When Paramount announced yesterday that they would be releasing “Friday The 13th” on March 13, 2015, it took most people by surprise.
There have been a number of rumors swirling about what approach they’re taking, and while they now have a release date, they’re a long way from having a script or even a director. HitFix can confirm that this is indeed the found footage film that has been mentioned, and that it is once again going to reboot the series from the start, which is a very confusing approach considering the 2009 film was also a remake of sorts.
The thing I liked most about Marcus Nispel’s “Friday The 13th” was the way screenwriters Mark Swift and Damian Shannon managed to condense the first three films of the franchise into one movie. We got the death of Jason’s mother in the opening scenes of the movie, we got a long stretch with deformed hillbilly baghead Jason, and we eventually got the hockey-mask wearing icon version. The film was the first time anyone actually tried to explain the way Jason would get around Camp Crystal Lake so quickly as well as the reason he seems to always know where everyone is. It seemed like a really interesting way to restart things without throwing out the entire franchise.
One of the reasons I hate the remake and reboot culture right now is because that tends to be the answer to everything. Warner Bros. may have made the last film, but that doesn’t really justify Paramount’s decision to start over one film later. And, yes, they are definitely starting over. This is not a sequel to the 2009 film, and it’s not just “another” film in the series. The things I’m hearing make it sound like they want it to stand alone again.
Even worse, the more I hear about this version, the less it sounds like a “Friday The 13th” movie and more like a movie that happens to be called “Friday The 13th.” I liked that they used Derek Mears as Jason in the Nispel film. I know fans have an attachment to Kane Hodder, but I thought Mears gave Jason some great character details that made him interesting to watch again. Are they going to pony up for him again, or are they going to dump him as well? I know it’s easy to think that it doesn’t matter who is in the mask, but it does, and there are certain things that fans expect. If you don’t do those, then why bother with the title at all?
I’ll keep digging on this. I’m curious to see what happens once a first draft comes in from the writers they have on the project. Let’s see how long Paramount holds to that date. I am always baffled by the urge to claim a date that’s over a year away when they haven’t even started writing yet. That seems so backwards to me, such a terrible way to get a good film made.
Prove me wrong, Paramount. Please?
“Friday The 13th” is set for Friday, March 13th, 2015.