Friday the 13th (2009 film)

Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel, and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, from a story by Shannon, Swift, and Mark Wheaton. It is the twelfth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise. The film stars Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, and Derek Mears. It follows Clay Miller (Padalecki) as he searches for his missing sister, Whitney (Righetti), who is captured by Jason Voorhees (Mears) while camping in woodland at Crystal Lake.

The film was originally conceived as an origin story, but the project evolved into a reboot of the franchise where elements of the first four Friday the 13th films were used as inspiration for the story and characters. Voorhees was redesigned as a lean, quick killer with a backstory that allows the viewer to feel sympathy for him but not enough that he would lose his menace. In keeping with the tone of the film, Jason's mask was recreated from a mold of the original mask used for Friday the 13th Part III (1982) with minor changes. The film includes some of Harry Manfredini's musical score from the previous Friday the 13th films because the producers recognized its iconic status.

Friday the 13th was theatrically released in the United States on February 13, 2009. It received negative reviews, while grossing $92.7 million at the box office on a budget of $19 million, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise after Freddy vs. Jason (2003).