For the sake of recapping, Aaron Guzikowski is penning the next installment in the Friday the 13th franchise for Platinum Dunes and Paramount, which is tentatively set for release on January 13, 2017 – though likely to be pushed back again. What do we know about it so far? Well, for starters, it most definitely will not be a found footage film, and we just learned that it will delve into the origin story of Jason Voorhees. As revealed by producer Brad Fuller earlier this week, we’ll be getting a bit of a different Voorhees backstory than the one we’re all familiar with, which is almost guaranteed to piss off those who refuse to embrace the slightest bit of change.
Speaking of pissing off fans, the very suggestion of a Voorhees origin story has done just that in the wake of Fuller spilling those beans. At this point, seven years after the release of the 2009 remake, most are hungry for little more than another mindless bloodbath at Camp Crystal Lake, and the fear is that an origin story not only threatens to demystify Jason but would ultimately result in less time spent watching him do what he does best: kill, kill, kill, murder, murder, murder.
While it’s very true that origin stories are sometimes detrimental to horror villains, we mustn’t forget that the Friday the 13th franchise is an entirely different beast than, say, the Halloween franchise – the latter being at its best when we weren’t really provided with a reason as to why Michael Myers was killing. Jason Voorhees, on the other hand, is quite the opposite of a villain who’s a stronger character without a backstory. Because Jason Voorhees, when you really think about it, is a villain who doesn’t even exist without his tragic origin story.
The method to Jason’s madness and (understandable) reason for slaying horny teens was established so far before his actual arrival on screen that his franchise didn’t even begin as his franchise – the original Friday the 13th, boiled down to its essence, was an unintentional Jason Voorhees origin story. So how do you reboot the franchise without addressing any of that? To do so, if you’re asking me, would be to do a huge disservice to the Jason Voorhees character.
Of course, one could argue that a Jason origin story is pointless not because it would harm the character but because we’ve already been there and done that, which is a point that’s a bit harder to counterpoint. But let’s not misread what Brad Fuller said. He specifically pointed out that the origin story Guzikowski has written is different than the one present in the original franchise, suggesting that they’re taking the series to places it hasn’t been before. And that’s an exciting thought, especially since there’s so much about Jason’s past that hasn’t ever been addressed and is very much ripe for exploration.
Sure, we know Jason drowned due to the negligence of sex-happy camp counselors, and probably witnessed his beloved mother get beheaded, but the franchise hasn’t actually delved too deep into the specifics of any of that stuff. Who is Jason’s father, for example, and where was Jason on the night Pamela went on a murder spree? Furthermore, if Jason was still alive at that time, why didn’t he just show himself to her? Did he really even drown on that fateful day, and what exactly was he up to all those years before he started killing?
The answers to these and questions like them can only add to the mythology of Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise as a whole, and I have a hard time viewing that kind of storytelling as anything but a good thing. You may think you want little more than 90-minutes of pointless murder, but when it comes down to it, wouldn’t you rather get a Friday the 13th movie that tries something different and adds new layers to the series – perhaps even fills in some of the blanks left behind by the original films? Once the hockey mask is on and the machete is in his hand, mindless killing is really all Jason’s good for, so I fully welcome an exploration of the character prior to the new reboot – and subsequent sequels – showering us with the red stuff.
Brad Fuller noted that you “kind of have to understand Jason Voorhees” in order for the franchise to really stay true to itself, and the smartest move on the path to bringing the machete-wielding maniac back to life may very well be starting from the beginning and making sure audiences both new and old understand what he’s all about. Because Friday the 13th isn’t ruined by making Jason a sympathetic character. It’s ruined by failing to acknowledge that he has always been one.
What say you? Am I as crazy as Ralph? Sound off below!
Image at top courtesy: Wickedbeard Creations