The ‘Friday the 13th’ franchise isn’t known for being story and character driven tales of horror. Its popularity within horror fandom comes from an unspoken, mutual understanding between the filmmakers and audience that these films are what they are: cheaply made, adrenaline rushes that highlight the now seemingly lost art of practical effects and creative kills. I won’t pretend to speak for anybody in the fan base outside of myself, but I will say with confidence that I believe there are no allusions from the fan base as a whole about the reality of what this franchise brings in terms of quality.
And then, following a long 17 year gap since the release of the last film in the franchise back in 2009, the starving and malnourished fans of Jason Voorhees are given something they didn’t rally for: a show about the franchise’s original killer, Pamela Voorhees, with A24 and Peacock’s ‘Crystal Lake’, an eight-episode television series that makes an effort to provide a story and character driven take on the established mythology, giving fans something outside of the norm.
‘Crystal Lake’ begins in the summer of 1971, when Jason Voorhees (Callum Vinson), the special needs child of the camp’s cook Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) drowns after being neglected by two young councilors, Claudette (Danielle Kotch) and Barry (Pheonix Parnevik), who sneak off for a quick trip to pound town.
A year later, Jason’s body had never been recovered by search and rescue teams, leaving Pamela to cling on to hope that her special angel-faced boy was still out there. The local sheriff, Levon Brooks (William Catlett), a man who understands her feelings of grief, attempts to help her heal and recover, but Pamela (understandably) can’t let go of the horror of experiencing every parent’s worst nightmare. Things get worse for the likeable lunch lady when she becomes overwhelmed by the news that the Christies are planning to re-open the camp, and two men posing as New Jersey State Police show up at her doorstep, tipping her off that her secret past has caught up to her.
Pamela, who may or may not be unhinged – we’ll let the audience decide – soon finds herself plunged into a world of violence as she fights to protect her secret, as well as her son’s only friend, Grace (Gwendolyn Sundstrom), a lying little shit with secrets of her own.
I’m not going to lie, when I first heard that the franchise’s triumphant return was in the form of a Pamela Voorhees story, my eyes rolled so far back into my head that I thought I’d lose eyesight forever. I imagined myself as little Buddy Kupfer from ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch’, wearing a Silver Shamrock mask but instead of a Silver Shamrock jingle causing my head to corrode and form dozens of snakes and spiders, it was the idea of focusing on Pamela instead of Jason that caused it.
Much to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed the show, and I did not, in fact, suffer the same fate as Buddy Kupfer.
While the show did take some liberties – some I liked, others I didn’t – I have to admit that I really appreciate the effort taken here to mold the ‘Friday the 13th’ lore into something cohesive and definitive, and for the first time in franchise history, actually focus on character and story. That may be off-putting to the fans who only require the adrenaline rush, slice and dice style of slasher storytelling, but speaking for myself, I dug the groundwork they were laying down, which is aided by strong performances and likeable characters.
While the first episode of the season is what you would expect from a story about Pamela Voorhees, it was the second episode that began to show some ‘Twin Peaks’ vibes with the supporting characters and subplots, and while that style of quirk may seem like an odd match with this particular franchise, I think in this instance it worked. I wasn’t sure what to make of this side of the show at first, but it did grow on me. Deputy Dorfman (Cameron Scoggins) and Crazy Ralph (Nick Cordileone) were two pieces that I was initially unsure of at first, but by the end I appreciated what these two added as new unconventional versions of the two supporting legacy characters.
I liked the over-arching story surrounding Pamela as well as some of the sub plots that involved other characters in Pamela’s orbit, and I enjoyed this particular cast of characters. Linda Cardellini does a fantastic job leading the show as Pamela Voorhees. Likewise, William Catlett gives a strong performance as Sheriff Brooks, and Cameron Scoggins, Callum Vinson, Joy Suprano, Nick Cordileone, Gwendolyn Sundstrom, Devin Kessler, Danielle Kotch, Pheonix Parnevik and Hamish Linklater all turn in fine performances.
The show is well shot and edited and features a great score that invokes the style of the earliest chapters of the franchise.
As far as some of the lore changes made with this series, I didn’t quite mind the switch from 1957 and 1958 to 1971 and 1972 – although it could be easy to argue that with a few minor script changes the show could have been set in the 1950’s – and I’m unbothered by the attempts to explain away Jason and his unstoppable nature. As a life-long fan of the franchise, I don’t need to know what makes Jason tick; just as I am fine with lightning resurrecting the iconic mamma’s boy, I’m fine with no explanation for how he continues to return in each of the sequels – and yet I can’t help but be intrigued with new elements added to the lore and attempts to tighten the narrative or expand upon what we know about this world. As mentioned at the beginning of this review, this isn’t exactly a franchise built on strong storytelling or characterization – it’s a franchise built on turn-your-brain-off, adrenaline fueled fun with a thinly layered mythology that has a lot of potential.
I don’t think it’s controversial to point that out, as I am of the strong belief that ‘Friday the 13th’ fans are smart enough to recognize that this franchise isn’t known for being deep; we know exactly what these films are, and we are perfectly fine with that. Some may not like the ideas presented here that may alter the status quo, while others, like myself, can get behind the alterations that take what’s established to a new level. Is it necessary? No. Does it capture the intrigue of this particular fan? Yes.
That said, for as much as I did enjoy what they did with ‘Crystal Lake’, there are plenty of things I’m not sold on when it comes to this iteration of events.
One of the changes that I do have an issue with is the one that recontextualizes the opening scene of the original film. If this was a fan-made project, I’d be okay with the creators taking big swings with the material, but when it comes to the official franchise, it may be too far of a deviation for my tastes. In fact, I had written a fairly positive review for a fan film that makes a similar change, but in that case, it was who they gave that moment to that won me over. Does that make me hypocritical? Yes, and I own that stance. I think the big issue for me with this is that the twist for this show isn’t quite earned in terms of the bigger picture; it feels more appropriate for Pamela to have this moment rather than a new character, especially given that the character in question has no presence in the world of ‘Friday the 13th’ as we know it until this point. Could future seasons change my mind about this? Sure. In the meantime, it stands as the change that I dislike the most.
Another negative for this series is the reliance on CGI for effects, which come off as cheap and off-putting, particularly as they’re included in a series that’s known for the amazing practical effects work of Tom Savini. I don’t know who in Hollywood needs to hear this, but while CGI may be cheaper cost-wise, it’s also cheaper visually and is blatantly obvious. CGI gore will always take the audience out. Stop being cunts, and return to practical, goddamn it. It’s a slasher property, not a creature feature. CGI should never exist in slasher material. Never. Ever.
My last complaint isn’t something tied to traditional criticism in regard to filmmaking quality or entertainment factor – instead, this is more of a nit-picky fan complaint: but, goddamn it, I loathe the idea that the surname Voorhees is presented as an alias, and that the characters are really Pamela, Elias and Jason Wittering. This, I suspect, will bother no one outside of the fan base, but it annoys me. Maybe I’m being a little over-dramatic here, but that change to the character’s last name is almost as dumb as introducing the flushing of toxic waste through the sewers of New York City or making Jason a body-jumping demon worm who can be resurrected, hockey mask and all, through his dead sister’s vagina. Simply put, it’s just another bad decision in the franchise.
Overall, I really enjoyed ‘Crystal Lake’. I thought it was a solid effort to add some depth and cohesion to the ‘Friday the 13th’ mythology. While I’d imagine that there are plenty of die-hard fans who may, understandably, dislike the alterations made with the show, I’m on the side that doesn’t mind what they’ve done with the material.
I can easily re-watch this show as I can put in the discs of the original Paramount films and enjoy them for what they are. For me this isn’t about choosing between one or the other: as Towlie from South Park says: “I choose both!”
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