Editorials
Reinvention and Resurrection: The ‘Friday the 13th’ Sequels That Elevated the Franchise
Friday the 13th was the biggest horror hit of 1980. The smart money was on either the much-anticipated Stanley Kubrick adaptation of The Shining or John Carpenter’s The Fog, his follow-up to the massively successful Halloween, for this honor rather than the low budget potboiler that was, by the admission of the filmmakers, a rip-off of that modern classic. But fortunes in Hollywood are rarely predictable and Friday the 13th ran away with the year’s box-office.
In those days, success leading to a sequel was not a foregone conclusion. After all, the killer had been beheaded at the end of the previous film. One suggested option was an anthology series with various horror scenarios playing out on the ill-fated date. But the money men wanted a film along the same lines as the original—with Jason as the killer. To several key players of the first film including director Sean S. Cunningham, writer Victor Miller, and special make-up effects maestro Tom Savini, this was a ridiculous notion. Jason Voorhees had drowned before the original film even began. How could he possibly be the killer? Leaps of logic were swept aside, however, and Jason made the villain of the sequel. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Friday the 13th Part 2 treads much of the same ground as the original, but there is much more reinvention happening than may at first appear. It is less a whodunnit with creative kills like most slashers of the period, including the first film, and more a solidification of what would become “the formula” for the subgenre going forward. But Part 2 also rises above that formula by being populated with dynamic and realistic characters including one of the all-time great final girls, planting the seeds of what would become an iconic killer, and having a far more refined filmmaking style than many of its peers.
The characters do fit into certain molds, a few of which appeared in the first film, but the ways they are written and acted make them unique. Some of the more distinctive characters in this film include the “rebels” Jeff (Bill Randolph) and Sandra (Marta Kober), who sneak off while the others are swimming to see “Camp Blood,” only to be caught by the local sheriff. Mark (Tom McBride) is a former athlete now confined to a wheelchair due to a motorcycle accident and Vickie (Lauren-Marie Taylor) is completely captivated by him. The joker, Ted (Stuart Charno), is a bit like Ned (Mark Nelson) in the first film but with his own unique energy and sense of humor. Paul (John Furey), the head of the camp counselor training program, and his girlfriend Ginny (Amy Steel) are a bit older but still willing to thumb their nose at authority. It is a vibrant cast of characters and they are all much more than fodder for the creative kill sequences.
Of all these characters, Amy Steel as Ginny stands out as one of the truly memorable final girls in slasher history. She is far more mischievous than most that had come before or would come after when we first meet her. She has an air of life experience about her that is often not present in these characters. She is in a relationship with Paul, an older man, she is seen drinking at the bar and Paul makes comments about smoking weed, which he has likely shared with Ginny. She does not come across as “the virgin” like so many others do. She is at first understandably reactionary to Jason’s attacks, but soon becomes more aggressive and proactive. Ultimately, she is able to defeat Jason with her brains and wits by putting on his mother’s sweater and pretending to be Pamela Voorhees. Even the “male savior” trope that often occurs in slashers is subverted when Paul is nearly killed by Jason and Ginny saves him by striking Jason with a machete.
Jason himself is quite different in this film than he is in any of the other films in the series. The “rules” for Jason had not yet been established so the character does things that he just wouldn’t do later on. He is much more of a trickster in this film. He lies in wait under a sheet for Vickie as she comes to check on Jeff and Sandra. He pretends to leave a cabin as Ginny hides under a cot, but instead climbs up on a chair in order to ambush her. He is also much more vulnerable here than he would be even starting in Part III. It’s hard to imagine Ted White or Kane Hodder’s Jason dropping like a rag doll after being kicked in the jimmies for example. Here, he is knocked out cold when Ginny hits him with a chair and cowers when she lunges toward him with a chainsaw. His makeshift house in the woods is another element unique to this film that wouldn’t be touched on again until the 2009 remake.
Perhaps what sets Friday the 13th Part 2 apart the most from many other slashers of the period is the skill that went into its filmmaking. It is simply a more suspenseful and skillfully made movie than the original. There is more attention to detail, better pacing and editing, and more knowledge of the filmic language of suspense established in the Hitchcock and giallo films that preceded it. It is filled with several unforgettable kills, some of them series highpoints. The brutal death of Mark with a machete to the face sending his wheelchair careening backward down a flight of stone steps is one of the most memorable in the franchise. The “shish-kabob” kill of Jeff and Sandra may have been considerably trimmed by the Motion Picture Association of America, but still packs quite a punch. There are certainly some shortcomings to the film, particularly a few bizarre plot elements. Ginny apparently pees her pants when she sees a rat, something that feels strange and out of character for her, which informs Jason of her presence. There are also several loose ends including the fates of Ted and Paul. And what’s up with that dog? But the filmmaking prowess of director Steve Miner overshadows these issues for the most part.
The film was another rousing success with audiences and was once again savaged by critics. Still, the box office is what mattered most to Paramount and another sequel was made. The series was riding high until the major fan backlash against Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning in 1985. Though it has been widely reappraised in recent years, the film was absolutely hated by Friday fans at the time and for many years after. Producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. was given the dictum to get the franchise back on track. No more ambulance drivers pretending to be Jason, no Tommy Jarvis becomes Jason; only the real Jason Voorhees could be the killer. The question became how to do it. The character had been irredeemably killed in The Final Chapter two years earlier and, in the universe of the films, had been rotting in a grave for well over a decade. The job of resurrecting Jason went to rocker, writer, and director of the film One Dark Night (1982), Tom McLoughlin.
A huge fan of classic Universal and Hammer films, McLoughlin’s solution was simple, bring him back with lightning like Frankenstein. He also wanted to take the film in a different direction than any of the previous Friday films by infusing it with more humor. Mancuso approved with the one stipulation that he not make fun of Jason. The fact that Jason Lives does not take itself too seriously while never poking fun at Jason is one of its greatest strengths. It was “meta” ten years before Scream, with its characters aware of horror films and the various tropes of slashers. “I’ve seen enough horror movies to know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly,” quips Lizbeth (Nancy McLoughlin) as she sees Jason holding a spear standing outside her car. The character of Martin (Bob Larkin), the cemetery caretaker, is a stand-in for the many critics and naysayers that had savaged the franchise over the years when he breaks the fourth wall and says, “some folks sure got a strange idea of entertainment.” Sprinkled throughout the film are references to various horror directors and actors as well as nods toward the gothic films that McLoughlin loved so much.
Like Part 2, the film takes care to make its characters likable and memorable even when they have little screen time. Like Ginny before her, Megan Garris (whose last name was borrowed from McLoughlin’s friend and fellow horror director Mick), played by Jennifer Cooke, is a very different kind of final girl. She is also mischievous and something of a rebel when it comes to authority, even if her father is the local sheriff. She is smart, has her wits about her, and is more proactive than reactionary. It would be quite a stretch to ever call her a “damsel in distress.”
The other lead character, Tommy Jarvis (Thom Matthews) also breaks molds for the series. Though ostensibly the same character in all three films of the “Tommy Jarvis trilogy,” he is quite different from film to film, and not just because he is played by a different actor in each. Tommy is the precocious “monster kid” in The Final Chapter, a troubled teen on the verge of a psychotic break in A New Beginning, and a cross between ’80s action hero and Professor Van Helsing in Jason Lives. Though he is the cause of bringing Jason back to life at the beginning of the film, Tommy is determined to destroy the killer once and for all. His method of final dispatch is somewhat weak when compared to other entries in the franchise, but it did leave the doors open for further returns of Jason, which seems to be what the studio wanted.
This is also the first film with “zombie Jason.” Though he had been strong and imposing before, here he is downright superhuman. In the first kill of the film, he rips out a heart with his bare hands. He later pulls off an arm with ease, shoves a girl’s face through the wall of an RV, and folds Sheriff Garris in half—backwards. Even Ted White’s vicious Jason of The Final Chapter didn’t have that kind of strength. This version of Jason would carry forward throughout the rest of the series. When Kane Hodder took on the mantle of Jason for The New Blood, he maintained the superhuman qualities that were introduced into the character in Jason Lives.
Another great addition to Jason Lives is its soundtrack. Along with another iconic score from maestro for the series up to that point Harry Manfredini, the film also includes several heavy metal tracks. Today, it seems obvious that Heavy Metal and horror go together like peanut butter and dark chocolate, but it had not often been used in mainstream horror films before Jason Lives. McLoughlin called on an old friend, Alice Cooper, to supply some songs for the soundtrack. Cooper handed over several including a song for the closing credits, “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask).” It didn’t take long for metal to become a regular staple of horror soundtracks.
Because of its ability to poke fun at itself and the slasher tropes along the way as well as the slick, polished quality of the writing, acting, and filmmaking, Jason Lives even received a few positive notices from critics. This was a first for a series that had up until then received unprecedented levels of hatred and vitriol from the critical establishment. Unfortunately, the film was not a great success in its theatrical run, perhaps a carry over from the negative reception to A New Beginning. Despite that, it found its audience on video and cable. It quickly gained fans and esteem, and now often tops lists of favorite entries in the franchise.
Both Part 2 and Jason Lives stand as unique entries in the Friday the 13th series. They also have quite a bit in common. Both reinvented Jason, both explored new territory for slasher films, and both are very skillfully made. Neither are mere repetitions of what came before. Though both give audiences what they expect from a Friday the 13th film, they also blazed new trails in the much-trodden subgenre. For me personally, these two, along with The Final Chapter, are easily the best films in what is a remarkably consistent franchise. These just happen to stand a bit taller. Both films feel a bit like sitting around a campfire and telling stories about a legendary killer that “haunts these very woods.” There is a sense of folklore and fun along with the scares and gore. As Friday the 13th Part 2 and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives celebrate their 40th and 35th anniversaries respectively, it is clear why they remain not only defining films of a landmark franchise, but defining films in all of horror.
After fifty years of continuous writing, Stephen King has become a genre unto himself.
The unrivaled Master of Horror made a splash in 1974 with his debut novel Carrie and has been terrifying readers ever since. Two years later, Brian De Palma brought this shocking story to the screen with an equally electrifying horror film that remains a genre classic and a prototypical example of “Good For Her” horror. This dual debut seemed to open the floodgates, unleashing endless waves of Stephen King films.
From the highs of Misery, Cujo, and The Shawshank Redemption to the schlocky fun of Cat’s Eye, Creepshow, and Children of the Corn, the last five decades have seen just about every notable horror creator take a stab at the author’s massive collection.
In recent years, this singular subgenre has begun to burst at the seams, expanding to include Stephen King-esque fare. In 2016, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer debuted Stranger Things, a sci-fi series heavily inspired by two of King’s most famous books. The Netflix series remixes Firestarter and It by following a little girl with psychic powers and an intrepid group of kids on bikes who must battle an otherworldly foe and a sinister government agency. With its clever blend of modern effects and comforting nostalgia, this gateway horror series paved the way for Andy Muschietti’s It adaptation which remains the highest grossing horror film of all time.
Four years later, Mike Flanagan would create Midnight Mass, a spiritual adaptation of King’s second novel Salem’s Lot. Published in 1975, the book sees a tiny New England town torn apart by a centuries-old vampire. Though Flanagan’s story is perhaps more tender, both iterations of the classic horror tale follow close-knit communities shaken to their core by the presence of an ancient evil.
In addition to these recent hits, 2025 was a banner year for the Master of Horror. Audiences delighted in six mainstream adaptations, including the massively popular It: Welcome to Derry which chronicles earlier cycles of the titular clown’s reign. With this boost to King’s cultural cache, it’s no surprise that we’ve begun to see more unofficial adaptations of the author’s work and horror creators who build their own unique castles in King’s creative sandbox.
So what defines a Stephen King-esque story?
For the past fifty years, the prolific author has dipped his toes in nearly every subgenre from supernatural stories and grisly gore to western fantasy and science fiction. Including his vast catalogue of short fiction, King has tackled ghosts, demons, werewolves, zombies, aliens, mutants, and self-driving cars, not to mention bizarre monsters of his own creation. But what truly unites this vast array of horror is King’s focus on relatable characters. In his 2000 memoir/instructional text On Writing, the prolific author describes the amusement he finds in writing disparate characters, placing them in horrific scenarios, then exploring the ways they try to survive.
An unofficial Stephen King adaptation may take place in the author’s native New England — bonus points if it’s set in Maine — and reference his well-known heroes and villains. But what makes the King connection unbreakable is a character-driven story about average people who band together in the face of abject terror.
Weapons Captures Small Town Stephen King
Following his 2022 shocker Barbarian, Zach Cregger returned with Weapons, a sprawling story that begins in a doomed elementary school. On an otherwise ordinary day, Justine (Julia Garner) arrives at her desk to find that all but one of her students have disappeared. As the mystery grows increasingly violent, Justine and Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of a missing boy, find their way to the home of Alex (Cary Christopher), the class’ only surviving student. In some ways reminiscent of Salem’s Lot, Weapons swings wildly through the unfortunate town, introducing us to its flawed inhabitants as we watch their lives fall apart.
Cregger’s setup nods to a pair of King short stories. Both “Suffer the Little Children” and “Here There Be Tygers” tackle monstrous presences in elementary schools, but as Weapons reaches its final act, Constant Readers may remember another Stephen King tale. Featured in his 1985 collection Skeleton Crew, “Gramma” introduces us to George, a little boy tormented by an aging witch. On an afternoon alone with his sickly grandmother, the frightened child gradually realizes that the imposing old woman has been waiting for an opportunity to cast a spell that will extend her own life by possessing his body.
Alex finds himself similarly tortured by his aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), a garish witch who orchestrates a desperate plot to sustain her own strength. Transforming humans into mindless weapons, Gladys has taken over Alex’s family home and lured his classmates to the basement. Holding them in a comatose state, she syphons off their energy to extend her own supernatural life.
Vastly different in many ways, both “Gramma” and Weapons hinge on a sinister witch who uses horrific magical spells to sacrifice the bodies of her vulnerable prey.
Hokum Echoes The Shining and 1408
It’s nearly impossible to watch a film about a haunted hotel without thinking of King’s third novel, The Shining. This icy story follows Jack Torrance, an angry writer struggling with his sobriety and a shameful incident haunting his past. Accompanied by his wife and young son, Jack has taken a job as the winter caretaker for the Overlook, a haunted hotel situated high in the Rocky Mountains. Snowed in, Jack finds himself tormented by dangerous ghosts who amplify his greatest fears.
Damian McCarthy’s Hokum follows a similarly troubled figure. Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a surly writer who travels to the Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland to spread his parents’ ashes. Haunted by his own tragic past, Ohm finds himself trapped in the honeymoon suite, a decaying room that’s been permanently closed to protect visitors from a dangerous witch trapped within its walls. Visual nods to King’s text abound with woodcut figurines and an animated clock, mirroring ominous descriptions found in King’s text.
Another terrifying sequence sees Ohm staring with horror at a closed door, the only thing separating him from the approaching witch. As the door knob slowly turns, Constant Readers remember Jack’s narrow escape from the ghostly woman in room 217. And Ohm’s popular Conquistador books directly reference King’s long-running fantasy series The Dark Tower which follows a gunslinger named Roland Deschain tasked with protecting the nexus of the universe.
In addition to these thematic comparisons, Hokum bears striking resemblance to King’s terrifying short story “1408.” Collected in 2002’s Everything’s Eventual, the terrifying story follows Mike Enslin, a dejected writer who’s risen to fame penning essays about his adventures in haunted locations. Mike arrives at the Hotel Dolphin and bullies his way into the titular room, despite the manager’s dire warnings. McCarthy nods to this story with an ominously misplaced hotel room door, reminiscent of King’s entry to 1408, an unsuspecting portal that appears to move each time Mike looks away.
However, McCarthy’s most direct reference lies in a minicorder Ohm uses to capture notes. Trapped inside the dreaded honeymoon suite, this device offers well-timed messages while sitting next to a decomposing corpse. Mike records his time in 1408 with his own trusty minicorder. Described for the reader, his tape has captured the man’s slow descent into madness as the room prepares to swallow him whole. With conclusions that differ wildly in tone, both Ohm and Mike find their lives irrevocably changed by encounters with the supernatural realm.
Widow’s Bay Builds Its Own Version of Castle Rock
Katie Dippold’s Widow’s Bay has taken the idea of an unofficial King adaptation and turned it into an art form. The Apple TV series sees the residents of the titular island plagued by a curse that dates back centuries. Not only does the picturesque hamlet not accommodate wifi connections, those born on the island face certain death should they ever try to leave. Desperate to modernize the tiny town, Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) draws in waves of tourists just as a new cycle of terror begins.
Blending horror with deft comedy, Dippold makes cheeky references to King’s body of work. Tom warns that, “there’s something in the fog,” reminding readers of King’s 1980 novella The Mist. And Loftis’ own stay in the town’s haunted hotel sees him tormented by the ghost of a murderous clown. We even spy a vintage King hardback peeking out of a local book trade box.
In many ways Widow’s Bay feels like a new iteration of the author’s Little Tall Island, a tiny village off the coast of Maine. In addition to the 1992 novel Dolores Claiborne and a handful of harrowing short stories, this quaint fishing village is also the setting for King’s 1999 teleplay Storm of the Century. Premiering on ABC primetime, this tragic tale follows a terrified group of islanders who batten down the hatches for a dangerous Nor’easter only to find a more sinister threat lurking within.
Constant Readers may also be reminded of Castle Rock, the author’s favorite fictional town.
First introduced in the 1981 novel Cujo, the charming village becomes the star of Needful Things, King’s satire about consumerism. After several Castle Rock stories, we’re reintroduced to its residents as they gossip about the arrival of Leland Gaunt and the grand opening of his curio shop. Anything their hearts desire can be found in his varied inventory, so long as they’re willing to pay the price. Pitting cantankerous neighbors against each other, Gaunt ignites a wave of grisly violence by exploiting long-held resentments and feuds.
The town’s only defense against this supernatural threat is beleaguered sheriff Alan Pangborn. Still grieving the deaths of his wife and younger son, Alan struggles to connect with his older child and pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Also a widower, Loftis struggles to raise his own restless son and explain the strange details of his wife’s tragic death. Attempting to unravel the island’s dark secrets, Tom is aided by quirky residents including a surly fisherman named Wyck (Stephen Root) and Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), an earnest Town Hall employee. King’s own novels feature many of these proactive alliances with disparate characters combining their strengths to overcome insurmountable odds.
With Widow’s Bay renewed for a second season and Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series on the horizon, the future seems bright for new King adaptations, both spiritual and directly pulled from his catalogue. The prolific author also shows no signs of slowing down with two publications nearing release. His upcoming novel, Other Worlds Than These, is the long-awaited third Talisman book which teases direct ties to his Dark Tower world. Holly Forever will be a new installment of his crime series, offering a different kind of genre fare.
This embarrassment of riches spawning multiple worlds seems ripe for spiritual adaptation and will likely inspire horror creators for decades to come.
Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root and Matthew Rhys in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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