There’s been so many Friday the 13th movies the past few decades that it’s hard to try to figure out new things to do to keep things fresh and entertaining for new installments. It’s already been six years since 2009’s reboot of the franchise, believe it or not, and a sequel has been talked about since then. Over the years we’ve heard about numerous twists that could come into play for the next movie, ranging from small tweaks like setting the movie during the winter months to much bigger changes like maybe not using Jason Voorhees (the very idea!) or using the popular found footage style.
But when all is said and done, these movies are made for the die-hard fans of the franchise who don’t want the formula changed too much. And according to producer Brad Fuller, who’s usually the one offering updates on the sequel, negative fan response has led to them dropping the found footage idea. See what he had to say below.
This month’s Friday the 13th takes place right before Valentine’s Day, and I’m not ashamed to admit this, but I may just be love with the documentaries of Daniel Farrands. The man has provided me with 10 hours’ worth of pure entertainment. In 2010, he directed Never Sleep Again, a 4-hour retrospective on the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Last year, Freddy celebrated his 30th birthday and Never Sleep Again was and still is playing on Netflix, and was reviewed by yours truly for this site.
2010 was ironically the 30-year anniversary of Sean S. Cunningham‘s original Friday the 13th and the birth of the Jason Voorhees mythology. Taking from Peter M. Bracke’s 2006 epic book Crystal Lake Memories, which featured over 200 interviews and 600 photos from the franchise, Farrands wrote and directed the documentary of the same name in 2013. Whereas Never Sleep Again was 4 hours for the 8 Nightmare films, Crystal Lake Memories, like Jason’s death count, would have to be bigger and bloodier.
Before you run to get kinky with your significant other and spend your entire Valentine’s Day drinking and having sex, remember the greatest abstinence advertisement of all time”¦ JASON FREAKING VOORHEES! No one in the last 30 years has been a better source of birth control than the silent masked man from Camp Crystal Lake. Since 1981’s Friday the 13th Part 2, Jason Voorhees has amassed a whopping 158 kills in the Friday the 13th franchise, more than his horror counterparts Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers combined. Most of these victims were nubile young counselors off for summers filled with — well you guessed it — beer, drugs, and pre-marital sex. In fact, if you include those killed by Mrs. Voorhees in Part 1, ambulance driver Roy Burns (aka “imposter Jason”) in Part 5, and certain protagonists, the 12-film, 30-year-old franchise has amassed over 200 total kills!
So today, to celebrate Friday the 13th for Friday the 13th, with a hint of Valentine’s Day, let’s revisit the 13 best kills in the Friday the 13th film series.
It’s that wonderful time of year. The time where you grab on to someone special, look deep into their eyes”¦ and STAB THEM WITH A MACHETE!!! Wait, you thought I meant Valentine’s Day? No, No, No, it’s Friday the 13th today! Actually, this is an extra special year for Friday the 13th fans, as we get a double dose of sex, summer camp, and all-out slaughter again in March!
It all started back on a seemingly calm summer in 1980, when producer/director Sean Cunningham began filming Friday the 13th, what would become the first of 12 (!!!) films in the most prolific horror franchise of all time. There’s a 13th film planned for next year (a reboot of the remake?!). There are also two documentaries (Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History Of Friday The 13; His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th) and an all-encompassing book about the series called Crystal Lake Memories. The original would set a bar that each sequel aimed to overdo, raising the levels of nudity and gory violence. The franchise would also introduce one of the biggest icons of horror, a killer who is firmly entrenched on the Mt. Rushmore of Slashers, Jason Voorhees. In the 12 films in the series, Jason would drown, get shot, stabbed, axed, hanged, chainsawed, blown up, frozen, electrocuted, sent to Hell, blasted to outer space, and sent to battle Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). But none of that could stop him, prompting an hilarious meme, touting “I don’t always die, but when I do, I don’t!” Jason tops all modern movie killers in, well, kills. Part of what makes the Friday the 13th franchise a favorite amongst horror-philes is the ever-growing body count, which according to several internet sites is now at 158!!! That tops Halloween‘s Michael Myers and Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy combined!
But I bet you want more”¦ more blood, more bodies, more weapons. Well, hopefully I can enlighten you. Here are 13 things you might not have known about one of horror’s greatest franchises”¦ummm”¦spoiler alert”¦
The Friday the 13th video game fans of the horror series have always wanted may just be coming in the near future.
It’s being reported that a new game based on the franchise is on the way, and it will be similar in style to the upcoming four-on-one multiplayer game Evolve. That is, four people will play as a variety of teenagers, while one player takes control of the legendary slasher himself, Jason Voorhees.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
