday the 13th works in the way raw meat does: the bloodier the better.

What is surprising, however, is that the film is not actually all that violent. Of course there is blood and it wholeheartedly deserved that R rating, but compared to the excessively and unnecessarily violent Halloween reboot, this is child’s play.

That reboot and this one should have switched places. Halloween works better as an understated, suspenseful slasher with minimal amounts of violence.

Those films rely on ambiance and tension to drive them home. Friday the 13th should be gratuitously violent and fun, with little regard to character development or emotional connection, but that is not delivered here.

One of Friday the 13th’s biggest problems is that the film has an identity crisis. It knows it is nothing more than a teenage slasher movie and features plenty of jokes that will keep you smiling throughout, but then the tone of the picture starts to flop around.

Amidst the funny ha-ha’s are the gruesome kills. The film attempts to be frightening during these moments, but it fails. The tone changes so drastically from one scene to the next that no real investment could be made one way or the other.

Still, I have a soft spot in my heart for Friday the 13th. As an all around movie fan, I am well aware that slasher movies rank low on the quality scale, but for some reason, this franchise does it for me.

It always has and it always will. There are elements in each of the 12 entries in the series that I love for one reason or another (excluding Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan—nearly unwatchable), and this is no exception.

Despite the film not quite delivering on what it should be (and what the series was defined as throughout the ‘80s), this is still a solid effort that fans will most likely enjoy.

It is not scary, the kills are disappointingly unimaginative, and you will be able to spot every jump scene seconds before they occur, but you know what? It’s fun.
It is not as good as My Bloody Valentine and if you want to see some blood this week, check that 3-D goodness out, but Friday the 13th should be sufficient if your bloodlust has not quite been quenched.

To view the Friday the 13th trailer, learn more about the cast and crew, view pictures and videos or to check local showtimes visit www.fridaythe13thmovie.com.