Badmovies.org Forum

Movies => Good Movies => Topic started by: Bmeansgood on February 08, 2009, 10:17:01 PM



Title: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: Bmeansgood on February 08, 2009, 10:17:01 PM
I have heard a suprising amount of respect about the new Friday the 13th movie from people who are not normally into that kind of movie.  Is there something I am missing?


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: akiratubo on February 08, 2009, 11:07:25 PM
$$$ getting handed out for favorable reviews.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on February 08, 2009, 11:25:46 PM
I'm a bit skeptical on the whole thing. Fangoria had a whole 10 page coverage on it and it doesn't seem that great.

Maybe its because Halloween remake was actually decent that people will think lighting will strike twice.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: meQal on February 08, 2009, 11:34:28 PM
$$$ getting handed out for favorable reviews.
that and Harry Knowles was given a portfolio of nude Natalie Portman photos in exchange for "servicing" all the other critics in the same manner he does for getting inside info on films to get it a good review.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: Jim H on February 09, 2009, 05:46:07 AM
It at least looks like it has money in it and some decent concepts.  That's more than than you can say about some of the other films in the franchise.  I also think Nispel, while not a great director, certainly could be a competent horror person with the right script.  Parts of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake are good, it just had too many other problems (especially the writing). 

On another note, I've heard some people call this film a cash-in, and I'm like...  So?  What do you think all 11 other entries in the series were?  It just baffles me that someone can be somehow outraged by a "reimagining" or whatever you want to call it of something that was essentially a purely commercial piece of entertainment from its very beginning. 

That aside, after Jason X AND Jason Goes to Hell, I can't blame them for wanting to restart the series.  Too convoluted now.  I'm just glad they didn't bother trying to make another movie with Pamela as the killer.

Quote
Maybe its because Halloween remake was actually decent that people will think lighting will strike twice.

You liked it?  I thought it was a catastrophic failure.  The only good part of the entire film was the casting of Malcolm McDowell.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on February 09, 2009, 07:06:21 AM
Quote
Maybe its because Halloween remake was actually decent that people will think lighting will strike twice.

You liked it?  I thought it was a catastrophic failure.  The only good part of the entire film was the casting of Malcolm McDowell.

Its not that I liked it,It was just different from other recent remakes. At least Rob Zombie took the time to put his own spin on it,like it or not, than the other watered down horror remakes that have been coming out.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: Doggett on February 09, 2009, 08:39:10 AM
$$$ getting handed out for favorable reviews.

I was shocked to find out that, that actually does happen. At least I know it does with computer game magazines...I know of incidences where people were fired from their job because they refused to wright a good review.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: Jack on February 09, 2009, 09:16:54 AM
I suppose if you're a horror fan and all you watch is mainstream Hollywood stuff, then this movie is probably a very big deal.  I don't know, I don't live in that world.  Can't even imagine what it would be like.  There was a guy on another board who was saying he's about had it with horror, because you only get a few movies a year and they're not very good.  I'm like, you've got about 70 years worth of horror movies available out there, with more making their way to DVD each week, plus all the direct to video stuff, so who cares what's in theaters today?  Whatever.  To each their own I guess. 


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: WingedSerpent on February 09, 2009, 09:40:42 AM
Because Michael Bay is making it. 


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: HappyGilmore on February 09, 2009, 09:46:46 AM
Quote
Maybe its because Halloween remake was actually decent that people will think lighting will strike twice.

You liked it?  I thought it was a catastrophic failure.  The only good part of the entire film was the casting of Malcolm McDowell.

Its not that I liked it,It was just different from other recent remakes. At least Rob Zombie took the time to put his own spin on it,like it or not, than the other watered down horror remakes that have been coming out.
I agree with that.  People were shocked at Zombie's version cause it was drastically different.  In all honesty, Zombie mentioned that he was gonna make it as close to the original as possible, but John Carpenter told him not to.  Carpenter said to make it as much as Zombie's vision as possible while taking elements from the first. 

In the end, I liked it.  It wasn't 'great', but it was better than some other flicks I've seen.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: AndyC on February 09, 2009, 10:16:28 AM
There was a guy on another board who was saying he's about had it with horror, because you only get a few movies a year and they're not very good.  I'm like, you've got about 70 years worth of horror movies available out there, with more making their way to DVD each week, plus all the direct to video stuff, so who cares what's in theaters today?  Whatever.  To each their own I guess. 

I agree, but it would be nice to see the number of good horrors keep growing. We don't get enough new horror films today, and more importantly, we don't get enough small, independent horror films because they don't get the same exposure they once did. So we get hyped-up remakes, torture porn and action films dressed up as horror films. Nothing really scary or surprising. The reason we have so many decades of good horror is that any small filmmaker, such as John Carpenter, George Romero, Sam Raimi, etc. could get a mainstream release. No coincidence that horror peaked in the 80s and then declined.

I remember when the horror selection at one of my local video stores was so big that it warranted its own room. Within a couple of years, it became a small rack on the wall. Today, you walk into a Blockbuster and there isn't even a horror section. It's mixed in with action.

It's easy to understand why people might be positive toward the new Friday. Back in the day, slasher films were for teenagers, who watched them by the carload. Most adults, including those in the media, had nothing good to say about them. Today, the adults are those same teenagers. They've watched their favourite heroes and monsters diminished by years of progressively crappier sequels, and an occasional crappy remake. There is very little good horror being made today. The only decent North American horror movies I've seen in recent years were remakes of much better foreign films. To hear what I have to say about some of the latest horror movies, one might not think I was into that sort of thing.

But suddenly, the trend is not to simply remake a movie or produce yet another sequel with all of the baggage of the previous movies. The trend now is the franchise reboot. Starting over with a clean slate and a new vision. Batman, James Bond, Star Trek are all getting the treatment. And the material is getting treated with more respect than it was in the days when it was considered kids' stuff. The franchises are falling into the hands of people who enjoyed the originals. So, I can see where a new Friday the 13th might make some 30- or 40-something horror fans (and I bet more than a few reviewers fall into that category) nostalgic and maybe hopeful. I know I want this movie to be good. And you have to admit that watching a movie in that frame of mind does a lot more for your enjoyment than when you're almost certain a movie is going to suck.

Actually, a lot of things are getting more respect these days than they ever did 20-odd years ago. Look at the Transformers, and now G.I. Joe.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: Ash on February 09, 2009, 04:17:01 PM

If you haven't seen it, check out "Going To Pieces: The Rise & Fall of the Slasher Film".
Netflix has it available and I watched it recently.
It's pretty cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4WJDFFNub0

It goes into the rise and eventual decline of slasher films in the early 80's and contains interviews with actors, directors, producers, FX specialists, etc...
It shows how many of those films were made, how much they made and why many of the films made towards the middle of the 80's didn't do as well.

An excellent and eye-opening documentary.   :thumbup:
Definitely check it out if you've got some time to kill.  (pun)


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: The Ambulance Driver on February 09, 2009, 04:17:59 PM
Good points. Spoilers.

Jason is an animal in this one...and he hunts like one too -treats his victims as an animal treats their prey. He even uses one of them (still alive!) to lure the others to him. And he runs.

F1-X basically turned Jason from hillbilly retard to zombie to cyborg, which pretty much turned a lazy franchise (yet with some good concepts) into a joke. This reboot is taking those good concepts and taking a chance with it.

Let's face it - the original Fridays were crappy bad movies - there is no way this movie cannot outdo at least parts 3, 5, 8, and 9.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: HappyGilmore on February 09, 2009, 10:28:10 PM
I guess I'm the only one who likes Friday part 8?

Taking him to Manhattan seemed awkward, sure, but eh.  I dunno.  I liked it much better than part 7.


Title: Re: Why the mainstream media treating this Friday the 13th differently?
Post by: ds21 on February 10, 2009, 12:07:04 AM
I actually just got into horror films this year, and have watched most of the classics, and a couple new ones.  I feel that slasher films are a delicate line to walk, because they tend to lend themselves to gratuitous blood and breasts in place of craft.  This is why I have such respect for Halloween.  The big problem with today is that, as has been said, low budget directors aren't encouraged.  Almost all good horror has come from low budgets and big ideas, because the whole point of horror is to have something new to say.  It's not a coinsidence that one of the most succcessful horror films of the past decade, 'Saw', was a low-budget undertaking.  However, from what I've observed, indy filmakers aren't doing such a great job either.  Too often, indy horror ends up being a low-budget version of high-budget hollywood horror.  I'm not saying that everything needs to revolutionize the genre, but I think it's important for indy directors to realize that they don't have to copy big brother hollywood to make a good film.