Friday the 13th: A spotlight on the reboot with Jared Padalecki

2009 was the year for reboots. Jared Padalecki starred in the reboot of the classic Friday the 13th. Since it is Friday the 13th, now is the perfect time to look back at the movie–the highs and the lows.

Friday the 13th was one of the most iconic horror movies of the 80s. It has stood the test of time. While Jason Vorhees has become the face of the franchise, the original movie didn’t see him as the actual killer. When I first heard Jared Padalecki was going to be in the 2009 reboot, I was excited. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite measure up to the original.

The late 2000s was the time for reboots. In 2008, we got Prom Night. Both our Supernatural stars were in reboots My Bloody Valentine and Friday the 13th. Don’t get me started on the attempts to reboot Halloween and (my all-time favorite horror movie) A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, as it’s Friday the 13th today, now is the perfect time to look back at the reboot of the same name; Jared Padalecki’s 2009 movie.

We’ll look at the highs (there were some) and lows of the reboot attempt, along with the reasons that it failed.

Jason Vorhees the killer

More from Supernatural

• Jensen Ackles and The Winchesters cast kick off #SaveTheWinchesters campaign
• Will The Winchesters be saved? (Can Supernatural fans save the prequel?)
• Did The Winchesters get renewed? (Is The Winchesters season 2 happening?)
• Is a new episode of The Winchesters on tonight? (March 14, 2023)
• The Winchesters Season1 finale explained: Did it connect to Supernatural?

One thing that the reboot changed was making Jason Vorhees the killer. The original version saw his mother as the one killing teens at Camp Crystal Lake, although she had a Psycho vibe in channeling her son. The reboot opted to join the first four movies of the franchise together, instantly making the son the bad guy.

This instantly didn’t work for me, as I loved the twist of the original. What did work, was the backstory for the boy. We got to see why he hated the teens at Camp Crystal Lake and the events that turned him into the serial killer that he was. This gave us a chance to feel some sympathy but not enough to forget that he was a menacing and scary bad guy.

The use of Jason as the killer and his backstory made the movie more of a continuation rather than an actual reboot. This did help to connect it to the 1980 movie, which was a positive for fans like me, but still just felt a little off.

Sam Winchester the big brother

While Sam may be the younger brother in Supernatural, Jared Padalecki gets to play an older brother in the movie. As Clay Miller, he embodies Dean Winchester immediately. When his sister, Whitney, goes missing, he spends six weeks looking for her–figuring everything out he possibly can in the hope that he’ll find her.

Seriously, I could certainly imagine Dean doing that, and it’s a highlight of the movie. One of the best parts of the promo is Jared’s character talking about his missing sister…I just get that reminder of Dean’s “Dad’s on a hunting trip and hasn’t been home in a few days).

However, the actual storytelling lacked. There were far too many convenient plot moments, especially the fact that it was only Whitney out of her group of friends who survived the initial attack.

Not the most memorable movie

To be honest, I don’t remember much of this Friday the 13th reboot. While there are elements better than some of the sequels created in the past, the overall plot is the same as so many other horror movies that came before it. There’s a focus more on jump scares and not enough time on developing all the characters to care about them.

When it comes to watching the Jason Vorhees movies again, this isn’t one that I would jump at the chance to see again. Padalecki is the strongest part of the movie for me and the only person in it that I actually remember (bar Jason, of course!). Whether that’s the Supernatural fan in me or not, I don’t know but does that really matter?

Next: #FF: 7 movies and shows you forgot Jared Padalecki was in

Have you seen Friday the 13th with Jared Padalecki? What did you think of the movie? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Follow SPN Hunters on Twitter for more movies and shows the Supernatural cast has been in.