Editorials
The Troubled History Behind the Next ‘Friday the 13th’
I’ve been writing for Bloody-Disgusting for almost two years, but I still hesitate to read articles on the development of horror films I’m looking forward to. Why is this? Well, I don’t like getting my hopes up. I adore the Friday the 13th franchise, but for the past seven years I’ve been avoiding much of the news circulating around the development of the next installment. My rule is that I don’t read too much into pre-production news on a film so that my hopes don’t get crushed if i doesn’t work out. Once production starts I will start keeping up with news on the film.
I broke my rule today. I went through the past seven years of news articles about the next installment in the Friday the 13th franchise and wrote a summary of them.* As many of you probably already know, it’s been a troubled and problematic road to production (and it still hasn’t started production yet). Those of you who want to make sure you’re caught up on the behind-the-scenes drama of the franchise can use this article as a reference point.
*All information presented in this article is current as of October 18, 2016.
2009-2010
The Marcus Nispel-directed remake of Friday the 13th is released on February 13, 2009 by Warner Bros. Pictures. After grossing a massive $40.5 million on its opening weekend, the film would only go on to gross $65 million domestically and $26.3 internationally throughout its entire theatrical run. With a production budget of $19 million, Friday the 13th‘s earnings are nothing to scoff at, but they weren’t impressive enough to rush a sequel into production.
In October of 2009, just eight months after the remake was released, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Friday the 13th Part 2 would be released on August 13, 2010. Unfortunately, they pulled the film from release just two months later. At the time it was still expected that Damian Shannon and Marcus Swift, the writers of the remake (and Freddy Vs. Jason) would be writing the sequel and that it would be in 3D.
In April of 2010 (just two months after Warner Bros. Pictures postponed production), producer Brad Fuller tweeted that the sequel was officially canceled. This was essentially due to the fact that both Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema were being thrifty during the poor economy at the time and only wanted to produce films that were more box office friendly.
2011-2012
Fast forward to January of 2011. Fuller went to Twitter to give a status update on the film. Shannon and Swift had written a script that was set in the winter and they were all ready to move forward, but Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema were not. It appears that his tweet did nothing to motivate them, seeing as how we haven’t gotten a new Friday the 13th film yet.
By the time September of 2011 rolled around, there were rumors flying around that the new Friday the 13th would be a found footage horror film, but Fuller once again said that there was no actual momentum for the production of the film. News on Friday the 13th went silent for a while, as the studios were figuring out the rights to the franchise.
It was announced in October 2012 that Warner Bros. Pictures had the rights to the entire Friday the 13th film catalog, which meant that a Blu-Ray Box Set containing all 12 original films was not out of the question. It was later released in September of 2013 and is now quite expensive, selling for double the cost of its original retail price.
2013
Paramount Pictures finally regained control of the Friday the 13th franchise in June of 2013. How did that happen? Paramount Pictures agreed to co-produce the Christopher Nolan sci-fi film Interstellar, and in exchange Warner Bros. Pictures agreed to give up the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise (and South Park, but that’s another story). As you can imagine, news spread quickly that a sequel was on the fast-track, especially considering the rumor that Paramount only had five years to make a new Friday the 13th film. Jason actor Derek Mears stated that Platinum Dunes (aka Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form) were going to be partnering with Paramount to make the sequel. Fuller confirmed that the franchise was a priority in a tweet released the following month (July of 2013). Sadly, the film would be trapped in development hell from this point forward.
Rumors started again in October of 2013 stating that the new film might be a found footage film that would reboot the franchise, rather than a sequel to the 2009 remake. One month later (November of 2013) it was reported that the new film was given a release date of March 13, 2015, though no other details were confirmed other than the fact that Platinum Dunes would be producing.
2014
Fans got a shock in the beginning of 2014 when it was reported that Jason might not even be in the film. Fuller again stated that he would love to have Mears reprise his role as Jason Voorhees but since they didn’t have a script yet (the previous versions were dumped) they couldn’t for sure say what iteration of Jason (if any) would be present in the film. Friday the 13th may not have had a script, but in April David Buckner was in negotiations to be its director. Bruckner, as you may recall, directed the “Amateur Night” segment in the Bloody-Disgusting-produced V/H/S. May saw the March 13, 2015 release date switch to November 13, 2015. Bruckner was still in talks to direct but still had not been confirmed.
News didn’t stop coming in during the last half of 2014. A 3D format was confirmed in June but that news was proved false in July when Fuller came forward again to say that there was no commitment to a found footage or 3D format. There still wasn’t a script at the time (seriously, how hard is it to write a Friday the 13th script?). Fuller also did an interview in August saying that Jason would be in the new film and was misquoted in his previous interview. Christmastime brought about rumors that Friday the 13th would be returning to its roots and be set in the 1980s and feature Jason’s mother Pamela in a leading role. It would also be permanently ditching the found footage style.
2015
It’s understandable that fans would be getting their hopes up when so much news was coming forward about the films, but those hopes were crushed in January of 2015 when producer Andrew Form said that they were still waiting on a script. Unsurprisingly, the November 2015 release date didn’t stick and the film was pushed back once again to May 13, 2016 later that month. Fuller and Form mentioned in February that the new film might delve into Jason’s supernatural roots to bring something new to the franchise. So the idea was to make the film about Jason’s mythology.
In March Hannibal writer Nick Antosca was announced as the screenwriter for the new film (finally!). Antosca was pretty active on Twitter over the next couple of months. He posted images of him researching different types of machetes even went so far as to confirm that his version would not be a sequel to the 2009 film. “Different characters, time period, style,” he said. At this point the film was set to be released just under a year later. He turned in his first draft of the script to Bruckner and Platinum Dunes on July 24, 2015.
Apparently that draft failed to impress, as it was announced in October that a new writer was being sought out for the film and the release date was shifted from May 13, 2016 to January 13, 2017. Bruckner’s involvement with the film was uncertain after this announcement, but we here at Bloody-Disgusting were unable to get a clear answer from anyone on the inside.
Christmas came early that year as a new writer was announced on December 3. That writer was Aaron Guzikowski, the writer of Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. It was also confirmed that Bruckner was no longer involved with the project. You’ve got to feel bad for the guy. He stuck it out with the film for so many years, and was either pushed out or gave up. It’s a shame, really.
2016
We’re in the home stretch now! The beginning of the year saw a lot of information come out about what Bruckner’s and Antosca’s Friday the 13th would have been like. First Bruckner opened up about the original concept for the film and the fact that it would have been an ensemble piece, then Antosca said the film would have opened with the 1980s Paramount logo (I really hope this still happens). You can read Mr. Disgusting’s analysis of Antosca’s script, which he was fortunate enough to read, here.
March saw more momentum on the project when Form gave more hints about the film in an interview. He confirmed that it was set in a time period that wasn’t the present and reiterated that it would not be in found footage. Fuller even teased that a set visit was imminent, meaning that he believed that production would be starting soon. We learned that Guzikowski’s draft of the script was due in April and if everything went well (and a new director was hired) then filming would begin in the summer. I probably don’t have to tell you that that did not happen.
Guzikowski did turn in a script, and the studio gave him notes for a second draft. In May, Fuller stated that they were moving forward with a draft of Guzikowski’s script. That script centered around an origin story for Jason Voorhees. In June it was reported that that origin story would feature Pamela and Jason’s father Elias, who has never been seen in any of the previous films, in prominent roles. Much of the script focused on the Voorhees family, a fact that Brad Fuller confirmed just days later. Fuller backtracked a couple of weeks later, saying that Elias’s presence in the film was uncertain, but that Jason and Pamela would for sure be a focus.
Everything was looking good in August. Breck Eisner (The Crazies) was announced to be in final negotiations to direct the film and a lucky tax credit pretty much guaranteed that the film would start filming in the fall or early winter. It all seemed on the up and up until….
The Legal Battle
Another(!) wrench was thrown in the production of Friday the 13th when a lawsuit was filed between Victor Miller, the screenwriter of the original 1980 film, and Horror Inc. and the Manny Company. As we reported on August 29th:
Miller is using a provision in copyright law by which a creator of an original work must wait 35 years before they can put forth a claim to obtain and reclaim the works that they have created. The claim must be submitted two years before the termination date, which is why the lawsuit will happen in the near future but the rights will only revert to Miller, if he wins, in 2018.
Here’s where things get interesting: the reason a lawsuit is even happening is because Horror Inc. and Manny Company are trying to beat him to the punch by trying to stop his termination of rights filing. An out of court settlement is always an option at this point but if that doesn’t happen then it’s their duty to prove that Miller was a “writer-for-hire”, which means he doesn’t own the original material.
As predicted, Paramount Pictures pushed back Friday the 13th to October 13, 2017. One final update on the lawsuit was provided earlier this month but it supposedly won’t effect the production of the new film.
So where do we stand with the new Friday the 13th? Breck Eisner is still in talks to direct but has yet to be confirmed. Aaron Guzikowski’s script is being used (as of now). And a release date of October 13, 2017 has been set (again, as of now). With such a complicated development history (this “brief” summary is comprised of about 1,700 words), it’s difficult to get one’s hopes up, but with any luck we will have a new Friday the 13th film in theaters by this time next year.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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