Movies
‘Friday the 13th’: David Bruckner’s Vision Was to Make an 80’s Coming-of-Age Monster Movie!
After the success of V/H/S, David Bruckner went on to develop a new Friday the 13th for both Paramount Pictures and Platinum Dunes.
Originally set to be a found-footage remake of the 1980 classic, a second attack at the script was to take a more traditional approach.
Unfortunately, back in December a new writer was brought on to take yet another crack at Jason Voorhees, which ousted Bruckner from the project.
While in development, Bruckner filmed a segment in our upcoming Southbound, in theaters February 5th and VOD February 9th, and is doing a press tour.
One of his first stops was with Fangoria, who got some inside info on both Friday the 13ths that could have been.
“When I came on board that project,” he tells the site, “Paramount was exploring whether or not they could do a found-footage FRIDAY, and they brought me in to crack it. I had some very specific ideas; if we were going to do that, I felt it needed to be single-camera. I didn’t think you could bring a whole bunch of media into the room, and that we had to do a kind of classic found-footage movie.
“So writers Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg and I set out in earnest to see if there was a movie there,” Bruckner continues. “There are certain restrictions to found-footage; just the fact that you’re locked into a single perspective almost makes the slasher formula impossible, because characters tend to wander off on their own all the time and get knocked off. Also, part of what defines some of the greatest slashers is the additional perspective. That was a really fun obstacle to tackle, and we ended up structuring it a little bit more like a monster movie. All the mythos surrounding Jason Voorhees opened up a lot of possibilities, and for a moment in time, we had a story that took place in the ’80s, which worked with the found-footage conceit. It was a return to form in a lot of ways, and we really focused on the characters.”
Things changed when “Hannibal’s” Nick Antosca was brought in as scripter and took a more traditional approach.
“We were set free from that mandate,” Bruckner recalls, “and did a draft that was not found-footage. We were allowed to truly explore what the film could be as a proper ’80s reboot—what that would look like. My take on it was that I wanted to do DAZED AND CONFUSED meets Jason Voorhees [laughs], a genuine last-day-of-school coming-of-age story. Nick wrote a great draft, and we really wanted to see that movie come to life. It was a very exciting process for me.”
Aaron Guzikowski is currently penning Friday the 13th. He is the writer behind Prisoners, which was one of the hottest screenplays in Hollywood. He is also writing the remake of Universal’s The Wolf Man.
Paramount recently shifted the release date to January 13, 2017 in order to allow more time for development, being that they’re starting from scratch.
What do you think about the direction Bruckner was taking the franchise? Would you have wanted to see a found-footage version of Friday? Or how about a coming-of-age 80’s movie with Jason Voorhees?
We are now less than one month away from the release of Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 1, the first film in a brand new reboot trilogy from director Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master, Deep Blue Sea). It’s coming to theaters May 17, 2024.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 has officially been rated “R” this week for…
“Horror violence, language and brief drug use.”
For the sake of comparison, Bryan Bertino’s original home invasion film was rated “R” for “violence/terror,” while Prey at Night was rated “R” for “horror violence and terror throughout.”
Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”), Froy Gutierrez (Hocus Pocus 2), Rachel Shenton (The Silent Child), Ema Horvath (“Rings of Power”) and Gabe Basso (Hillbilly Elegy) star.
Based on the original 2008 cult horror franchise, the project features Petsch, who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend (Gutierrez) to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest. When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
Here’s the full official synopsis: “After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.”
Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea, Die Hard 2) is directing from a script by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland (The Freak Brothers, Due Date). Lionsgate will distribute worldwide.
The Strangers began in 2008 with Bryan Bertino’s original home invasion horror movie, a terrifying film that introduced three masked killers who returned 10 years later with The Strangers: Prey at Night in 2018. The first film took place in a remote house in the woods while the sequel brought the murderous Man in the Mask, Dollface and Pinup Girl into a trailer park.
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