The newly released “Friday the 13th” is the 12th installment in the undying and iconic “Jason” series. Since 1980, the masked specter Jason Voorhees has terrified audiences with ruthless killings and bloodstained vengeance. It follows that the new movie screams the question, “How does the new ‘Friday’ separate itself from the Jason pack?” An interview with lead actor Jared Padalecki (TV’s “Supernatural”) reveals all the gory details.

The movie centers on Jared’s character Clay Miller arriving at Crystal Lake in search of his missing sister. He happens upon a group of partying teenagers staying in a summer cabin by the shores of the haunted lake. Unbeknownst to the group, they are all trespassing on Jason’s property — Jason subsequently removes each person with not-so-friendly force from his land. The new movie’s vibe clearly returns to the roots of the series.

“The guys that put together ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ remake and ‘The Amityville Horror’ remake and ‘The Hitcher’ remake (are) also behind the ‘Friday the 13th’ remake. And so if you see any of those you see how they’re new and sexy and hip and scary, but they still pay homage to the originals,” Padalecki explained. “What I really liked about the ‘Texas Chainsaw’ remake and ‘The Amityville’ and ‘The Hitcher’ is that, as whacky as the stories were, they were based in reality, and so it wasn’t like ‘Hey! Let’s go into the woods here!’ (The producers) tried making a scary documentary.”

Thankfully, the new film departs from the tacky direction previous movies like “Jason Goes to Hell” and “Jason X” were taking, as Padalecki playfully noted.

“Jason got a little cheesy towards the end of his installments. I mean it was like ‘Jason Goes to the Moon,’ ‘Jason Shops at Target.’ What started off kind of scary and as a horror movie ended up cheesy and campy, which is fine — I mean that has its time and place — but I don’t think that time and place is with Jason Voorhees,” he said.

Derek Mears (“The Hills Have Eyes II”) plays the machete-wielding Jason in the new movie. He’s a big guy, and his natural height and body size lend themselves to an even more macabre Jason Voorhees.

“Jason becomes this lumbering, not really scary, guy,” remarked Padalecki, reflecting on the previous movies. “‘Ah, that fat dude, I can just run away from him. He ain’t gonna catch me!’ But our Jason ... is fit and capable, and he feels like a guy who has survived in the woods for however many years. He’s like a pit bull with a machete.”

One of the most important aspects of “Friday” is that it shows a side of Jason other than that of a mindless, hulking brute. The extra dimensions add more perspective to the mysterious killer and hopefully allow for a deeper understanding of Jason’s character.

“I think you see a more human side of Jason,” Padalecki said. “I mean he’s not going to be crying in some corner." "He’s still a crazy killer, but we do see that he’s a scared human protecting his sacred grounds.”

Human or not, Jason Voorhees is still one of the most frightening entities in cinema history. “Friday the 13th” brings him back home to Camp Crystal Lake with brand new victims at his disposal.