Sat through it.

Well, couldn't find a friend interested in going to see the new Friday The 13th with me, so I went and saw it myself this afternoon. That's two remakes in one week! And a remake is what this is. The original Friday The 13th (released in 1980) had so many freaking sequels (countless) that it became almost a joke. Okay, it did become a joke. But this is not another sequel, this is actually a remake of the original first film. Technically, for you horror-geeks out there, this was a remake of the first two films, with a major emphasis on the second one (which was the first one with Jason as the main killer/character).

The one piece of genuine appreciation that I think this remake deserves is the fact that the first 20 minutes go by really fast. So fast, in fact, that I thought we were approaching the end of the movie, only to discover that it had been a pre-feature teaser (if you will) for the much longer second part of the film. That was well done. I didn't see it coming. Somebody (the director, the screenwriter, somebody) deserves credit for that.

I am a horror film fan, I have to admit it. And the Friday The 13th series was huge when I was a kid in the 80s. A few years later, in college, I worked at a Blockbuster Video between semesters in the early/mid 90s, and I made it a point of taking one of the films home each night until I had watched them all. Sometimes I would watch them alone, sometimes I would take them over to my girlfriend's place and we'd make out while watching them... The latter was always a much better scenario.

Honestly I lost count of how many sequels there actually were (and I think most people have). But I have watched them all, one a night, back to back, and I can tell you that they are pretty lame that way. There's no waiting or anticipation for the next sequel to be released, and the first 15 minutes of each film is always a recap of what happened in the last film. So, if you just watched the last film last night, it gets old pretty quick. Also, they stopped even trying to be creative with the many different ways that Jason comes back to life each time. Toward the end of the sequels, they were just ridiculous.

"But, Joe, those movies are ridiculous! All of them! That's what horror movies are all about." Yeah, I hear ya. But watch them all straight and you'll see what I mean. Ridiculous hits whole new levels you didn't even know existed.

There was a long period of time there where they didn't release any more sequels, and then one year they came out with one that takes place in the future, called Jason X. (I think the X was a reference to the new Apple MacIntosh operating system by the same name which had been released just before, and was all the "new" rage in computers that year, because they had certainly surpassed 10 sequels by that point). I honestly can't remember if I ever went to see that one in a theater, but I did buy the DVD and still throw it in from time to time when I want to laugh at the idea of squeezing what last few breathes of life there still might be out of a horror movie dynasty.

This remake was... Okay, I guess. I mean, it was horrifically violent. But then, back in 1980 when the original came out that one was considered horrifically violent, too. Although, if you watch the originals now you will undoubtedly laugh at the campiness. And, of course, they leave it wide open for a sequel, which is only fair, since it was this movie that really stretched sequel making to the breaking point. I mean, over a period of 25 years George Lucas only came out with 6 Star Wars films, which is piddly in comparison to what Friday The 13th did.

Will I go see the next one? Maybe. If I can find a friend who wants to go with me. But honestly, it just wan't fun sitting in that theater by myself this afternoon. And, another thing, there was a single guy sitting two rows behind me all by himself, too. And that kinda creeped me out. I couldn't help but think, "What the hell is that guy doing in here watching this thing all by himself?" Never mind the fact that I was doing the same thing. But I know I'm not creepy.

Maybe I'll just wait 10 years and then buy all of the sequels (the NEW sequels that is) on disc and have a Friday The 13th party or something. By then we'll all be ready to laugh at those, too.