Never Hike In the Snow - Friday the 13th Fan Film review

 I have got to say that this one caught me off guard. I was expecting the same old fan film bullshit - Jason tied to his machete, the same hocus-pocus "appear here and appear there", "Jason does not do this or that" that Kane Hodder FORCED into the franchise.

Don't Hike In the Snow is a sort of sequel-follow up to the YouTube hit fan film "Don't Hike Alone". And a very well done follow-up, I might day. Far better than NHA.

The opening scene is brilliantly shot. I have to admit that I rolled my eyes when I saw Jason and his trusty bullshit machete. But, FUCKING A, Jason used a bow & arrow and axe in the first kill. The axe is actually the weapon that he has used most throughout the entire franchise. 

The story takes ex-deputy sheriff Rick Cologne (Vinny Guastaferro) and puts him as Sheriff of the territory and main game-caller for the investigation of the deaths in the area. With a history with Jason Voorhees he follows in the same "Jason doesn't exist" bullshit as his former Sheriff Rick Garris.

The film also uses the character of Tommy Jarvis, reprised by Thom Mathews (Return of the Living Dead 1,2 and Friday the 13th Part VI) as Tommy Jarvis and does a freaking great job. Not missing a beat from his role as Tommy from 1986. 

The story line is solid, and the acting is production-company-quality. Running at 32 minutes, its quote short but entertaining as hell. A must see for any franchise fans. I have always said that the future of the franchise lies in these fan films, and this film is evident. Far better than Platinum Dunes, New Line and Paramount could ever create this far in the game.

And you guys know - this film has to be good to pull me out of 5+ years of hibernation.

I miss all of you guys.

32 Years of Terror(ble) Ratings

Needless to say, Friday the 13th: Part V - A New Beginning is probably one of my three favorite Friday the 13th films. And realistically, as a saga Parts 1-5 can't be topped by any other slasher franchise that spanned more than a few sequels.

Even with the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, the movies shit the bed by Part IV. Then we have the franchises like Children of the Corn, Hellraiser, Leprechaun, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc, that became pure garbage after 2 or 3 sequels.

Jason headed to the CW?

Rumors floating around from Deadline.com has hinted that there may be a Friday the 13th TV series in the works on the CW. While I really don't care much for a TV series based around Jason, this one seems to be a tad more interesting as it is said to be "grounded in reality." I can get behind that!

"I hear that in the series reimagines the masked Jason with a stronger feel of grounded reality. Described as a sophisticated, horror/crime thriller, the potential Friday The 13^th series is about the ongoing quest of a detective’s search for his missing brother that is somehow tied to Jason Voorhees, a long thought dead serial killer who has now returned to wreak havoc in the new Crystal Lake." Read the rest

Franchise Loses Another Actor

Irwin Keyes, known for being such a sweetheart guy passed away today at age 63. While he did not have a large role in Friday the 13th (1980), he was very well known at franchise gatherings and conventions - and known for his role in the Rob Zombie shit flick House of 1,000 Corpses.

Rest in peace, Irwin.

Keyes died of acromegaly, a rare pituitary gland disorder, his manager Phil Brock confirmed to EW. He had been in a rehabilitation center for the past few months. - Entertainment Weekly

Friday the 13th: Part III Locations; Crystal Lake Cafe & Cop Chase

For your Friday the 13th pleasure, here's another location from Friday the 13th: Part III. This has been on a few blogs, but I think the entire area is really neat. Harold & Edna's store was filmed in the same vicinity as the Green Valley store where Shelly and Vera met the bikers. Even though it's a ways away, it's in the next canyon over. 

1957 NoBeBoSco Patch

I guess this is something only true Friday the 13th geeks can appreciate. It's a Boy Scouts conference patch for Camp NoBeBoSco, also known as Camp Crystal Lake for 1957. As we all know is that 1957 was the year Jason drown while the camp counselors were off doing the naughty. 

Maybe Mrs. Voorhees had it all wrong and the counselors were actually attending this conference? I guess we will never know the answers to that because all of the witnesses were brutally murdered in 1958!

More Friday the 13th: Part IV Filming Locations!

You can see the car drive past this building on the corner of Franklin Canyon &
 Lake Drive. The house can be seen through the back window of the car.

I posted before on the Zaca Lake scenes filming location here, which is quite a ways away from the filming area where the driving/road scenes with the teens, and the lake kills were done. This area is in the area which is actually Beverly Hills, though quite a ways from the area commonly shown as Beverly Hills. 

It's a protected area in the Santa Monica Mountains called Franklin Canyon. The lake is actually Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir, also called Myers Lake.

Oh My Ghana!

Even though the art on these photos is laughable at best, I have to really give respect to the foreign market for attempting to change it up and actually try and do something creative.

Friday the 13th Sequel? Remake? Reboot? Shitfest? Confirmed!

Wetmovie1 gives us the news. Even he is trilled! Yeah!

So, it is confirmed—us Friday the 13th marks get out way. We have been hoping, and praying for this franchise to continue on. Some of us have even said, "Even if it is shitty, just give us a new one!" Well, our wishes have been granted; ask and ye shall receive.

Everyone knows my opinions on this, but I will reiterate. The "found footage" gimmick is so 1996; Friday the 13th is again putting on a spent condom line they did in the reboot/remake. The tired gimmick that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake used, Friday the 13th slopped up.

This is not new to the franchise, either. Way back in 1987, the franchise even stole an idea from itself when it essentially remade The Final Chapter with the shitfest The New Blood.

a) We do not need another "found footage" movie, PERIOD.

b) We do not need another fucking reboot! We had that with every fucking movie after Part IV!

I thought the franchise officially ran out of ideas with Jason Goes To Hell, Jason X and FvJ! I guess not.

I guess Paramount wants this movie to bomb to finally hammer the nails into the coffin of Jason Voorhees once and for all. The character is already the laughing stock of the horror genre.

Ahhh! The Good Old Days!

Jeanine Taylor's Hair

from: DeathEnsemble

Glad to see that Jeannine Taylor (Friday the 13th) started to make appearances. She has one of the most memorable deaths in the entire franchise.

Friday the 13th (1980) Production Photos

Here are some great production photos of Friday the 13th (1980); some very seen, some otherwise. I am posting these because I have always loved the cinematography of Friday the 13th (1980) and these production photos really capture that look and feel.

John Shephard Headshots!

Unknown Part III Bust

Part III Revealing Shots of Jason

A full shot of Jason before he kills Harold and Edna

One if the better things about putting these old horror movies on Bluray is that we see never before seen details. Growing up in a VHS era, these movies were always dark and fuzzy to where details were impossible to make out. Ever since these movies have been on DVD, we could make out that Part III has some very revealing shots of Jason's face. But still, they were hard to really see and served as nothing more than teases before the final reveal at the end.

Jason IV Bust by Caine Productions

Sculpture 

A New Beginning Screen-Used Machete

from: Your Props

From time to time we see these Friday the 13th screen-used props come up, but here's one from A New Beginning owned by "Deadmess" from the Your Props website. This machete has the cut-out for the neck-- to simulate it cutting-- and a blood tube to add blood to the faux cut. This kill, like most in A New Beginning, was pretty much cut out of the movie.

French Video Poster

I dig anything video with it comes to these movies and expecially the promo posters, standees and hangers. All are from an era lost and an era that will never be again: the mom and pop video rental store era. I mean, now you can stream movies with ease, but you can not stream the experience. Now the promo posters and press kits are all digital. That's no good.

Jason Lives TV Trailer

Okay, I must admit that I love these things and love seeing the different adverts for the movies on different networks. Here's one from 1989 on "Action Theater" that is actually very entertaining. If anyone has these nifty TV adverts please upload and share them!

Carl Fullerton vs. Douglas J. White: The Jasons

Jason II and Jason III comparison

One of the biggest complaints of the Friday The 13th franchise is continuity- mostly how Jason changed from movie to movie. The easiest way to explain this is the fact that different special make-up effects artists had different ideas on how Jason should look. Double that up with the fact that the directors also had an idea how Jason should look and you have a recipe for change.