Editorials
“Die Jason! Die!”: Six Badass Horror Movie Fans Like Tommy Jarvis [Friday the 13th Week]
Presented by Paramount Scares, Friday the 13th Week sees Bloody Disgusting heading to Camp Crystal Lake for a series of features that celebrate the Voorhees family and their influence. Yesterday, Rachel Reeves highlighted other camp-adjacent scares. Today, Luiz H.C. takes inventory of all the horror movie fans in horror similar to franchise hero Tommy Jarvis.
Writers may come up with nightmares and directors bring them to life, but everyone knows that it’s the horror fans that really keep the genre going. That’s why it’s always refreshing to see scary movies show some appreciation towards the community, like that time Jason Voorhees was (rather brutally) defeated by a young monster movie enthusiast played by Corey Feldman, aka Tommy Jarvis.
In light of the 40th anniversary for both Jarvis and FRIDAY THE 13th: The Final Chapter, we’ve come up with a list celebrating six other badass horror fans in horror movies. After all, what horror fan hasn’t daydreamed about using their genre expertise to take down vampires, murderers and zombies? As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite cinematic horror nerds if you think we missed one.
And if you’re dying for more Friday the 13th content, Paramount Scares and Bloody Disgusting are presenting an eight-film marathon on the Friday the 13th franchise. Not in the area? Can’t make it? Paramount Scares and Fangoria are also presenting nationwide screenings of FRIDAY THE 13th – The Final Chapter.
6. Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin/ Dan Byrd/Jordan Preston Carter) – Salem’s Lot
The first of several young vampire experts on this list, the preteen horror aficionado Mark Petrie was among the first residents to notice that something fishy (or is it fang-y?) was going on with the population of Jerusalem’s Lot. In fact, his obsession with classic monster movies is what ultimately leads our survivors to safety, with Mark being a source of undead knowledge for our older protagonists.
He may be the youngest survivor of the bunch, but Mark is still willing to face the vampiric threat head-on, which is why I think he qualifies as a badass horror fan. And while we’re on the subject of Salem’s Lot, I really hope that the upcoming remake does the character justice, as I’d love to see Mark’s interests updated to include more modern creature features.
5. Terry Chandler (Louis Tripp) – The Gate & The Gate 2
Most parents are worried about their kids talking to strangers or setting the living-room carpet on fire when they’re left home alone, but even the most paranoid guardian would have trouble imagining the kind of mess that Glen and his buddies would run into when they encounter a mysterious geode in their backyard.
However, among this rag-tag group of troublemakers, most horror fans agree that the occult-obsessed Terry Chandler is the most entertaining, with his knowledge of demonology, genre lore and heavy metal becoming incredibly valuable when the time comes to get rid of their otherworldly invaders – even if he is partially responsible for the mess in the first place.
4. The Monster Squad – The Monster Squad
The 80s had no shortage of quirky groups of pre-teen buddies going on wacky adventures, but only one of these gangs had the honor of facing the Universal Monsters. Originally a fan-club dedicated to the iconic creatures, the titular Monster Squad was eventually forced to rally against the things that go bump in the night.
And while The Monster Squad wasn’t the box-office hit that it deserved to be, there’s no denying that the film’s depiction of young horror fans would go on to influence countless other characters in genre media. That being said, not even the Stranger Things gang has managed to recruit Frankenstein’s creature to their cause, which is why the Squad remains in a league of their own.
3. Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale/Anton Yelchin) – Fright Night Franchise
We’ve all heard of folks whose obsession with scary media has made them a little bit paranoid, but every now and then, it turns out that they were right to be scared. Case in point: Fright Night’s teenage vampire slayer, Charley Brewster. Well-versed in undead lore due to his love of horror movies, this clever high schooler was able to quickly identify all the signs of vampiric activity in his neighbor’s home.
Whether it’s William Ragsdale or the late, great Anton Yelchin, both versions of the character have proven to be badass warriors of light when things get personal, which is why I think we can all agree with Evil Ed when he says: “You’re so cool, Brewster!”.
2. The Frog Brothers (Corey Feldman/Jamison Newlander) – The Lost Boys Franchise
Traumatic events can force kids to grow up a little too fast, and there’s no better example of this than the monster-hunting Frog Brothers. Informed by conveniently accurate horror comics, Edgar and Alan Frog soon turned their nerdy hobby into a matter of life and death when they discovered that their idyllic California town was secretly overrun by Nosferatu.
The Frogs may not be the main characters of The Lost Boys, I think we can all agree that their improvised weapons and overly adult demeanor make their scenes some of the most entertaining (and memorable) parts of an already fun movie. And if you’re also a fan of these coastal vampire slayers, I’d recommend checking out the cheap yet weirdly entertaining sequels to find out what the brothers have been up to in the years since the original film.
1. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) – Scream Franchise
Jasmin Savoy Brown’s portrayal of film geek Mindy Meeks-Martin may be one of the best parts of the new Scream films, but if this franchise has taught us anything, it’s that you just can’t f*** with the original. That’s why it’s no surprise that the number one spot has to go to our favorite Ghostface survivor, Randy Meeks.
A film bro with a heart of gold, Randy is the very definition of a nerd finding themself in a situation where their niche interest can finally be of practical use. And while Randy’s appropriately meek demeanor might be stretching the definition of “badass”, the guy kept helping his friends take down movie-obsessed serial killers even after he was tragically killed in the sequel, which is why I think he’s earned his spot on this list.
I first heard about The Mandela Catalogue through a couple of nephews who were obsessed with the ARG’s sinister mythology. It was only after watching Wendigoon’s in-depth analysis of the series that I realized just how deep this rabbit hole goes.
In fact, I’d already been exposed to the nightmarish visuals of Alex Kister’s YouTube creation for years at that point without even realizing that it was the origin of several viral “cursed images” and spooky memes that had leaked into the wider internet – with this viral element actually being a part of the Catalogue’s overarching narrative.
Flash-forward to 2026 and the unprecedented success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms has led to Hollywood betting on horrific internet properties with existing fanbases, which means that Kister’s unique hybrid of both religious and analog horror is finally headed to the big screen with a script written by Kister himself alongside Tyler Clifton.
While this news shouldn’t be too surprising if you’ve been keeping up with the ongoing success of The Mandela Catalogue (both myself and Wendigoon having previously predicted that the series would inevitably make the jump to theaters one day), plenty of horror fans are likely confused as to why so many folks are excited for what appears to be a Hollywood adaptation of a series of creepy .jpeg images under a VHS filter.
With that in mind, today I’d like to invite fellow readers to accompany me as I explore the origins of Alex Kister’s viral hit and attempt to explain exactly why we should all be excited about the Mandela Catalogue adaptation!
From High School Writing Project to Internet Horror Phenomenon
The first seeds of The Mandela Catalogue were sown when Kister was still in high school and developed a writing project subverting religious tropes in a world where biblical history had been altered by demonic forces. A little while later, Kister came across an analog horror contest on Reddit and decided to adapt his ideas into a standalone video where he would edit a religious kids’ cartoon –The Beginner’s Bible: The Nativity, to be specific- into something far creepier. This is how the iconic Overthrone video was born, with this viral short film taking on a life of its own as fans demanded more eerie content from Kister.
Though the video was originally meant to be a one-and-done sort of affair, with Kister actually regretting some of its primitive visuals and considering the editing amateurish and “YouTube-Poop-like” when compared to his current standards, fan reaction and free time during the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the (then) seventeen-year-old filmmaker to continue producing content set in this same world. The Mandela Catalogue name was inspired by the Mandela Effect conspiracy theory, as the series would slowly begin to explore the subtle horror of alternate histories.
Inspired by existential dread brought on by extended periods of quarantine as well as a personal crisis of faith, Kister continued to expand his alternate timeline where the rise of Christianity had been prevented by what was presumably the Devil disguised as the Archangel Gabriel. This alternate course of fictional events led to the existence of certain paranormal anomalies that had come to be accepted as “normal” by the 1990s, which is why most of the series’ supernatural horror is presented in such a matter-of-fact manner.
Most of this background information and religious lore is delivered by increasingly cryptic broadcasts and in-universe PSAs, as well as the occasional found footage video, that often have to be decoded by clever viewers. Of course, it’s the consistently disturbing imagery that made the series so popular – much of which was originally created by Kister on a smartphone!
The Alternates: Horror’s Most Unsettling Modern Monsters
The show’s early episodes mostly take place within the fictional Mandela County in Wisconsin and depict life in a world where demonic entities are capable of using media to enter our reality. This process usually involves scaring victims into killing themselves and then repurposing their bodies as horrific doppelgangers referred to as “Alternates”. This terrifying phenomenon has become so common that local police already have specialized procedures in place to deal with the issue, though this usually consists of simply ignoring calls for help so as to avoid spreading so-called “Metaphysical Awareness Disorder” any further.
Over time, Kister would expand this mythology and incorporate different kinds of Alternates into the mix, though the story never stopped deconstructing religious concepts. The series’ second volume exponentially increased both video quality and the overall narrative scope as we began to follow the lives of characters who had already grown up in this dystopian hellscape where the government is forced to prohibit religion, television, and even mirrors in the hopes of mitigating the damage done by the ongoing invasion of otherworldly entities.
The really interesting part comes into play when you realize exactly how the Alternates make use of scary media in order to spread their demonic influence, with the analog horror of it all being a diegetic part of the story and something of a memetic trap orchestrated by the false Gabriel.
I particularly appreciate how some characters begin to suspect that there’s something wrong with their version of reality and that things weren’t meant to play out this way, especially when Mark utters the haunting line “who have I been praying to all this time?” That’s why I think The Mandela Catalogue is an effective piece of religious horror even if you don’t subscribe to the Christian worldview, as the mere idea of a world where evil has already won is a universally terrifying concept in and of itself. Not only that, but the series’ uncanny analog imagery alone is already worth the price of admission, as you’ve likely already noticed by looking at the pictures accompanying this article.
Why The Feature Adaptation Could Be Horror’s Next Big Success
It’s actually been a whole year since Kister first announced that he had been working on a feature-length screenplay for a Mandela Catalogue movie since 2022, with his proposed story following an ensemble of high-school graduates who uncover a supernatural conspiracy after the mysterious disappearance of a fellow student. This premise sounds similar to narrative elements present in the series’ second volume, but I’m pretty sure that Kister is going to go the Kane Parsons route and make the movie more of a spin-off than a re-imagining of its source material.
While notable Hollywood producers like Aaron B. Koontz, Scott Stuber, and Steven Spielberg himself are backing the upcoming project, I feel like there’s no one better to adapt this deeply personal exploration of faith and the dark side of communication than the person who first came up with it. That’s why I can’t wait to see Kister’s work on the big screen, as I have a feeling that this young filmmaker is the next one on the list about to make cinematic history – especially since this is clearly a passion project that has been in the works for years at this point!
That being said, there’s always a chance that the film could end up unleashing a fresh wave of Alternate incursions, but I guess that’s just a risk we’ll have to take.
You must be logged in to post a comment.