Thursday, October 23, 2008

When Harry Schooled Jason

Fans of '80s horror got a full serving of awesomeness today with the teaser trailer debuts for the upcoming Friday the 13th and My Bloody Valentine remakes - both films due early next year.

But while Jason is the bigger brand name, in this initial face-off between MBV's Harry Warden and F13's Jason, I've got to give the early advantage to the mad miner. Call it a surprising upset but I'm suddenly way more excited about MBV than Friday the 13th. And it's not just about the 3-D - though that's a hard factor to ignore - but Valentine simply looks like the movie to beat.

For those who haven't seen it, here's the Friday the 13th teaser:



It looks slick - not bad at all. I like the heavy use of the classic Harry Manfredini music, the Pamela Voorhees voice-over, and the prospect that Jason might finally be scary again.

But just compare it to the My Bloody Valentine spot:



Now that's how you sell a slasher movie, folks! It's possible that seeing the My Bloody Valentine teaser on the big screen tonight in front of Saw V might've given it an edge for me but regardless, I think the MBV teaser readily hands Friday the 13th its ass.

Jason probably didn't think he had to look over his shoulder, what with being an icon and all. And 3-D? He's been there, done that. But in the world of slasher cinema, you're only judged by your last body count and by the look of these two teasers, the makers of My Bloody Valentine have taken that to heart.

5 comments:

Bob Ignizio said...

I have to say I like the looks of both trailers. Looks like both films are going for full on horror but in a fun way. If nothing else, this proves that at least someone still knows how to cut a trailer. There's enough in both of these to grab my interest, but I don't feel like I've seen the whole movie. And I just love the way MBV plays up the 3D gimmick. William Castle would be proud.

Jeff Allard said...

I do agree - they're both cool. To have either of these on the way would be exciting but to have both hitting theaters in a couple of months is pretty damn cool. A lot of my excitement is just my age talking - these are the kind of films that I was weaned on back in the day so I'm naturally excited. I'm sure for others, neither of these looks worth their time.

Although I have to say that I wouldn't trust anyone who said they didn't want to see MBV after seeing that teaser. I've read a few comments on other sites from people citing the 3-D elements in the MBV teaser are "too cheesy" but these people need to be punched in the throat.

FilmFather said...

That MBV trailer sure does look inviting, and hints at a movie that could be a lot of fun. However, I'll always be disappointed that we'll never see the uncut version of the original MBV. I remember seeing stills from it in Fangoria as a sixth-grader, thinking "Cool!" But those shots never made it to the final cut.

As far as FT13 is concerned...to me it's the remake nobody asked for and nobody needs. Hasn't Jason (much like Freddy) fallen into punchline territory by this point? And frankly, the anti-Dream Team of Michael Bay and Marcus Nispel being behind this remake doesn't comfort me.

Jeff Allard said...

It looks like the closest we'll come to an uncut MBV is a special edition DVD due in January with deleted scenes. I'm sure they're included as extras and not cut back into the film but at least it's something. And as far as the F13th remake goes, I'm fine with it. I'm all for it, in fact. Once you've sent Jason into space and had him throw down with Freddy, it's time to reboot the franchise. And as the original Friday is far from being a true classic along the lines of Texas Chainsaw, a remake doesn't seem like such a losing proposition to me.

Amanda By Night said...

I agree, the MBV trailer is enticing indeed. I haven't the Friday one yet. I didn't even know it was out. Wow, I'm SO behind!