The one big difference between the upcoming television series “Crystal Lake” and the previous installments in the Friday the 13th franchise is that it’s set to put the focus back on Mrs. Voorhees, who memorably kick-started the franchise as the killer in the original classic. But even then, Jason’s mother only made a brief appearance towards the end of the movie.
In “Crystal Lake,” Mrs. Voorhees finally takes center stage. And star Linda Cardellini talks a little bit about that in a new chat with The Hollywood Reporter this week.
“With Crystal Lake, A24, Peacock and [creator] Brad Caleb Kane all came together and they just had this concept for making this story about Pam Voorhees,” Cardellini (who is playing Mrs. Voorhees in the show) explains. “And if you watch the original movie, it really operates like a whodunit. Spoiler: at the end, you find out that it was Pam Voorhees.”
Cardellini continues, “She’s only in the movie for the last little bit, but she leaves this impression on the entire franchise. There’s so many movies subsequent that you’d think Jason’s always been in that mask doing what he’s doing. But that wasn’t the case. It just seemed like something that I had never done.
“I haven’t seen that many female slashers like that. To dive into who she might have been, I thought, well, that’s something I’ve never done. When I’m looking for things to do next, I ask myself what’s something I haven’t done yet. And that was one of them.”
“There’s fertile backstory there,” the actress also notes, explaining that the original Friday the 13th left the door wide open to examine the backstory behind the Camp Crystal Lake carnage. And that’s exactly what we’re getting when “Crystal Lake” premieres October 15 on Peacock.
Callum Vinson (“Chucky”) is playing young Jason in “Crystal Lake,” which will tell the origin story of the masked slasher who has stalked the grounds of Crystal Lake for decades.
Linda Cardellini stars as Pamela Voorhees, a mother who gave up a singing career to raise her special needs child, only to take a dark turn when she loses her son — Jason.
From A24 and streamer Peacock, “Crystal Lake” will notably be the first official Friday the 13th project since the Platinum Dunes remake of the original classic way back in 2009.
