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Ted in ‘Friday the 13th Part 2’: The Unlikely Survivor Who Subverted Slasher Movie Rules

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From the moment we meet Ted (Stu Charno) in Friday the 13th Part 2, it’s clear that he’s the character tasked with being the film’s comic relief. The token goofball, Ted immediately establishes himself as such by playing a prank on his fellow counselors, and there’s nary a moment in the film where he’s not telling a joke, making funny faces or playing more pranks. He’s a slasher movie victim, if there ever was one. The kind of character not only guaranteed to die, but likely to get killed off pretty early on.

By 1981, the rules of the slasher film had already been firmly established, and the previous year’s Friday the 13th played no small part in hammering those unwritten guidelines into the brains of horror audiences. The basic formula, of course, is that a group of attractive young friends run afoul of a killer, and after they’re brutally knocked off one-by-one, the seemingly helpless “final girl” saves the day and avenges the dead.

In Friday the 13th Part 2, the final girl is Ginny Field, a superior slasher movie heroine who outsmarts Jason at the end of the film by understanding how Jason works and using his own brain against him, pretending to be his dead mother. At his most vulnerable, Ginny strikes the masked maniac with a machete, surviving the night’s ordeal and living to see another day. In typical slasher fashion, Ginny ends up being the only character who really matters, as the rest of the gang was simply there to jack up the body count.

Slasher 101, right? Well not exactly. Because lovable nerd Ted doesn’t die. And what’s even more remarkable about the character, making him one of the most unique in the sub-genre’s history, is HOW he survives.

Around the 45-minute mark in Part 2, Ginny’s boyfriend Paul comes up with the idea of heading out to the local bar to kick back with a few beverages and enjoy one last night of fun before all the kids arrive, and comic relief Ted tags along as the third wheel – because of course he does. Unlike Ginny and Paul, who slowly savor a couple beers apiece, Ted gets blackout drunk, pounding back no less than eight brewskies.

As the counselors back at camp are slaughtered left and right, Ginny, Paul and Ted discuss the legend of Crystal Lake; when the two lovebirds decide to return to the campgrounds, Ted makes the highly unexpected decision to stay behind. He’s in full-on party mode, you see, and he wants to hang out until last call. When the bar closes up, Ted promises Paul, he will stumble back to camp and join the others.

In one final scene, however, we see a drunken Ted ask a fellow bar patron if there are any after-hours places nearby, implying that he plans on staying out even after the bar closes. And then we never see Ted again. At the point the scene takes place, a solid 22 minutes are left in the film, though the remainder of Ted’s night remains a total mystery to us. Presumably, he continues partying until the sun comes up, and by all accounts doesn’t ever meet the business end of a weapon wielded by Jason Voorhees.

It’s of course incredibly strange for a movie to develop a character and then never bother to tell us his fate, and it’d probably be fair for one to chalk that up to bad writing, but what’s interesting about Ted’s particular method of survival is that it completely defies the rules and expectations of slasher cinema. Not only does Ted, the goofy nerd, have no business surviving, but he survives the film despite playing the role of the classic slasher victim.

Anyone who has seen their fair share of slasher movies has surely picked up on the fact that drinking, having sex and just generally being a party animal are the easiest ways for a character to guarantee his or her death in a body count flick, but it’s oddly enough *because* of Ted’s heavy drinking that he makes it through the night. To my knowledge, he’s the only slasher character whose survival, rather than death, is alcohol-fueled.

Ted doesn’t bravely fight Jason or cowardly run away from the camp, he simply decides to get drunk all by his lonesome. It’s this decision, one that bucks sub-genre expectations, that makes him a slasher movie victim who somehow manages to not become a slasher movie victim. There’s almost a self-awareness to the character, intended or not, as he seems to know what to do in order to survive the slasher film he’s in. And he survives entirely unscathed, both physically and mentally.

Well, save for a bitchin’ hangover, at least.

It’s easy to overlook Ted because of the way he’s unceremoniously written out of Friday the 13th Part 2, but make no mistake that he’s one of the smartest and most unique characters in the entire franchise. Not only does he bring the laughs, but he also manages to become the series’ first “final guy,” and though the film never bothers to acknowledge or celebrate his unlikely victory, we hope that you will join us in doing so today.

We love you, Ted. Happy Friday the 13th.

I originally published a version of this article on Halloween Love, November 2015.

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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