Wasn’t it just yesterday that we got a Friday the 13th reboot? Actually, it was 2009, and five years might as well be five decades to the target audience of short-attention span millennials who make up the bulk of most slasher films’ desired demographic (now get the hell off my lawn). The previous Friday reboot, which was produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes studios, rode a wave of remakes of classic seventies and eighties horror properties like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Rob Zombie’s Halloween.
Most of these reboots were what one calls quick-kill hits; they make a huge chunk of money from their opening weekend, then all but vanish the following week, and are on DVD at your local bargain bin at 7-11 within six months for five bucks. Friday the 13th was the biggest quick-kill of all these franchises, making an estimated $40 million opening weekend, then plummeting 80% its second week. No follow up was ever made (despite it being profitable), and the rights to the franchise returned to original Friday the 13th creators Paramount Studios from rival Warner Brothers.
Now according to The Wrap, Paramount has all but narrowed it down to one name for the directing gig on this new version of the Friday series.  David Bruckner, who wrote and directed the “Amateur Night†portion of the anthology movie V/H/S, is in negotiations to direct the latest reboot for Paramount and Platinum Dunes, who are still in the mix. The rumor is that this version of the story will be in the played-out and overused popular “found footage” formula, although how they plan on incorporating that into the existing Jason Voorhees/Camp Crystal Lake mythology remains to be seen. One thing is certain: This will be the 13th installment in the saga of Jason, and I hope the makers of this film realize that people will be aware of this and make something special. When I was a kid and reading Fangoria magazine, the rumor du jour was that Friday the 13th: Part XIII would be the ultimate, bloodiest, scariest Friday movie yet. So no pressure, Paramount.
The reboot of Friday the 13th has a release date of (duh) Friday, March 13th, 2015.
no…”played out and overused” is the accurate description for the “found footage” genre…no need to cross that out…that filming style just doesn’t work for a franchise like “Friday the 13th” that is famous for shocking kills and a winning formula…if the 2009 reboot was the highest grossing of the “quick kills”, why ruin something with a gimmick that’s worn out it’s welcome…are all the characters going to be running around with cameras and flip phones?