ROTTEN TOMATOES: Friday the 13th Remake Update

Friday the 13th Remake Update

New writers and a pre-strike deadline.

by Jeff Giles | September 18, 2007

Like the hockey-masked serial killer at its core, the Friday the 13th franchise refuses to die -- and the series reboot announced by Michael Bay last year continues to lumber toward audiences, Jason Voorhees style.

According to a post published yesterday at Shock Till You Drop, "a reliable tipster" has passed along some new info regarding the Friday the 13th remake -- specifically, that Damian Shannon and Mark Swift have been hired to write the latest version of the script, and that Bay's production company, Platinum Dunes, is aiming to start production early next year.

Horror buffs may recall that Shannon and Swift were the ones who wrote 2003's Freddy vs. Jason -- but, given its 39 percent Tomatometer rating, they may not recall the duo's work fondly. It's still unclear whether Jonathan Liebesman, originally slated to direct, is still attached.

While it wasn't a masterpiece, the first Friday the 13th movie had a certain low-budget charm which was sacrificed during the series' increasingly ridiculous sequels, and it could arguably benefit from the reboot/remake treatment. Given the recent (commercial) success of Rob Zombie's Halloween, it isn't hard to see why interest in this project is ramping up. Still, that whole "produced by Michael Bay" thing has got to make more than a few fans nervous.

Source: Shock Till You Drop

Related Items

Movie:	Friday the 13th - Part 1
	Freddy vs. Jason
	Halloween
Celeb:	Michael Bay
	Rob Zombie
	Jonathan Liebesman
	Damian Shannon
	Mark Swift

(1-20 of 40 posts) | Reply

Gimy writes:
on Sep 18 2007 08:27 AM

great, more reason for Bay tards to come out in droves and whine about how bad he is. marvelous. any kind of remake NOT involving Zombie is fine by me right now. when your movie/remake sucks SO bad that i look forward to the Saw series...you're garbage. i actually liked the first Friday, but i wonder if they're going to do it from THAT storyline or just have a Hockey masked wheelin' psycho(in the later movies) do most of the killing. i just hope its closer to the Chainsaw remake than Halloween...thats all i ask

(Reply to this)

aconline writes:
on Sep 18 2007 08:39 AM

First off, the Tomatometer is 39% because most slasher films do not sit well with critics. But the 49% from users is stil not impressing. However, it is the highest grossing movie in either franchise with over $82 million. A reboot would be nice. After he became a cyborg in the horrific Jason X, I quit caring about the series. I loved Freddy vs Jason, so I was hoping for another in that "franchise" instead of a new Jason or Freddy movie on their own.

(Reply to this)

BrianInSD writes:
on Sep 18 2007 08:47 AM

Ironically, the original Friday the 13th was made to cash in on the success of the original Halloween and now the remake of Friday the 13th comes along to cash in on the success of the remake of Halloween.

(Reply to this)

Prosper761 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 09:56 AM

For once, I don't mind the word "remake." It means a terrible movie has the potential to be remade as a not-so-terrible movie.

(Reply to this)

aknddon3 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 11:13 AM

In reply to this comment (#1133175)
Terrible? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, the first one was great.

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Sep 18 2007 11:43 AM

I agree with you on this one aknddon3.

(Reply to this)

bluestar50 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 12:03 PM

I don't think that I'd mind a remake too much. The first one was campy great The rest sucked, with an exception of Friday the Firthday 3-D

(Reply to this)

halose7en writes:
on Sep 18 2007 12:07 PM

This news is probably more terrifying than the actual movie will end up being.

(Reply to this)

Heath Huxall writes:
on Sep 18 2007 12:11 PM

Recent remakes have been pretty crappy. The only good ones I've seen in the last few years are 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'Dawn of the Dead', and even the former is debate worthy.

(Reply to this)

BrianInSD writes:
on Sep 18 2007 12:13 PM

If they are truly remaking the original Friday the 13th, Jason shouldn't even be in it as he didn't show up until part 2. Perhaps that's where the re-imagining comes in. With any luck, the remake will feature an extended prologue that delves into Jason Voorhees's childhood and shows how he's actually a damaged product of his environment. You know, because knowing the backstory will make him SO much scarier!

(Reply to this)

jake stephans writes:
on Sep 18 2007 01:39 PM

i hope kevin bacon is in it.

(Reply to this)

Canuck666 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:00 PM

Why do they keep making sequels to crap movies? Why, God, why? Especially horror movies which are the lowest forms of film. Anybody that enjoys watching people get tortured, raped, mutilated and murdered is sick in the head. Horror movies should be illegal. Why not make more family friendly movies? Or at least sequels to good films like Transformers or Titanic.

(Reply to this)

Solid hit writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:05 PM

It might be worth seeing,because it probably will have alot of suspense/action!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:07 PM

Why not a family friendly horror film where people over the age of 20 are tortured, raped, mutilated and murdered. Let the children and teenagers live.

(Reply to this)

clamman27 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:08 PM

In reply to this comment (#1133120)
great more reasons for the ZOMBIE haters to come out in droves apparently as well...

(Reply to this)

BrianInSD writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:09 PM

In reply to this comment (#1133421)
A sequelt to Transformers is a given but a sequel to Titanic? Really? What would that be about, exactly?

(Reply to this)

Canuck666 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:21 PM

In reply to this comment (#1133433)
You could set it in the future where a spaceship called the Titanic II heads out from Earth only to get hit by a comet/asteroid and explode. Same basic love story for the first part of the film with the action in the second half as they struggle to survive in space without a spaceship.

(Reply to this)

Canuck666 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:26 PM

In reply to this comment (#1133431)
Why not a family friendly movie where NO ONE dies? Is that too much to ask of Hollywood?

(Reply to this)

DaHypr1 writes:
on Sep 18 2007 02:27 PM

In reply to this comment (#1133433)
a sequel to titanic? are you ****ting me? if that does end up getting made it would most likely be the old lady's flashback to her first flashback of her voyage on the titanic, and then she dies...again

(Reply to this)

RottenTomatoes.com