Friday the 13th (2009)

Friday the 13th (2009)
Directed by	Marcus Nispel
Produced by	Michael Bay; Andrew Form; Brad Fuller
Starring	Jared Padalecki; Danielle Panabaker; Aaron Yoo; Amanda Righetti; Travis Van Winkle; Derek Mears
Music by	Steve Jablonsky
Cinematography	Daniel Pearl
Editing by	Ken Blackwell
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release	February 13, 2009
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$19 million
Gross revenue	$91,379,051
Preceded by	Freddy vs. Jason

Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a reboot of the Friday the 13th film series, which began in 1980, and the twelfth installment in the franchise. Nispel also directed the 2003 remake of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), while Shannon and Swift wrote the screenplay for the 2003 crossover Freddy vs. Jason. Friday the 13th follows Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Amanda Righetti), who while camping in the woods at Crystal Lake is taken by Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears).

The concept for the 2009 film originally started as an origin story, but the film evolved into a reimagining of the first four Friday the 13th films. Along with bringing the film back to its tonal roots, Jason was designed as a leaner and faster killer, with a backstory that could provide a little sympathy for the character, but not enough that he would lose his menace. Although this film reboots the continuity, Jason's iconic hockey mask, which was not introduced until the third film in the series, is acquired through the progression of the film. In keeping with the tone of the film, Jason's mask was also brought back to its roots, created from a mold of the original mask used for Part III; though there were subtle changes. Friday the 13th incorporated some of Harry Manfredini's music score from the original Friday the 13th film series, as the producers recognized its iconic status.

The film was released on Friday, February 13, 2009, to the most theaters of any of the Friday the 13th films. Although the film was met with primarily negative reviews, it earned approximately $19 million on its opening night and $40 million for its opening weekend. With its opening weekend, Friday the 13th broke two records, having the largest opening day for the film series and the largest opening weekend for any horror film. It is currently the second-highest grossing film in the Friday the 13th franchise with $65 million, and has earned over $91.3 million worldwide.

Plot[]

On June 13, 1980, a young Jason Voorhees (Caleb Guss) witnesses his mother (Nana Visitor) being beheaded by a camp counselor (Stephanie Rhodes), who was trying to escape Mrs. Voorhees's murder spree around Camp Crystal Lake. Approximately 30 years later, a group of vacationing friends—Wade (Jonathan Sadowski), Richie (Ben Feldman), Mike (Nick Mennell), Whitney (Amanda Righetti) and Amanda (America Olivo)—arrive at Crystal Lake on a camping trip to find some marijuana that was planted in the woods. As Mike and Whitney explore the abandoned Crystal Lake camp, an adult Jason (Derek Mears), with a cloth wrapped around his face to conceal it, begins to kill the rest of the group one by one. Jason also kills Mike, but decides to spare Whitney and abducts her because she resembles his mother at a young age.

Six weeks later, Trent (Travis Van Winkle), along with his girlfriend Jenna (Danielle Panabaker) and their friends Chelsea (Willa Ford), Bree (Julianna Guill), Chewie (Aaron Yoo), Nolan (Ryan Hansen), and Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta) arrive at Trent's summer cabin on the shore of Crystal Lake. The group is unaware of the events that occurred a few weeks prior. Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) arrives in town to search Crystal Lake for Whitney, his sister. During a confrontation, a farmhand rips Jason's cloth mask so he replaces it with an early model goalie mask. Clay eventually makes his way to Trent's cabin, where Jenna agrees to help him look for his sister on the other side of the lake. As Clay and Jenna search for clues, Jason kills Chelsea and Nolan, who are wakeboarding on the lake. Clay and Jenna reach the old Crystal Lake campgrounds, where they witness Jason hauling a dead body into one of the abandoned camp houses.

The pair run back to warn the others about Jason, who soon arrives and cuts the power to the cabin. After killing Chewie and Lawrence, who ventured outside the house, Jason sneaks inside the cabin and kills Bree. Trent, Clay, and Jenna escape the house, but Trent is killed when he reaches the main road. Jason then chases Clay and Jenna back to the campgrounds, where Clay discovers Jason's lair and finds his sister chained to the wall. Clay frees Whitney, and all three attempt to escape as Jason arrives. The trio find an exit, but Jenna is killed before she can get out. Jason comes after Clay and Whitney, but Whitney, by pretending to be Mrs. Voorhees, uses Jason's love and memory of his mother to distract him long enough to stab him in the chest with his own machete. Afterward, Clay dumps Jason's lifeless body into the lake. Before he and Whitney can leave, Jason bursts through the wooden dock and grabs Whitney.