More Friday the 13th! Made by the fans for the fans.
My favorite thing about horror movies has gotta be horror movie fans! We can be hard to please, but when we find something we love? Ain’t nothin’ gonna stand in our way!
Case in point, the classic Friday the 13th franchise.
Officially, the series has been stuck in limbo. The original writer, Victor Miller, and the original director, Sean Cunningham, have been locked in a legal brawl over who should own the rights to the franchise. Recently, a judge ruled in favor of Miller and there was hope that Cunningham would settle. A settlement would mean Jason Voorhees would have the freedom to return to Camp Crystal Lake and terrorize more camp counselors.
Unfortunately, Cunningham appealed the decision rather than settling. This means — barring some kind of miracle and/or deal with the Devil — we’re looking at another few years without any official Friday the 13th action on the big screen. Lame.
Here’s where horror movie fans shine!
A couple years ago, a group of die-hard Jason groupies put together the truly amazing fan film Never Hike Alone (2017). If you haven’t seen it, click that link and go watch it right now! It’s a fan film so it’s free! And it’s a thing of beauty.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten that taken care of here’s some more good news. There’s a brand new Friday the 13th fan film coming out!
This one’s called Friday the 13th: Vengeance. It started out as a Kickstarter project, it’s scheduled to be released for free on YouTube and Vimeo this coming July 31st, and it just had its first trailer drop today! This trailer! The one right here!
Yes! That’s the late, great Steve Dash playing Sheriff Realotti! Dash spent a large amount of time as the Man Behind the Mask when he worked as Jason’s stunt double in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981).
Yes! That’s C.J. Graham playing Jason’s father, Elias Voorhees! Graham held the role as Jason himself for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986).
They’ve even got Tom McLoughlin, writer/director of Jason Lives, working as a consultant on this amazing project!
According to the Kickstarter project page…
Vengeance takes place roughly thirty years after the events of Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI. The story begins with Elias Voorhees, Jason’s father, returning to Crystal Lake and a string of grisly murders that soon follows his arrival. After hearing the news of the most recent killings Tommy Jarvis then goes missing, which leaves it up to his daughter Angelica Jarvis to rise to the challenge of not only finding her father, but also finding a way to destroy his old nemesis Jason Voorhees in the process. Armed with knowledge never previously known about Jason, Angelica may prove to be his greatest threat yet, which culminates in an epic showdown of Jarvis vs. Voorhees.
Some of you Scariest Readers may remember when we first covered the Kickstarter project back in early November. They’ve come a long way since then and things are looking great!
If ever there was a time to get excited about a fan-made film, this is it.
Horror fans. You gotta love ’em.