Lakeside, avenging spirit of a dead parent, etc.

That's a shortcoming imo. It's the most generic template. That's purposeful as its a new reading of old material. The people violate nature, they disturb the equilibrium, and the debt is settled. The novelty is in the execution.

I just don't think the story needs to be so plain. Kind of cheapens it. Feels like an exercise more than a narrative. There's no way that ending plays on a rewatch. It's all expectation.

Still a fun time though. Hypnotic rhythm between punchlines.

I feel like for what he was going for it was better for it to be a plain narrative that people could recognize from previous movies of the sort, in order to fully dissect the day to day nature of johnny

My biggest gripes were the rotating camera during the origin story and the god awful gas station girls sidestory

"Nature" as an unknowable entity is kind of sidelined in the final monologue. She talks about nature having a mindless, evil appearance sometimes. Like how foxes will just kill and kill and kill.

The film humanizes Johnny. He's a simpleton who was wronged. They never paid that debt. They took his thing. When he's settled the score, he stops. The scene with him enamored by the key chain until the tranquility of the forest is sullied embodies all of that.

So the story being so familiar has a purpose. It's to subvert the trope of these franchises devolving into endless killing for killing's sake. I just don't think you need to ride so close to the formula. You can comment on it AND have your own take.

There's just nothing here to sink your teeth into besides the formal execution and its implications. There's not an actual story here. It's a pretense.

BANGER

Imagine this is friday 13th movie