Friday the 13th (2009): I think I've seen this movie before

What to do Friday the 13th^th (2009), the Taco Bell Chihuahua and The new adventures of old Christine in common? Well, actually, quite a lot! All of these pop culture phenomena are deeply rooted in the early 2000s, brought little to their cultural realms, and seem like pale comparisons to other parts of the cultural landscape they are often compared to. But that being said, I bet everyone reading this had the exact same thought when they read that list of points. “Oh, shit, I'd forgotten about that!” And so the experience of rewatching Friday the 13th^th (2009) in 2024. But oddly enough, this won't be a scathing review of one of the worst attempts ever to revive a franchise… no… this will be a scathing review of all the people who vehemently hated this movie but loved it Alien: Romulus! You didn't foresee this, did you?

Before we suddenly make it clear to everyone that the two movies above are exactly the same, we should mention the other elephant in the room… what about all those TV actors? Yes, you recognized Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker and Aaron Yoo from The CW, and that is definitely the same Amanda Righetti from The Mentalist. This film is definitely a trip back to the not-so-distant past of fifteen years ago, but that's mostly because of this bizarre, pre-fame cast of characters who later became much more famous for their iconic TV portrayals. And because everyone else thinks so, we're referring to this film as TVs Friday the 13th^th. I'm sorry, I'm not sorry!

But back to the heart of the matter, Alien: Romulus… I mean TV Friday the 13th^th_, oh boy, this is getting confusing…

The clear and obvious similarities between these two films are the bizarre number of ways in which these films attempt to mirror their source material. Both films are structured exactly like the original films of their respective franchises. Let's start with the TV movies Friday the 13th^th and stop watching if you've heard this one before. A group of unsuspecting teenagers go to a lakeside camp and are killed one by one by a monstrous killer with a sordid past. At one point two characters have sex, which is a total no-no for the killer, who summarily kills them. At the end of the film, almost all of the main characters are dead, but it turns out that the killer is actually alive.

How about Alien: Romulus? A group of characters enter a mysterious space station that is inhabited by life forms they have never seen before. Soon, one of the main characters is embraced by a facehugger, which eventually leads to the birth of an alien. The titular alien then kills the rest of the cast except for the poor main character, who thinks she can escape, only to have one last encounter with the beast before blasting it into space.

That's right! These films are almost exact copies of their source material. But why is Alien: Romulus loved by critics, so TV's Friday the 13th^TH with 25% on Rotten Tomatoes? Well, it's about marketing, branding and the final product. Friday the 13th^thThe biggest sin of is that it brings NOTHING new to the table. Sure, both films are almost identical in plot, but TV Friday the 13th^th even the subtext remained the same. It was almost as if the filmmakers wanted to outdo themselves by hitting as many genre cliches as possible. Yes, the original Friday the 13th^th played with the cliché “sex is a sin” from the beginning. But television Friday the 13th^th made sure to hit that beat once again, albeit a little later in the film's runtime. There's virtually no love for the franchise in this film, especially when a lame attempt at a backstory tries to justify Jason Vorhees' actions. By the time 2009 came along, all of that franchise's angst and nuance had fizzled out, and rather than reinvent it, the filmmakers thought they could just strike gold with an extinguished flame.

On the other hand, Alien: Romulus feels like a love letter to the franchise. Yes, it hits the same storylines and references itself in too many ways, but it brings a new message to the forefront while showing that the aspects that made the original film so scary are still terrifying today. It almost feels like Alien: Romulus would not exist if it were not for the failure of televisions Friday the 13th^thSometimes the film industry needs too many attempts to ultimately develop the best possible reboot strategy.

Ultimately, televisions are Friday the 13th^thmay be remembered for a number of reasons: how unforgettable it was, how much it left its mark on the early 2000s, or even how many television stars it starred in, but ultimately it should be remembered as a cautionary tale for film producers who believe there is easy money to be made from reruns.

In fact, it is easy to make money by repeating objects that are still important to people.