Movies
Friday the 13th the Series: The Second Season (V)
“Even thought the stretch marks really begin to show mid-season, FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SECOND SEASON is a worthy addition to any fan’s collection. Like a lot of other shows from the 80s, it hasn’t aged particularly well, nor does it have great acting or an overabundance of original ideas, but that’s kind of its allure. If there was one thing it does accomplish perfectly, it’s providing a nice stroll down memory lane.”
When Paramount Television decided to get into the syndication business in the late 80s, it chose STAR TREK and FRIDAY THE 13TH as its first titles. Knowing that there was a huge core audience for both properties, they thought both shows could be profitable without the need for star power. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION went on to become one of the biggest syndicated shows of all time, launching careers and earning its place in pop-culture history books. FRIDAY THE 13TH, while not being a huge cash-cow, was the second highest-rated syndicated show during its first season and received a good amount of critical acclaim, which can’t be said for most of the films. Considering that those who despised the film series would be opposed to tuning in and the built-in fan base of the film franchise would be disappointed at the lack of machete mayhem, the decision to use name-brand recognition could be construed as the biggest risk Paramount Television ever took. Yet, it proved to be the right one and the series stayed on the air for three seasons.
After watching the Paramount/CBS release of the first season last September, I caught up with an Amicus film that FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES owes a lot to: FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE. The anthology film – made one year before TALES FROM THE CRYPT – revolves around a dusty, old store that sells cursed antiques and the supernatural occurrences that plague whoever dares to purchase them.
FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SECOND SEASON continues the adventures of distant-cousins Ryan (John LeMay) and Micki (Robey), and their friend Jack (Chris Wiggins), as they track down the antiques their Faustian uncle Lewis once owned. The show, famous for pushing the boundaries of makeup effects and gore on TV, ups the ante with episodes like Wax Museum, which features plenty of axe carnage and great melting effects. Looking to make the series more cinematic, rather than keep the limited scope of many of the first season’s episodes, executive producer Frank Mancuso Jr. made the wise decision of employing more big-screen names to work on the show, such as director Bruce Pittman (HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II), actor Billy Drago (THE UNTOUCHABLES), and writers Peter Jobin and Timothy Bond (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME). David Cronenberg, who directed the episode Faith Healer in season one, was in talks to helm more episodes, but that fell through, along with Rashid (Elias Zarou), a secondary character that was meant to be a regular and bring the series in a slightly different direction.
Above all, FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SECOND SEASON would become infamous for introducing Johnny Ventura (Steve Monarque), a reoccurring character that would return in season three to replace Ryan as the male lead. Many fans cried foul, as they didn’t think Johnny worked as a romantic interest for Micki or as a substitution for Ryan. Ultimately, many people blamed Johnny for being the key factor behind the series’ abrupt ending in season three, though it was the complaints of The Moral Majority , and not the ratings, that proved to be the driving force behind the show’s cancellation.
The Paramount/CBS release of FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SECOND SEASON comes with no special features of any kind, which isn’t really that much of a step down from the last season, considering a network pitch and two TV spots were the only ones included there. The visual quality is the real triumph here, providing a much clearer picture than the last season, which looked like someone recorded the episodes on a camcorder through a screen door. Here’s hoping the bloopers from season three, which have been online for years, make it onto the next set.
Even thought the stretch marks really begin to show mid-season, FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SECOND SEASON is a worthy addition to any fan’s collection. Like a lot of other shows from the 80s, it hasn’t aged particularly well, nor does it have great acting or an overabundance of original ideas, but that’s kind of its allure. If there was one thing it does accomplish perfectly, it’s providing a nice stroll down memory lane.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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