Produced by Michael Bay (director of high-octane Hollywood films like Transformers, Armageddon, The Rock and Bad Boys), this is a remake of the cult 1980 slasher pic.

The original spawned numerous sequels and this reimagining promised to deliver thrills, spills, tension and implausible, gruesome entertainment – but the only thing it really manages to get right is the implausibility factor.

Not so much a remake as a brief re-cap of the original story, this new version takes us back to basics to remind us of the legend of Jason and his origins, as well as his mother’s original killing spree.

Little time is spent on this, however, as the action is swiftly transported to modern day and a new group of irresponsible, promiscuous youngsters.

The film’s premise is simply an excuse to string together a series of grisly (and uninventive) murders and to show gratuitous female nudity – we are even treated to a totally unnecessary, drawn-out topless water skiing scene.

We care very little about any of these mostly detestable characters and you will be left wondering who are these women who populate this sort of slasher film. You certainly won’t have met any in real life and the presence of a chaste one who seems to have nothing in common with the rest is always surprising.

At least in the early Friday films her presence is explained away by the fact that the group were camp counsellors and therefore thrown together to do a job. Here, they are simply a group of ‘friends’ (who actually don’t get along that well) who have inexplicably been invited to a remote cabin belonging to the father of one of their number, which just happens to be near the notorious Camp Crystal Lake, scene of the original murders.

In some ways, this remake captures the flavour of the original. It is serious and doesn’t have a post-modern tongue-in-cheek streak like so many other contemporary horror flicks. It also holds onto key elements like the iconic hockey mask and Jason’s weapon of choice, the machete.

Jason himself, however, is a curious reincarnation. Less detached than in the original movies, he seems to take a more perverse pleasure in killing to the detriment of the film.

It’s less about revenge and each murder is more sadistic and more planned out. 

If all you want from a slasher pic is the mindless despatch of ‘deserving’ youths, then this remake is for you. But it is such a shame they couldn’t craft a decent homage to the original and it doesn’t bode well for the forthcoming remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street, also produced by Michael Bay.

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