Friday the 13th (2009 film)
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''Friday the 13th'' is a 2009 American
slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...
directed by
Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel is a German film director and producer, Fulbright Scholar, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos. ...
, written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift from a screen story by Shannon, Swift and Mark Wheaton. It is a
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
of the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise, which began in 1980, and is the twelfth installment. Nispel also directed the 2003 remake of
Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror fi ...
's ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...
'' (1974), while Shannon and Swift wrote the screenplay for the 2003 crossover ''
Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...
''. The film was produced by
Platinum Dunes Platinum Dunes is an American production company founded in November 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form. The company produces horror films, such as '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', ''The Purge'', '' Friday the 13t ...
and
Crystal Lake Entertainment Crystal Lake Entertainment Inc. is a Los Angeles-based multi-media production company. The company was named after the storied lake from founder and CEO, Sean S. Cunningham's landmark film, '' Friday the 13th''. Their first released project was ...
and distributed by
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
and
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. It stars
Jared Padalecki Jared Tristan Padalecki (born July 19, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Sam Winchester in the TV series '' Supernatural''. He grew up in Texas and rose to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the televi ...
,
Danielle Panabaker Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the Disney films '' Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), '' Sky High'' (2005) and ''Read It and Weep'' ( ...
,
Aaron Yoo Aaron Yoo (born May 12, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in the films '' Disturbia'' (2007), '' 21'' (2008), and ''Friday the 13th'' (2009), as well as playing Russell Kwon in the sci-fi series ''The Tomorrow People'' ( ...
,
Amanda Righetti Amanda Righetti (born April 4, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Grace Van Pelt on ''The Mentalist'', as well as her roles in '' Friday the 13th'', ''The O.C.'' and ''Colony''. Early life The youngest of eight children, ...
,
Travis Van Winkle Travis Scott Van Winkle (born November 4, 1982) is an American actor, best known for starring in the feature film ''Accepted'' (2006) and the 2021 third season of the Netflix streaming television series '' You'', portraying Trent Sutton-DeMarco ...
, and
Derek Mears Derek Mears (born April 29, 1972) is an American actor and stuntman. Often appearing in horror and science-fiction titles, he came to prominence for portraying Jason Voorhees in the 2009 reboot of ''Friday the 13th''. His film roles also include ...
and follows Clay Miller (Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Righetti), who is captured by
Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
(Mears) while camping in woodland at Crystal Lake. The film was originally conceived as an
origin story In entertainment, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a Character (arts), character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist, and it adds to the overall interest and complexity of a narrative, often giving reason ...
, but the project evolved into a
re-imagining A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...
of the first four ''Friday the 13th'' films. The character Jason Voorhees was redesigned as a lean, quick killer with a backstory that allows the viewer to feel sympathy for him, but not enough that he would lose his menace. In keeping with the tone of the film, Jason's mask was recreated from a mold of the original mask used for ''Part III''; though there were subtle changes. ''Friday the 13th'' includes some of Harry Manfredini's musical score from the previous ''Friday the 13th'' films because the producers recognized its iconic status. ''Friday the 13th'' was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2009, by
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
in North American territories and by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
internationally. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who felt that it did not add anything new to the franchise. The film would go on to gross $92.7 million at the box office on a budget of $19 million, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise after ''
Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...
''.


Plot

On June 13, 1980, a young
Jason Voorhees Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
watches as his mother
Pamela Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname * Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...
is beheaded by a camp counselor, who was trying to escape Mrs. Voorhees's murder spree around Camp Crystal Lake. Almost thirty years later, five friendsWade, Richie, his girlfriend Amanda, Mike, and his girlfriend
Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...
arrive for a camping trip at Crystal Lake, where they hope to find a crop of
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
growing in the woods. That night, an adult Jason kills everyone except Whitney, whom he captures as she resembles his mother at a young age. Six weeks later, Trent, his girlfriend Jenna and friends Chelsea, Bree, Chewie, Nolan, and Lawrence arrive at Trent's summer cabin on the shore of Crystal Lake. Meanwhile, Whitney's brother Clay Miller arrives at the lake to search for her, despite his local sherrif's pleas to look elsewhere. Clay visits Trent's cabin, and Jenna agrees to help him search for Whitney. Chelsea and Nolan go
wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
on the lake where Jason kills Nolan with an arrow, and fatally stabs Chelsea with a machete. Meanwhile, Clay and Jenna search the old Crystal Lake campgrounds, where they see Jason hauling a body into the abandoned camp house. Jenna and Clay run back to the cabin to warn the others about Jason. Chewie is killed by Jason in a tool shed near the cabin, while Trent and Bree have sex in a bedroom. Jenna and Clay arrive, and Clay calls the police. Jason then disconnects the cabin's electricity. Lawrence heads outside to search for Chewie, and Jason kills him with an axe. Jason then sneaks inside and kills Bree. A police officer arrives and knocks on the front door, but is killed by Jason before he can enter. Trent, Clay, and Jenna escape the cabin and become separated, and Trent is killed by Jason when he reaches the main road. Jason chases Clay and Jenna back to the campgrounds, where Clay discovers Jason's lair and finds his sister underground, chained to a wall. Clay frees Whitney, and all three try to escape as Jason arrives. They find an exit, but Jenna is impaled by Jason's machete before she can escape. Jason corners Clay and Whitney in a barn, and Whitney confuses Jason by pretending to be Pamela. Clay and Whitney subdue Jason with a length of chain, and Whitney stabs Jason in the chest with his own machete. After sunrise, Clay and Whitney dump Jason's body into the lake, but before they leave, Jason bursts through the wooden dock and grabs Whitney.


Cast


Production


Development

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
's
Toby Emmerich Toby Emmerich (born February 8, 1963), is an American producer, film executive, and screenwriter. He has been with Warner Bros. for much of his career, and formerly served as the chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Biography Emmerich ...
approached
Platinum Dunes Platinum Dunes is an American production company founded in November 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form. The company produces horror films, such as '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', ''The Purge'', '' Friday the 13t ...
producers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and
Andrew Form Andrew Form (born 1969) is an American film producer, best known for producing the films ''Friday the 13th'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', and ''The Purge''. He is the co-founder of company Platinum Dunes along with Michael Bay and Brad Fu ...
about remaking ''Friday the 13th'' in the same way they restarted ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' franchise. They agreed and spent over a year obtaining the film rights from
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, New Line and Crystal Lake Entertainmentthe latter run by ''Friday the 13th'' creator Sean S. Cunningham. Paramount executives gave Platinum Dunes producers a license to use anything from the original films, including the title. Paramount was given the rights to distribute the film internationally and New Line retained U.S. distribution rights. Fuller and Form said they did not want to make ''Friday the 13th Part 11'' or ''12'', but wanted to rework the mythology. They liked elements from the first four filmssuch as plot points and ways particular characters are killedand planned to use these in their remake, which they did with Paramount's approval. Fuller said, "I think there are moments we want to address, like how does the hockey mask happen. It'll happen differently in our movie than in the third one. Where is Jason from, why do these killings happen, and what is Crystal Lake?" The producers initially expressed an interest in using
Tommy Jarvis Tommy Jarvis is a fictional character in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise. He first appears in '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984) as a child interested in special effects who encounters a seemingly unstoppable slasher—Jason Voorhee ...
, a recurring character who first appeared in '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'', but the idea was scrapped. Though the producers decided that ''Friday the 13th'' would not be an origin story, they said that they wanted to work out a logical origin story for Jason that would provide a sense of history as the film progressed. Form and Fuller explained that the audience gets to see how Jason attains his famous hockey mask, and is given a reason for why he puts it on. Jason would transition from wearing a bag over his head—similar to the one seen in ''
Friday the 13th Part 2 ''Friday the 13th Part 2'' is a 1981 American slasher film produced and directed by Steve Miner in his directorial debut, and written by Ron Kurz. It is the sequel to 1980's '' Friday the 13th'', and the second installment in the franchise. Adri ...
''—to finding and wearing his hockey mask, whereas in ''
Friday the 13th Part III ''Friday the 13th Part III'' is a 1982 American slasher film directed by Steve Miner, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., and starring Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, and Richard Brooker. It is the third installment in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise. ...
'' he obtains the mask off-screen and comes out of a barn already wearing it. Unlike both horror remakes, ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003) and ''
The Amityville Horror ''The Amityville Horror'' is a book by American author Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is also the basis of a series of films released from 1979 onward. The book is based on the claims of paranormal experiences by the Lutz family, b ...
'' (2005)which were also produced by Bay, Form, and Fullerit was decided that ''Friday the 13th'' would not be a period piece. Form and Fuller said the film was not strictly a remake so there was no reason they could not set the story in the 2000s. In October 2007, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the writers of ''
Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...
'', were hired to write a script for ''Friday the 13th''.
Jonathan Liebesman Jonathan Liebesman (born 15 September 1976) is a South African film director and writer. Personal life Liebesman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He studied filmmaking at the AFDA, The South African School of Motion Picture Medium an ...
was in negotiations to direct the film, but scheduling conflicts meant he was unavailable and Fuller and Form chose
Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel is a German film director and producer, Fulbright Scholar, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos. ...
. Nispel was apprehensive about taking the job, mainly because he would be taking over another film franchise, but Fuller eventually persuaded him to direct the project.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on April 21, 2008, in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Texas and ended on June 13, 2008. Additional scenes were shot on location at Camp Fern near
Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of M ...
.


Casting

Stuntman
Derek Mears Derek Mears (born April 29, 1972) is an American actor and stuntman. Often appearing in horror and science-fiction titles, he came to prominence for portraying Jason Voorhees in the 2009 reboot of ''Friday the 13th''. His film roles also include ...
was hired to portray Jason Voorhees at the recommendation of special make-up effects supervisor Scott Stoddard. Before the producers contacted him, Mears had already heard about the production of a new ''Friday the 13th'' and had decided to start physical training so he could pursue the role. He was unaware that Stoddard and other industry professionals were suggesting him to the producers. The studio worried that Mears' pleasant demeanor might affect his ability to portray a menacing character, but Mears assured them he was suitable for the role. According to Mears, "They were like, 'You're really nice  ...  are you going to be able to switch over, right?' I was like, 'I cage fight... and I've got a lot of dad issues. So yeah.'". Mears said he related to "Jason the victim" when he was growing up, and he wanted to portray Jason as a victim in the film. To Mears, Jason represents people who were bullied in high schoolspecifically those with physical deformitiesfor being outcasts. Jason is unusual because he exacts his revenge on those trying to take over his territory at Crystal Lake. When Mears went to audition for the role, he was asked, "Why do we need an actor as opposed to just a guy in a mask?" Mears said portraying Jason is similar to Greek Mask Work, in which the mask and the actor are separate entities, and depending on the scene, there will be various combinations of mask and actor in the performance. Mears said the energy from the actor's thoughts will be picked up by the camera. He compared his experience behind the camera to a stock car race: he is the driver and the effects team is his
pit crew In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...
. As he performs, the effects team subtly suggest ways he can give the character more life on camera. Amanda Righetti had not read the script when she was offered the role of Whitney Miller. She wanted to be part of the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise from the start. Righetti said she wanted to act in the film to be a part of the franchise and was convinced by the script. Jared Padalecki describes Clay Miller as a real hero because he sets out "to do the right thing" when his sister goes missing, and goes about it as a "lone wolf" who wants to take on the responsibility alone. Adjustments were made to the filming schedule to accommodate Aaron Yoo, who portrays Chewie. Yoo had his appendix removed shortly before filming began, and could not film his scenes immediately. As soon as Yoo was ready for filming, Nispel immediately hung him upside down from some rafters, exposing the staples over his surgical wound for the character's post-death shot. Fuller and Form said the casting process for ''Friday the 13th'' was more difficult than that for ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' because thirteen young actors were involved in ''Friday the 13th'', as opposed to five in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre''. The pair continually recast roles to find which actors worked best together. This recasting process lasted until the start of filming. '' Hostel: Part IIs
Richard Burgi Richard William Burgi (, born July 30, 1958) is an American film and television actor best known for the roles of Det. Jim Ellison on '' The Sentinel'' and as Karl Mayer on ''Desperate Housewives''. He also portrayed Paul Hornsby in the ABC day ...
, who was cast as Sheriff Bracke, did not sign his contract until twelve hours before he was due to start filming his scenes.


Writing

When Shannon and Swift began writing the script for ''Friday the 13th'', they imposed some rules based on their experiences of writing ''Freddy vs. Jason'' on themselves. They wanted their teenage characters to "sound normal". Shannon and Swift said they did not want the characters to know Jason's name or to become what they considered "the ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...
'' cliché where it's a bunch of kids trying to figure something out". The writers also wanted to distance themselves from self-referential
slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...
s such as ''
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
'' and to give the film a gritty, more 1980s feel that had been lost in recent films. They wanted to create a quick, loose Jason. The writing team decided to create a version of Jason "who was actually in the woods surviving off the land", and whose killings are presented as a way of defending his territory rather than randomly murdering whoever came along. The writers did not want to spend a lot of time covering Jason's childhood experiences, which they felt would remove the sense of mystery from the character. They tried to write scenes that would add verisimilitude, like the audience finding a deer carcass lying on the ground as they follow Jason through his tunnels. Fuller told the writers they would have to do without it because it would cost $100,000. Because of budget constraints, certain character deaths and the ending of the film were also scaled back from what Shannon and Swift originally envisioned. The writers had written a scene in which Willa Ford's character Chelsea is stranded on the lake for hours after she sees Jason standing on the shore. Eventually, the girl would tire and drown. Shannon and Swift felt this was something they had not seen in slasher films, but later decided to make the death quicker and more visceral. A similar incident occurred with Danielle Panabaker's character Jenna. Panabaker said Jenna was scripted to survive longer than she did in the final version of the film; Jenna was supposed to escape Jason's lair and recite a "cute line" about a second date with Clay before an elaborate fight sequence that ends in her death. The writers wanted to strike a balance between finding new and interesting ways to kill characters and paying homage to popular death scenes that appeared in installments of the previous series. To accomplish this, Shannon and Swift included the presence of a wheelchair and a sweater in Jason's tunnels; the character Mark ( Tom McBride) was a paraplegic who was killed by Jason in ''Friday the 13th Part 2'' and Mrs. Voorhees wore the sweater in the original version of ''Friday the 13th''. The writers altered Jason's character. Mears describes him as a combination of John Rambo,
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
, and the
Abominable Snowman The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
''. To Mears, Jason is similar to Rambo because the audience sees him setting up the other characters to fall into his traps. Like Rambo, he is calculating because he feels he has been wronged and he is fighting back; he is supposed to be more sympathetic in this film. However, Fuller and Form said they learned from their experience with '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'' not to make Jason too sympathetic to the audience. They decided against an origin story because they did not want to focus on Jason's tormented childhood because the producers felt that would "demystify" the character in an unhelpful manner. Fuller said, "We do not want him to be sympathetic. Jason is not a comedic character, he is not sympathetic. He's a killing machine. Plain and simple."


Visual effects

The producers used Asylum Visual Effects to create digital effects for ''Friday the 13th''. Although director Marcus Nispel is a proponent of practical effects, Asylum had to digitally create some shots to protect the actors and to allow the director to achieve a specific look. Visual effects supervisor Mitchell Drain assigned ten crew members to work on the visual effects; they first analyzed the script in pre-production to decide which shots would need digital effects. Asylum worked on 25 shots for the film. One of the first scenes Asylum was given was the scene depicting the death of Amanda, in which Jason ties her into her sleeping bag and hangs her over a campfire. The risk to the actor and the surrounding woodland was deemed too great to physically perform the scene. Asylum created a composite of two shots to show Amanda burning to death in her sleeping bag. Instead of creating a computer generated (CGI) model of the campfire, a real campfire was filmed. Asylum compositor John Stewart blended that footage with shots of the hanging sleeping bag into a single shot. Stewart digitally altered the flames to keep continuity between frames. Another composite shot is used in the scene in which Chelsea is hit by a speedboat. Because the scene would be too dangerous for even a stuntperson to perform, Asylum digitally combined footage of
Willa Ford Amanda Lee Williford (born January 22, 1981), known by her stage name Willa Ford, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model, television personality and film actress. She released her debut album, ''Willa Was Here'', in 2001. Ford also ha ...
reacting to an imaginary boat that runs over her with shots of the actual boat to create the effect. Asylum also enhanced some of Jason's signature machete kills. In several scenes, the company used a computer-generated machete because Nispel wanted to show multiple characters' deaths in one shot instead of cutting from the acts of murder to the aftermath of their deaths. In one scene, Jason kills Richie by slamming a machete into his head. Instead of using a real machete with a fake head, Nispel had Feldman act dead as Mears pulled a handlewith only a portion of the blade attachedaway from Feldman's head. Then, Asylum digitally created the rest of the machete blade to complete the effect. For this scene, Asylum adjusted the actor's facial expressions to create a "post mortem" look. The special effects team digitally drooped half of the actor's face to appear as though the nerves had been severed by Jason's machete. Asylum digitally created weapons for various scenes. In the scene in which Nolan is killed suddenly by a shot in the head from Jason's arrow, Asylum created the arrow in post-production. Another scene involved Jason hurling a hatchet at Lawrence as he runs away, striking him in the back. The shot of a hatchet flying through the airin one instance appearing in the same frame as the actorwould be too difficult to achieve practically. Asylum rendered a complete 3D model of the hatchet then inserted the model into the frames leading up to the frame in which it hits the character in the back. One of the final images added by Asylum was for Trent's death scene. Here, Asylum digitally created a metal spike that bursts through Trent's chest as Jason slams him onto the back of a tow truck.


Creating Jason

Effects artist Scott Stoddard described his look for Jason's face as a combination of Carl Fullerton's design for ''Friday the 13th Part 2'' and
Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin'' ...
's design for ''Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter''. Stoddard's vision of Jason included hair loss, skin rashes, and the traditional deformities in his face. Stoddard tried to craft Jason's look so it would allow more human side of the character to be seen. Mears was required to wear full body make-up from the chest upwards while performing as Jason. The actor wore a chest plate with fake skin that would adjust to his muscle movements. He wore a hump on his back to give the impression that Jason had scoliosis. A prosthetic eye was glued to Mears' face to show realistic eye movements. Stoddard initially spent three-and-a-half hours applying the make-up to Mears' head and torso. He was eventually able to reduce the required time to just over an hour for scenes in which Mears wore the hockey mask. For scenes in which Jason's face is revealed, it took approximately four hours to apply the make-up. For Jason's wardrobe, Mears was given a pair of combat boots and a "high-priced t-shirt" that allowed the special effects make-up to be seen through holes in the shirt. The jacket Jason wears in the film was created by combining a hunting jacket and a military jacket. Mears wanted to use the hunting jacket, but the creative team liked the way the military jacket billowed as he was making his "kill movements", so the top of the hunting jacket was removed and placed over the top of the military jacket to create what Mears called a "giant
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
jacket." He describes Jason as leaner in this film because the character does not eat much. A leaner Jason was deemed more functional and allowed more emphasis to be placed on the hump on his back. Stoddard was inspired by the third and fourth films when designing Jason's hockey mask. Using an original mold, Stoddard made six new versions of the mask. He said, "Because I didn't want to take something that already existed. There were things I thought were great, but there were things I wanted to change a bit. Make it custom, but keep all the fundamental designs. Especially the markings on the forehead and cheeks. Age them down a bit. Break them up."


Music

Form and Fuller recognized the iconic status of the music used in the first four ''Friday the 13th'' films. For their 2009 film, they immediately had the studio attain the licensing rights to the music, which was composed and originally performed by Harry Manfredini. They did not plan to use the score in its entirety, but they had
Steve Jablonsky Steve Jablonsky (born October 9, 1970) is an American composer for film, television and video games, best known for his musical scores in the ''Transformers'' film series. Some of his frequent collaboration partners include film directors Michae ...
compose a score that was reminiscent of Manfredini's and created the atmosphere for the 2009 film. Nispel contacted Jablonsky to score ''Friday the 13th'' after having worked with him on the remake of ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre''. Nispel told Jablonsky he wanted him to create something that Nispel could "whistle when eleft the theater", but was subtle enough that it would not immediately register while watching the film. Nispel said, "I don't believe that, when you watch a ''Friday the 13th'' film, you want to feel like John Williams is sitting next to you with the
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
".


Release


Theatrical

A teaser trailer of the film debuted at the 2008 Scream Awards held in October and was later released online. In December, the film's theatrical trailer was released along with the theatrical poster. On Friday, February 13, 2009, ''Friday the 13th'' was released in 3,105 theaters in North America. The 2009 film was given the widest release of any ''Friday the 13th'' film, including the crossover film with ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenka ...
''. It was released in nearly three times as many theaters as the original 1980 film and exceeded ''Freddy vs. Jason'' by 91 theaters. ''Friday the 13th'' was also released in 2,100 theaters in 28 markets outside North America.


Home media

The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
,
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, and Apple TV on June 16, 2009. The DVD and Blu-ray releases contain the theatrical release and an extended cut of the film. The film was re-released on September 13, 2013 for ''Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection'', a box set featuring all twelve films in the franchise, then again on October 13, 2020, for Shout! Factory's "Special Edition" collection.


Reception


Box office

On its opening day, ''Friday the 13th'' grossed $19,293,446, and immediately exceeded the individual box office grosses for ''
The New Blood The New Blood was a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2000. History In early 2000, WCW decided that Kevin Sullivan (wrestler), Kevin Sullivan's booking styl ...
'' (1988), '' Jason Takes Manhattan'' (1989), '' Jason Goes to Hell'' (1993), and ''
Jason X ''Jason X'' is a 2001 American science fiction slasher film directed by Jim Isaac, written by Todd Farmer and starring Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, and Kane Hodder in his fourth and final cinematic appearance as Jason Voorhees. It is ...
'' (2002), which earned $19,170,001, $14,343,976, $15,935,068, and $13,121,555, respectively. From February 14–16, ''Friday the 13th'' earned an additional $24,292,003, making its four-day
President's Day Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...
weekend total $43,585,449. By the end of its three-day opening weekend, it was already the second highest-grossing film in the franchise, having earned $40,570,365, slightly exceeding ''
The Grudge ''The Grudge'' is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The Grudge'', i ...
'' (2004) for the best 3-day weekend opening of any horror film. When comparing the 2009 film's opening weekend to that of its 1980 counterpart in adjusted 2009 US dollars, the original ''Friday the 13th'' film earned $17,251,975. Although the 2009 film made more money, when factoring in the number of theaters each film was released in, the 1980 film earned an average of $15,683 per theater, compared to the 2009 film's average of $13,066. ''Friday the 13th'' saw a significant drop in attendance in its second weekend at the box office. On its second Friday, the film earned $2,802,977a decrease of 85.5% from its opening Friday. By the end of its second weekend, the film had earned $7,942,472a decrease of 80.4% from the previous weekend. As a result, the film went from first place to sixth in the weekend box office chart. By its third weekend, ''Friday the 13th'' had left the top ten, earning $3,689,156a 53.6% decrease from its second weekend. By the end of its box office run, ''Friday the 13th'' earned an estimated $65 million at the United States box office, but failed to regain a top ten spot after its third weekend. , the 2009 film is the fifth-highest earning President's Day weekend with $45,033,454. It is the eighth-highest grossing weekend in the month of February, and the eighth- highest-grossing weekend for the winter seasonthe period from the first day after the New Year weekend until the first Thursday of March. ''Friday the 13th'' finished as the fourth-highest-grossing film of any February with $59.8 million, just behind '' Taken'' with $84.3 million, '' He's Just Not That Into You'' with $77.2 million, and ''
Madea Goes to Jail ''Madea Goes to Jail'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry, which was based on his 2006 play, and starring Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Ion Overman, RonReaco Lee, Sofía Vergara, Vanessa Ferlito ...
'', with $60.9 million. ''Friday the 13th'' was the fifteenth-highest grossing R-rated film of 2009. Because of the significant decrease in box office revenues in its second weekend, the film had the sixth-largest second-weekend drop. It is the seventh-largest drop for a film that opened as the top-earning film in the United States. With its $65 million revenue at the North American box office, ''Friday the 13th'' is the highest-grossing film among slasher film remakes from the 2000s, which comprise '' When a Stranger Calls'' (2006), '' Black Christmas'' (2006), ''
Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
'' (2007), '' Prom Night'' (2008), and ''
My Bloody Valentine 3D ''My Bloody Valentine 3D'' is a 2009 American slasher film directed and co-edited by Patrick Lussier, and written by Todd Farmer and Zane Smith from a screen story by Stephen Miller (producer and co-writer of the original film). Serving as a ...
'' (2009). The film is ranked seventh-highest earning of all horror remakes, and is the seventh-highest earning slasher film in unadjusted dollars. In addition to its North American box office gross, ''Friday the 13th'' earned over $9.5 million in foreign markets on its opening weekend. The film's biggest markets were the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Spain, and Germany. ''Friday the 13th'' took in approximately $1.7 million in both the United Kingdom and Russia, an estimated $1.1 million in Spain, and $1 million in both Italy and Germany. According to Paramount, this was the largest opening outside North America of any of the ''Friday the 13th'' films. The film finished its North American box office run with $65,002,019; coupled with its earnings of $27,688,218 outside North America, the film has accumulated $92,670,237 worldwide. The film earned $10,344,904 in domestic video sales.


Critical response

Based on 175 reviews collected by
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Friday the 13th'' has a 26% approval rating from critics with an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 4.30/10. The consensus reads: "Though technically well-constructed, ''Friday the 13th'' is a series rehash that features little to distinguish it from its predecessors."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 34 based on 29 reviews.
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
polls reported that average grade cinemagoers gave the film a "B−" on a scale of A+ to F. Exit polls showed that 51% of the audience was male and 59% were at least 25 years old.
Alonso Duralde Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American film critic, author, and podcaster. Personal life Duralde was born in East Point, Georgia, the youngest of seven children born to Spanish immigrants. He attended Vanderbilt University and curre ...
wrote that the film should please slasher fans, but that it added nothing new to the genre or the franchise and would not appeal to people who did not like slasher films. He also said the prospect of another ''Friday the 13th''crafted by the film's "sequel-friendly" endingdid not leave him with a feeling of dread. Bill Goodykoontz of ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'' said the film accepts the "ridiculousness" of what it is trying to accomplishmainly the "death and dismemberment" of "party-hungry kids", and that audiences would enjoy it if they also recognized that. Although Goodykoontz acknowledges the unique touches the film brings to certain characters' deaths, he was unimpressed with the acting and said Padalecki's presence gave the film a "less-good episode of ''
Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
''" vibe. ''
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s Dan Zak wrote that the film fails to provide laughs, scares, suspense, or gore. Zak also said it fails to provide the exhibition of nudity expected of horror films that cannot deliver on the previously listed criteria. Mark Olsen of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said Nispel captured the despair he created with his ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' remake. Olsen also said the film failed to provide the "giddiness", "teenage lust", and "rambunctiousness" that made the previous ''Friday the 13th'' films work.
Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for ''The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with Jenna Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previously, Mor ...
said ''Friday the 13th'' did have humor; he said the characters continually act the clichéd role of would-be-victim, making it hard to fear for their safety. In his opinion, the 2009 film lacked the "psycho-social" aspecta mother killing out of revenge for her son's deathcrafted by its 1980 predecessor, and ultimately the film is "more hilarious than terrifying". The ''
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's'' Kyle Smith said Nispel made no attempt to create a movie beyond blood and guts, and even those attempts were "forgettable". Smith said that apart from Clay and Trent, the rest of the cast were merely "faces in the crowd" with no attempt to give them any sort of backstory. ''
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s Claudia Puig said that the film keeps to the same formula as its predecessors, with a story that adds little to nothing to the franchise. She also said Padalecki and Panabaker filled their lead roles well, and that Aaron Yoo's comic relief made him one of the most likable characters on screen. Rob Nelson of ''
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'' also praised Panabaker and Yoo's performances. In contrast to the film's detractors, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
's'' Nathan Lee said ''Friday the 13th'' managed to "reboot the concept" of the original films with style. Lee said the film takes pleasure in killing off each of its characters, that there is a desire among cinemagoers for this type of material, and that ''Friday the 13th'' satisfies that desire. Adam Graham from ''
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'' said that it is the most effective and scary film in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise; he praised its choice of allowing Jason to run after his victimsas opposed to slowly walking behind them, as became prominent in later sequelsbecause it made him more menacing. Graham also said the film does not "soften" Jason's scariness by providing a sympathetic backstory.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' explained his review of the film, he stated: "It will come as little surprise that Jason still lives in the woods around Crystal Lake and is still sore about the death of his mom. Jason must be sore in general". ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
s Clark Collis said director Nispel made a competent film that performs better as a whole than the previously released remakes of ''Prom Night'' (2008) and ''My Bloody Valentine 3D'' (2009), although it does provide a few too many unbelievable character moments. Jason Anderson of the ''
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'' said the film added freshness to the standard formula of the previous films by focusing on the chasing and killing aspects instead of lingering on the prolonged suffering of victims like the ''
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'' films.
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's Chris Carle said Aaron Yoo stole the film with his comic timing and with his "memorable death". Carle said Derek Mears' portrayal of Jason adds more to the character than being simply a stuntman; Mears's subtle movements, athleticism, and physicality created an imposing image of Jason.


Cancelled sequel

In October 2009,
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
set a release date for a sequel to ''Friday the 13th'' as August 13, 2010. On December 10, however, the sequel was pulled from its release date and was delayed indefinitely. In April 2010, producer Brad Fuller announced that a sequel to the film was not happening. In February 2011, Fuller announced that Damian Shannon and Mark Swift had finished a script for the sequel. In June 2013, Warner Bros. relinquished their film rights to the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise to
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. During the same month, however,
Derek Mears Derek Mears (born April 29, 1972) is an American actor and stuntman. Often appearing in horror and science-fiction titles, he came to prominence for portraying Jason Voorhees in the 2009 reboot of ''Friday the 13th''. His film roles also include ...
(who portrayed Jason Voorhees in the 2009 film) revealed that Paramount was working with Platinum Dunes to produce a sequel to the remake. However, the sequel was later developed into a separate installment of the franchise.


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friday The 13th 2000s slasher films 2000s English-language films 2009 films 2009 horror films Remakes of American films American slasher films Films produced by Andrew Form Films produced by Bradley Fuller Films directed by Marcus Nispel Films produced by Michael Bay Films scored by Steve Jablonsky Films set in 1980 Films set in 2008 Films set in abandoned houses Films set in New Jersey Films shot in Texas Films about mining 12 Horror film remakes New Line Cinema films Paramount Pictures films Warner Bros. films Platinum Dunes films Reboot films Films with screenplays by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon 2000s American films