Friday the 13th is a 2009
American horror film directed by
Marcus Nispel, and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a
reboot of the
Friday the 13th film series,
which
began in 1980 and previously released the 2003
crossover Freddy vs. Jason. Nispel also helmed the
2003 remake of
Tobe Hooper's
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), while Shannon and Swift wrote the screenplay for
Freddy vs. Jason. The film stars
Derek Mears as
Jason Voorhees, with
Jared Padalecki,
Amanda Righetti, and
Danielle Panabaker portraying the male and female leads.
Friday the 13th follows Clay Miller (Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Righetti), who is taken by Jason while camping in the woods at Crystal Lake.
The concept for the 2009 film originally started as an origin story, but the film evolved into a
reimagining of the first four
Friday the 13th films. Along with bringing the film back to its tonal roots, Jason was designed as a leaner and faster killer, with a backstory that could provide a little sympathy for the character, but not enough that he would lose his menace. Although this film reboots the continuity, Jason's iconic hockey mask,
which was not introduced until the
third film in the series, is acquired through the progression of the film. In keeping with the tone of the film, Jason's mask was also brought back to its roots, created from a mold of the original mask used for
Part III; though, subtle changes were made to keep it unique to the new film.
Friday the 13th also incorporated some of
Harry Manfredini's music score from the original
Friday the 13th film series, as the producers recognized the iconic status it held.
The film was released on Friday, February 13, 2009 to the most theaters of any of the
Friday the 13th films.
Although the film was met with primarily negative reviews,
it earned approximately $19 million in its opening night and $40 million for its opening weekend. With its opening weekend,
Friday the 13th broke two records, having the largest opening day for the film series, and the largest opening weekend for any horror film.
It currently sits as the second highest grossing film in the
Friday the 13th franchise with $65 million,
and has earned just over $91.3 million worldwide.
