Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift from a screen story by Shannon, Swift and Mark Wheaton. It is a reboot of the Friday the 13th franchise, which began in 1980, and is the twelfth installment. Nispel also directed the 2003 remake of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), while Shannon and Swift wrote the screenplay for the 2003 crossover Freddy vs. Jason. The film was produced by Platinum Dunes and Crystal Lake Entertainment and distributed by New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures. It stars Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, and Derek Mears and follows Clay Miller (Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Righetti), who is captured by Jason Voorhees (Mears) while camping in woodland at Crystal Lake.
The film was originally conceived as an origin story, but the project evolved into a re-imagining of the first four Friday the 13th films. The character Jason Voorhees was redesigned as a lean, quick killer with a backstory that allows the viewer to feel sympathy for him, but not enough that he would lose his menace. In keeping with the tone of the film, Jason's mask was recreated from a mold of the original mask used for Part III; though there were subtle changes. Friday the 13th includes some of Harry Manfredini's musical score from the previous Friday the 13th films because the producers recognized its iconic status.
Friday the 13th was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2009, by New Line Cinema in North American territories and by Paramount Pictures internationally. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who felt that it did not add anything new to the franchise. The film would go on to gross $92.7 million at the box office on a budget of $19 million, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise after Freddy vs. Jason.
Plot
On June 13, 1980, a young Jason Voorhees watches as his mother Pamela is beheaded by a camp counselor, who was trying to escape Mrs. Voorhees's murder spree around Camp Crystal Lake. Almost thirty years later, a group of friends— including Whitney Miller —arrive for a camping trip at Crystal Lake, where they hope to find a crop of marijuana growing in the woods. That night, an adult Jason kills everyone except Whitney, whom he captures as she resembles his mother at a young age.
Six weeks later, Trent, his girlfriend Jenna and friends Chelsea, Bree, Chewie, Nolan, and Lawrence arrive at Trent's summer cabin on the shore of Crystal Lake. Meanwhile, Whitney's brother Clay Miller arrives at the lake to search for her, despite his local sherrif's pleas to look elsewhere. Clay visits Trent's cabin, and Jenna agrees to help him search for Whitney. Chelsea and Nolan go wakeboarding on the lake where Jason kills Nolan with an arrow, and fatally stabs Chelsea with a machete. Meanwhile, Clay and Jenna search the old Crystal Lake campgrounds, where they see Jason hauling a body into the abandoned camp house.
Jenna and Clay run back to the cabin to warn the others about Jason. Chewie is killed by Jason in a tool shed near the cabin, while Trent and Bree have sex in a bedroom. Jenna and Clay arrive, and Clay calls the police. Jason then disconnects the cabin's electricity. Lawrence heads outside to search for Chewie, and Jason kills him with an axe. Jason then sneaks inside and kills Bree. A police officer arrives and knocks on the front door, but is killed by Jason before he can enter. Trent, Clay, and Jenna escape the cabin and become separated, and Trent is killed by Jason when he reaches the main road.
Jason chases Clay and Jenna back to the campgrounds, where Clay discovers Jason's lair and finds his sister underground, chained to a wall. Clay frees Whitney, and all three try to escape as Jason arrives. They find an exit, but Jenna is impaled by Jason's machete before she can escape. Jason corners Clay and Whitney in a barn, and Whitney confuses Jason by pretending to be Pamela. Clay and Whitney subdue Jason with a length of chain, and Whitney stabs Jason in the chest with his own machete. After sunrise, Clay and Whitney dump Jason's body into the lake, but before they leave, Jason bursts through the wooden dock and grabs Whitney.
