Warner Bros Pictures released the last Friday the 13th on 13 February 2009.
I’m not much of a fan of the franchise. Or of slashers, generally. But I do like that this film was released on the date of its title. And of the 12 films, five of them were released on a day like this. But I also find it disappointing since it could have been true with every installment.
Here are the five films:
- 3. Friday the 13th Part III (13 August 1982)
- 4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (13 April 1984)
- 7. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (13 May 1988)
- 9. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (13 August 1993)
- 12. Friday the 13th (13 February 2009).
So, what are these films about? Well, the first one involves the mother of Jason killing all the camp counselors to stop Crystal Lake from reopening. But the second film breaks continuity with the first and introduces an adult Jason. The plot of this and the next two films is simple: Jason returns to Crystal Lake and kills everyone.
A New Beginning introduces a new killer pretending to be Jason with a new focus for the killing. The next five films follow the Hammer Dracula formula of reanimating Jason at the start of each film. In the first two of these films, Jason returns to Crystal Lake and kills everyone. They get even more absurd from there.
The last film was a reboot. And largely due to copyright threats and legal proceedings, nothing has happened since. This is really for the best. The first film was fine. But they got worse — first slowly and then quickly. And like most such series, when even the worst ideas had been exhausted, they just started over!
Let’s pray that Cunningham and Miller die, their heirs aren’t so desperate for money that we get more of these.
It would make sense to watch the last film. This is its anniversary! But I haven’t been able to find it for free online. Plus, there are so many better films to watch! Just go through our Blog and you will find many. But here’s the trailer!
Friday the 13th (2009) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
