They’re all coming back. And it’s been a while since they’ve been in such good hands.
Looking ahead to the near future of the horror genre, you’ll see that big time franchises Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween are all being rebooted within the next year or so – and, unsurprisingly, none of those “reboots” will be directly connected to the remakes we’ve already gotten in years past. A reflection of Hollywood’s lack of originality and desire to milk popular franchises until their teats are swollen and sore? Without a doubt. But at the same time, it’s hard not to be excited whenever our favorite villains are put back in the killing business.
More importantly, we’ve got very little to worry about right now.
On the Friday the 13th front, Jason Voorhees is expected to resume his Crystal Lake killing spree on January 13th of next year, and while you may not be too keen on the idea of the film telling a full-on origin story, you must at least derive some level of comfort from the team that’s behind it. A director hasn’t yet been announced but we do know that Aaron Guzikowksi penned the script, and if you’ve seen the 2013 film Prisoners, you know how lucky the franchise is to have him. As producer Brad Fuller recently pointed out, he’s probably a better writer than the series even deserves – it may sound demeaning to the legacy of Voorhees, but it’s not exactly an untrue statement.
After all, if we’re being honest with ourselves, the franchise doesn’t exactly deal in high art.
In addition, the 2017 Friday the 13th reboot will be the first film in the series made by Paramount Pictures in nearly 30 years, which makes it an exciting homecoming of sorts. Jason Takes Manhattan, released in 1989, was the final film in the original series to be produced by Paramount, as subsequent installments Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, and Freddy vs. Jason were made by New Line – so too was the 2009 remake, co-produced by Platinum Dunes. True, Paramount’s Friday the 13th track record is by no means pristine, but there’s something about Jason coming home that just feels so very right.
Not to mention, the next Friday the 13th film will technically be the 13th installment in the franchise, and with Paramount on board, you have to believe they’ll be taking a “go big or go home” approach to the revival of the series. And again, having Aaron Guzikowski pen the script seems to suggest that they’re taking the former approach this time around.
We don’t yet have a release date, but the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre will soon get a prequel of its own with the already-filmed Leatherface, headed to theaters either this year or next. The film, much like the upcoming Friday the 13th reboot, will delve into Leatherface’s origin story, particularly focusing on his years as a teenage madman. Okay, so nobody was really asking to see what Leatherface was up to in his teenage years, but again, it’s the team behind this one that makes it an exciting project.
The directors of Leatherface are Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, a French filmmaking duo who made quite a splash back in 2007 with brutal home invasion flick Inside. Again, like Guzikowski and Friday the 13th, theirs are talents the Chainsaw franchise is incredibly lucky to have. Yes, the guys who made Inside are the ones bringing Leatherface back to the big screen, and I don’t know about you, but that’s more than enough to pique my interest and curb any fears.
Perhaps the most exciting franchise revival on the menu right now is Halloween, being brought back courtesy of Blumhouse Productions and John freakin’ Carpenter himself. The recently announced new installment will be executive produced by Carpenter, who will also serve as creative consultant, and early word is that the horror master may even handle the film’s score. It’ll be the first film in the series made with Carpenter’s direct involvement since Halloween 3, which of course makes it the first to actually feature Michael Myers, and have Carpenter on board, since Halloween 2 (1981).
Blumhouse will produce with Miramax and Trancas International Films, and another point of excitement for longtime fans of the series is that Dimension Films won’t have their hands in this particular cookie jar. Dimension has been involved in the last several installments in the franchise, which are needless to say not quite fan favorites. Furthermore, Blumhouse and Carpenter promise that the new Halloween film will take the series back to its simple and terrifying roots, which is right about now music to our ears. Michael Myers is expected to come home in October 2017.
As for Freddy, well, we’re still waiting on news of his impending return.
Will any of these films turn out to actually be good? It’s impossible to tell, at this present moment in time. But for now, it seems that our favorite horror franchises are being treated with the care and respect that they deserve. And that’s a damn fine start.
