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| made by: Kyle Huculak |
I am not a fan of the remake of Friday the 13th, or Jason's look in that movie. But this is undeniably one of the best remake busts out there bar-none. Kyle Huculak is a professional SFX artist out of Vancouver, British Columbia with some amazing talent. Definitely check out his work and have him commission you a piece.
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| Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th (2009) |
Yeah, I'm also not a fan of the remae at all. I don't like the way Marcus Nispal shoots his films an their over all look, and I would barely give the film a D+ rating. I just plain didn't like its dialogue & disposible characters and formulaic music. However, more power to any fans of it out there.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes fo what it is, that fan F/X ade bust IS amazing, alost filmable quality. Major props & respects to him. He has a large palpable sense of talent.
I found it to be dull and typical and WAY too modernized. They did the Texas chainsaw ones with a retro feel, and this was completely opposite.
DeleteI can see where you're comin' from my good man.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much had the same problem. Dullard/uninspired kills; predictible "jumper" ending. Typical modern HD look, though I have learned to somewhat live with that now, natch *playful shrugs*. Not enough Jason -- at least I felt so -- or decent strong-willed heroine to get behind, ect. And yeah too modernnized with bad dialogue with the credited Freddy Vs. Jason writers whom also did the redux.
It disappointed me as well.
As I mentioned to Jack on Twitter the other day, I LOVE F13 '09. Is it a perfect film? Of course not. But IMO, it put the series back into its familiar and comfortable groove of utilizing the right formula again instead of making Jason hitch a cruise ship, body-hop around like a Hidden rip-off, or go into space and morph into some goofy comic book-looking supervillain. And then there's his piss-poor characterization in Freddy vs. Jason, where he walks around like an even slower lumbering turd as played by Ken than when Kane really invented that schtick for the character. And now suddenly Jason's afraid of water? REALLY? Did they even bother watching the previous entries in the franchise, 'cause I'm pretty sure that's bullshit to the highest power.
ReplyDeleteI think Derek Mears NAILED the character and is by far the best performer to inhabit the role since Ted White in TFC. Derek made Jason cunning, lethal and extremely BADASS again. I loved seeing the character so agile and ferocious once more, as the previously mentioned "power walk" horseshit was so tired and done with it wasn't even funny anymore. Mears clearly loved the essence of the character as originally defined in Parts 2-4 and he totally pulled from that to make Jason a formidable force to be reckoned with once more. The additional infusion of an almost John Rambo quality made for a great addition, too. I think it's fucking awesome to see how crafty Jason can be when dispensing his prey, and how he's not just mindlessly hacking and slashing his way through hapless cattle. He's clearly plotting and enjoying the hunt, which is just cool as hell IMO.
The most popular complaints about F13 '09 are easily the "pot farmer" angle and Jason essentially "taking a hostage," which so many are adamant he'd never do. Well, as to the pot angle, I guess one might rationalize Jason grows it and smokes it to help ease the pain of his grotesque and rampant bodily deformities. Or, if you're like me, it's just a glorified lure to get kids out into the middle of nowhere so he can take pleasure in slaughtering them lol. As for the hostage element, eh, to me it's ok. They explain it fine in the film and it didn't seem forced or offensive IMO. To each their own on that, though. I thought him projecting his mother onto the Whitney character was interesting and showed just how human he still is in some ways, longing for affection and some sort of acceptance in the most sad and fucked up sort of way.
I also think the remake/reboot got the classic slasher aesthetics down perfectly. Giving who's essentially the most likable doofus in the whole film (Chewie) the most uncomfortable and protracted onscreen death (especially in the extended unrated cut) is a wonderful attribute. Likewise, killing off the Jenna character rather unexpectedly right near the end when it seems already suggested that her, Clay and Whitney are going to escape together and ride off into the sunset like some horseshit TV movie ending was also a smart and slick move. The film also has the most arguably over the top sex scene of any major studio horror film in eons. The scene in question is raunchy and sleazy as hell for a mass released multiplex genre picture, and that's another thing I love about it. The film also has some GORGEOUS night cinematography on display IMO. It oozes ominous atmosphere in those scenes very effectively.
But yeah, I understand most fans qualms on many levels with F13 '09, I just don't agree with that many of them. As a hardcore fan of the franchise and someone who will forever adore Parts 2-4 the most, I think the remake/reboot was a tremendous step back in the right direction for the franchise, genuine flaws and all. I really hope Mears gets an opportunity to reprise the role and show us what else he is capable of. With an even better script and some more classic F13 zeitgeist in tow, I think we could all be in for another truly classic entry in this beloved franchise.
I agree that Mears nailed it. Absolutely.
DeleteI think, and it's just an opinion, that making Friday the 13th modern really took away a lot from it. Friday the 13th relies on the whole "can not get help" aspect that Victor Miller created and intended on. GPS, cells, and so on really take away that doomed feeling. I mean, who really is lost when they have a GPS. You can be in the middle of Death Valley now and know how to get home.
Also - to me the Platinum Dunes Chainsaw remake, retro-styled or not, is an absolute failure on many levels because it betrays the cautionary fairytale structure of Hooper's original film. Having the kids in the remake almost set up into a form of entrapment with the situation doesn't hold a candle whatsoever to the classic blueprint of merely going down the wrong road in the wrong place at the wrong time and suddenly finding yourself in deep, deep shit. Plus the whole angle with the Sheriff is just contrived and cliche as hell. I HATED the idea of local law enforcement being involved with the family in any way whatsoever. The thing I always like to project from my own point of view on the original is that the local police probably knew about the family and some of the goings on - they were just too fucking terrified and chickenshit to ever try going out there at the time to do anything about it lol. They're like that dirty rumor or local legend no one wants to talk about or deal with. Having an angle worked in with the police in the remake just fucking ruined it. I do love the LOOK of the TCM remake though. The cinematography is INCREDIBLE and the film is hard to take your eyes off of. As for the actors, they're pretty bad and certainly don't come off as tangibly believable for the time period. They look like American Eagle clothing models playing 70's dress-up IMO lol. Sure, the F13 '09 kids look similar, but at least with the modern setting and timeframe, it's more believable that they'd look and behave a certain way.
ReplyDeleteIf there's one PD remake that truly struck out on every conceivable level though, it's 2010's Elm Street. That steaming piece of shit is abhorantly bad on innumerable levels. Limp-dicked performances coupled with flaccid, uninspired setpieces, it's just a complete and total waste of a film. If ever there's a recent example of what NOT to do with a modern remake, it's this one. It's a slap in the face to what made the character of Freddy great in the heyday and completely missed the mark for capturing the wild imagination that fueled the original series of films, whether they were pumped out like obvious cash-cows for the day or not. There's just simply not one iota of greatness in the Elm Street remake whatsoever. I fucking hate that film with every fiber of my horror-lovin' soul lol.
I agree and that is why Hooper's version is genius. I think the remake failed as well, but it also had a great look to it and it did have a retro feeling.
DeleteI fully agree, once again with the above posts after mine.
ReplyDeleteFor me there were only ever two solid/very good TCM films, and BOTH bare the name Tobe Hooper on them. I don't care what others call him, hack or not, he made the ONLY surreal/quirky & eccentric films in that franchise that I own on Blu Ray & love and adore.
And yeah, the remake to me, especially the Prequel/Sequel which I feel wasted in her role the fairly talented/underrated actress Jordanna Brewster from the cool Fast & Furious movies, and also I loathed the way that as noted above, most of the youthful actors looked like department store catalog models that we all see each year or month as we look over clothiing options, ect.
I also didn't like the contrivance of Sheriff Holt or however his name was spelled, even if I LOVE L. Lee Emery chewing the scenery like it is fucing addictive chewing tabacoo product, really too me out of it. And don't even get me started on that one quallifying for obesity lady that was so sedentary and yet also supposedly helping to catch the new potential hapless victims in the area, ect.
And yeah I also prefer the Friday the 13th franchise, like our good buddy Jack, to be set in the pre-modern/pre-digital age. I mean we ALL have mobile phones & GBS systems. For Christ sakes, how "Dude man, we're totally fuckin' lost out here in the sticks!" can one group or couple totally & lamely be, ya know? GREAT series of posts from Jack up above ...
I dunno guys... I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on those points. I mean, I get where you're both coming from on the whole modernized GPS/cell phone angle, but to me that stuff is hardly 100% foolproof. Example - try finding the post office I get my mail from now after recently moving using a GPS device like Google Maps and you'll end up literally driving down a dead end street while the post office itself is actually about 3 minutes in the other direction in an old strip mall on top of a hill lol. GPS isn't an infallible system, by any stretch. I've also noticed it's a lot less accurate the further out into the boonies you actually are lol. Plus, the only area of F13 '09 it really played a major role was the very beginning of the film (if memory serves - granted, it's been a little while since I last watched the flick) and those kids were far more concerned with stealing weed that wasn't theirs and eventually fucking each other's brains out while drinking cheap-ass beer than they were with reading an electronic device correctly lol.
ReplyDeleteAs for cell phones, well, as someone still living in the deep south, I can honestly say that's not a failsafe system of comfort and security, either. Go far enough into any backwooded area and you're gonna lose service pretty quickly with my carrier, and that includes the inability to use roaming as well. Plus batteries can die and if you've no access to an outlet to charge something, you're fucked. Also, it's just as easy to drop the phone and damage it, or even LOSE it in the middle of a crazy situation. And let's face it - you're not going to run across a Jason or Leatherface type right off the main road where you've got four bars lol - you're gonna have to be deep in the heart of nowhere to face that potential situation, where all the aspects mentioned above may (re: more likely WILL) be working against you. Whitney's phone was flat-out broken as I recall when she tried to escape (and actually DID in the extended cut) Jason's underground lair. And IIRC, near the film's conclusion when trying to call for help once Jason trapped them at the retreat home, Clay asked Jenna for a cell phone but she said nothing could get a signal for shit. I guess my only real point in this is that all the tech and gadgetry in the world can't help you when you're on a madman's turf and he still has total home field advantage lol.
I will agree that Hooper's TCM films are the only two I care for as well. Jeff Burr's entry is a limp-dicked pseudo-reboot itself while Next Gen is pretty damn unwatchable aside from a few little bits that kind of work. I've still not seen the PD prequel to their 2003 remake, since I don't care much for the remake in and of itself. I'm sure I will check it out eventually though. Same goes for the new "3D" entry from last month, even though it looks fucking terrible lol.
I agree that it is not foolproof, but easier to "fool proof" in cinema.
DeleteYEah, I like & respect your posts but its fine: We can all agree to disagree. Technology & me have a pretty good relationship, even without me being THAT overly "tech savy", and so I've never had to worry about thoe probles, even if we all could potentially face them.
ReplyDeleteAnd ye, I doubt I'll ever see the new 3-D redux. I watched the trailerin HD two months ao finally with my earbuds in and using my MacBook, and I got the the part with the girl-in-the-coffin in an open grave where OF COURSE he new oddly tonned & more inshape Latherface of course finds it, and I quietly exclaimed to myself "Check, please!" lmao. :D
I also never got into Jeff Burr's TCM III because of the acting, casting and music. It is all so New Line Cinema by that point. Now its not the worst film in the world & more power to its fans. Its just so unthreatening & generic that I'm not one of'em. While of a minor not for us hardcore Friday the 13th franchise fanatics because of the (laeoid) Part VII connections of Hodder doin' stunts/Jennifer Banko/Wiliam Butler, I just feel that people aren't missing any seminal classic or even a notable cult film *shrugs*.
As for TCM: The Begginning from around '06 or so, I TRULY LOATHED tht pointless, generic and just there fucin' Prequel/remae all of hatever. It realy wanted R. Lee Emery's talents again as Sheriff Holt again I feel as well as the lovely Jordanna Brewster from The Faculty/Fast & The Furious as well as other stuff, ect. And its "shocer ending" I saw coming from the moment a character got into a car, so yeah, fuck it. lmao. SO disappointed in that generic shitfeast of a movie, I am not even joing my friends. I'll probabl never own in on Bu Ray and I'm a HUGE sucker for officially released, high-def genre cinema over the lat three years now.
Also to Jack: I'll just go ahead and send you the Camilla & Carey More photos. We're both huge Final Chapter marks flaws & all, as I feel theyre very are the photos that I found. PEACE! :D
To Jack up above:
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Which is why I do not fully buy many of the modern "lost aspects" of modern genre cinema. WE ALL (well most of us, anyway) have mobile phones. So yeah, how are most truly "lost' these days, ya know???