'Friday the 13th' Review

Jared Padalecki and Derek Mears in 'Friday the 13th' Let's celebrate Friday the 13th with a little red meat, shall we? And hard numbers.

[Robin Vogel]

Jared Padalecki rides a motorcycle and is seen in a wet, skin-tight t-shirt.

'Nuff said?

[Enio]

You know what's even more tired, predictable and useless than a random slasher film? Reviews that say the SAME thing over and over about them! Perhaps reviews need to re-assess the purpose(s) of these kinds of films. They won't STOP being made, so maybe, just maybe, we can begin to evalute them based on a different set of criteria then we do a lot of other films? Would you fault a comedy for not having enough serious moments?

Horror films aren't even always produced for scares alone--there's a mood and atmosphere that needs to be considered with these films. I'm not arguing that this is supreme filmmaking, but the film, and yes, I DID see it, has a particular place in the cinematic mileu. Instead of continusouly beating these films, and those reading the reviews, over the head with the fact that they offer senseless, immoral (a word I love, because after all, what is moral?) and countless kills of nameless, faceless and characterless teens, maybe reviewers need to critique and analyze the reasons and rationales for their comments? Did anyone ever consider that perhaps it isn't the film that's awful, but only everyone's propensity to slam these films for the same thing every time, that now, no matter how good the film tries to be, reviewers/audiences will always and inevitably go into the film with a preconcieved notion of what they are about to experience and what kind of film it will be?

[Thorny]

Enio, I agree with your basic premise, but consider this: critics exist to critique; beyond that, they really serve no useful purpose in a journalistic sense. Most are not even real critics; they're newbie writers who have to start at the bottom of the ladder. Only people who either really love the subject or who never get anywhere remain critics.

Saying that, I've always looked at anything a critic says through a fairly wide lens. At the end of the day, their articles are based on a subjective opinion, nothing else. Sure, you get your Roger Eberts and the like who claim self-importance, but they're really nothing more than folks who like certain kinds of movies and can't see anything worthwhile outside their fairly narrow vision.

At the end of the day, it's up to the viewer to decide what rules and what doesn't. I think the entire Friday the 13th franchise is silly, but still worth a scare or two. I do enjoy the Nightmare On Elm Street and (most of) the Halloween series. Does this mean my opinion counts more than yours? Of course not.

As for your noting that critics slam movies for the same things over and over, you're right. Consider, though, that you can only say, "This movie is great!" or "This movie bites!" so many ways before you start repeating yourself. Critics are generally less-than-stellar writers to begin with, which is why they often seem to be writing the same crap repeatedly. Why they watch movies they know they're not going to like to begin with is beyond me.

As for the new Friday the 13th, I don't expect much, so I probably won't be disappointed. I'm just a fan of the genre, so even if I don't like the movie in general, I'll at least get my money's worth. Critics should do the same thing, but they probably won't.

[Rena Moretti]

Thorny wrote:

Enio, I agree with your basic premise, but consider this: critics exist to critique; beyond that, they really serve no useful purpose in a journalistic sense. Most are not even real critics; they're newbie writers who have to start at the bottom of the ladder. Only people who either really love the subject or who never get anywhere remain critics.
Saying that, I've always looked at anything a critic says through a fairly wide lens. At the end of the day, their articles are based on a subjective opinion, nothing else. Sure, you get your Roger Eberts and the like who claim self-importance, but they're really nothing more than folks who like certain kinds of movies and can't see anything worthwhile outside their fairly narrow vision.
At the end of the day, it's up to the viewer to decide what rules and what doesn't. I think the entire Friday the 13th franchise is silly, but still worth a scare or two. I do enjoy the Nightmare On Elm Street and (most of) the Halloween series. Does this mean my opinion counts more than yours? Of course not.
As for your noting that critics slam movies for the same things over and over, you're right. Consider, though, that you can only say, "This movie is great!" or "This movie bites!" so many ways before you start repeating yourself. Critics are generally less-than-stellar writers to begin with, which is why they often seem to be writing the same crap repeatedly. Why they watch movies they know they're not going to like to begin with is beyond me.
As for the new Friday the 13th, I don't expect much, so I probably won't be disappointed. I'm just a fan of the genre, so even if I don't like the movie in general, I'll at least get my money's worth. Critics should do the same thing, but they probably won't.

And right there, you wrote a better article than 99.9% of critics who review this film will.:)

[johnny ringo]

Well...a critic might criticize a comedy for not having enough FUNNY bits, right? Assuming the point of the comedy was to make us laugh. Seems to follow you could complain that a horror film didn't have enough, uh, SCARY bits, yes?

[ERIC THE GREAT]

THIS VERSION OF THE 13 IS NOT AS GOOD AS THE OHER I TOTALLY PREFER THE OLD ONES OF JASON
IF U WANT TO SEE AND LEARN ALL ABOUT FRIDAY THE 13 GO NOW TO
http://comingmoviesincolombia.blogspot.com/
BELIVE ME YOU WONT REGRET

[Crazy Ralph]

You're all doomed. Doomed if you go see this turd-laden abortion of a flick.

[yazmin]

i really want to see friday the 13 all my friends say its scary and way awsome!!!

[yazmin]

i love sending comments to my fox 13

[Bob]

Wow, James Bond himself reviewing this (bet you never heard that one before), anyways I'll take this over Saw or Hostel anyday, at least this film was fun to watch.