I thought this movie was highly well made. Just from a film technicality side, it has a lot to offer. It has some very gorgeous shots. I thought that the color grading was very well done. Our main character's acting was on par or better than most large budget horror films today. The makeup and effects were all on point. All these components make this feel like so much more than a so-called fan-made film.This take on the Crystal Lake universe should be taken into high consideration for any reboot being considered in the future. I understand there is a legal battle between the franchise and Victor Miller, so that may be a very long ways away (if ever). This is exactly what I was looking for in a reboot film where the past reboot of 2009 fell short in every single way. It threw out any formula that tickled the nostalgia of Jason lovers from generations past. It felt so much more nimble. Which, in turn, made it so much more suspenseful. The nostalgia they did offer up came through a much more organic and fresh take with the usage of the crime scene markers. It gave us a little tour of the notable crime scenes from the past Friday movies. It did, however, have some shortcomings. Some notable con are continuity errors which are a result of poor writing. Like how the ambulance shows up literally out of nowhere with zero explanation as to how it got there. Our protagonist goes blank out in the middle of nowhere and wakes up fully strapped to a gurney without any connection as to how they got out into the woods or how the found him. This introduction of the paramedics came to viewers with very poor acting from the only characters other than our protagonist and antagonist thus far which really makes the pacing come briefly unhinged. Despite all that, the ambulance became a literal vehicle to shift direction in the film from action thriller to psychological thriller. This could have went very wrong, but ended up making for some of the better content in the movie. In this scene, our director Vincente DiSanti also gives a strong nod to Alfono Cuarón's film adaptation of the novel Children of Men through the use of very well executed first-person view tracking shot that adds a tsunami of suspense as the film reseats itself comfortably in this new direction.A few other minor notable pitfalls in production I felt took away from the experience that are worth noting are: the sound mixing-particularly Jason's footsteps. Overuse of the "found footage" solo cam. I understand this film technique was probably to help move the story along while also probably help save on budget for some of the filming. At first, it left me a little confused as what type of movie they were going for. I think it could have done with a little less. Also, the camera frame on the go pro made for a little too obvious of a visual cue for when it was found footage. This is really all semantics when looking at the grand scope of this extremely well executed independent made "fan film." I think if this was given the same budget and backing as the 2009 reboot, this would have made for the best Friday movie since the first 3. Kudos to all involved; most especially DiSanti who not only wrote and directed the film, but also slayed it as Jason (pun intended).
... View MoreThis film was incredible. Unlike the other films of the series, this impressive piece of work relied mostly on suspense and even some psychological horror rather than a huge kill count, and it succeeds because it actually is pretty scary. But with that said, there are some graphic wounds and there are two deaths. A man gets a hatchet to the chest, he is seen stumbling into the middle of a road and bleeds to death. This is pretty graphic. A girl is pulled put of an ambulance and is bashed against the side of the vehicle off scree, but her corpses is shown from a distance. The ambulance driver is pulled out of the car and is attacked by Jason (offscreen) but he survives. The main character is attacked constantly by Jason. He is stabbed, beaten, even thrown out a second story "door that goes nowhere." They explain it in the movie. Jason even torments him psychologically, appearing in his dreams, including a pretty well made special effect of Jason crushing his head. The hero stabs Jason in the neck with an axe, blue blood leaks from his mask and wound, but it has no real effect on him. I really liked this movie, it was well made and very suspenseful. The only real problem I had was how I felt that the ending was rushed. I didn't understand how Jason didn't kill the ambulance driver, but then again, it could have been that Jason was distracted by his friend trying to help him, but to me it felt like that random biker Jason butchered in Part 3 only for him to somehow be alive at the end without a scratch. But I did overall enjoy this fan film. It was well made, had some pretty cool special effects, and overall a great story line. I did enjoy the modern twists to this film series. It is actually better than most Friday films.
... View MoreThis is an amazing movie by Hollywood standards. Now imagine how much more impressive and better it is knowing that it is a fan made film. *spoilers ahead* Also having the legend himself Thom Matthews reprise his role as the other legend himself, Tommy Jarvis, who is quite possibly the best hero in the horro genre, was just amazing.This film is great and 100% worth your time. Paramount needs to hire these people and make a new movie with them as the directors.
... View MoreWhile the official Friday the 13th movie set for release today was cancelled this is a worthy replacement.This is the best looking Friday the 13th fan film I've ever seen with some simply stunning outdoor cinematography and extremely well- made sets for a tiny budget fan film.Having the movie be about one person trying to survive against Jason gives the movie a different feel to the original movies. The one on one survival aspect is what makes the movie worth watching as it isn't just a cheaply made Friday the 13th rip-off like most other Friday fan films it's something entirely different; there's more suspense and a focus on survival instead of sex and partying, a welcome change.The special effects are great; there's a scene where Jason bleeds through the holes in his mask that made me jump forward in my seat, I can't believe they never did that in any of the 11 Friday movies with the mask.The few kills were fairly lacklustre, save for one kill that takes place in a dream, but this isn't a body count film and I didn't expect there to be any kills at all. The action is really focused on the fight scenes with Jason which were done better than most of the official movies.A few things that irked me: Jason's mask was totally white, no red triangles, but I assume this was done for legal reasons as I've seen the mask look different elsewhere before (eg. GTA 5 White hockey mask was updated to no longer look like Jason's mask). Jason's footsteps are very loud to the point where it gets annoying, plus a few other sound effects were pretty annoying; why would an axe make a *shiiinnng* sound when being pulled out of dirt?Overall a fantastic movie that I would rank higher than some of the official Friday the 13th movies, plus it has a wonderful surprise for Friday fans at the end of the movie that leaves the story open for a potential sequel. This film is a must-see for any Friday the 13th fan.
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