I think my first question here is – is this pat of the new Jason lore, or just an elseworlds story? I suppose time will tell, but it’s an interesting question to pose.
Jason Voorhees, like the other modern horror icons, has fallen on hard times. With drama from the rights wrangling, a fanbase that has aged, and a genre which has moved on, you have to wonder if Jason and the other icons’ time has passed.
Do we still want a masked stalker at a camp?
I have talked about it at length and feel like it can work, for sure, but the franchise has to evolve. The original films were super fun for what they were, but personally, I am ready for more than the cookie-cutter movies about promiscuous teens getting axed by a masked killer. The thing too is that these movies, and the genre have been parodied, mimicked, and found new voices to breathe new life into what we consider slasher films. Heck, the SCREAM franchise has continues to re-invent itself as it takes inspiration from popular culture to inspire each entry.
If Jason is going to truly return, we need to make him scary again and to make the movies scary. And, for me, I need them to lead somewhere. Not a big monster universe but a path that heads somewhere other than countless movies with killing. I give the newest iteration of HALLOWEEN that much, they had an arc and followed it through. I don’t even think you need to have some deep mythology, but give Jason a purpose, a trigger, and have a goal for each film. And make them scary.
Say what you want about the remake, but it was creepy, and effective.
Now then, back to New Jason.
My first impression is he’s too small, at least in this short.
They went away from hulking, and that’s fine, but I need him to be tall, and imposing, not a dude my sized, which is about six feet.
The short itself follows several friends as they head out to the lake for a vacation, not knowing that there is a darkness that stalks the area that will put their lives in danger.
The short has a definite ’80s feel and look. The characters, even for a short film, are pretty paper-thin. We are given the usual things, even down to the creepy local. The short is gory, and gets gorier, but it feels forced. I don’t know why. I think it’s the shooting style Nelson chose. It gets very frantic when Jason appears, and it changes the tone of things. I am not sure if that style matches my expectations of the series. He did set scenes with his kills a little, but it felt a bit showy here. The music works well, echoing the main theme but doing some different things with it as well. This isn’t aping the old movies so much as the style of the era, with a strong lead role to counter Jason. I appreciated that there was no rush to shove Jason into your face, allowing the short to build tension, and while I can’t say I love the new mask, it didn’t really take my attention away from the action.
It’s an interesting story, and it takes an unexpected turn, which was fun.
Overall, it’s a fun short, but it feels like a fan film more than anything else, and plays that way. I hope this is just a way to get people talking about Jason again and that more time and thought will be put into how Jason will return, who will play him, and what they want to say.
Don’t let the downers ruin the fun.
It’s an entertaining short and deserves some love.
And yeah, there is an Angry Apple product placement but it didn’t feel that forced.
It’s fun, just not what I want if this is what Jason’s new handlers have in mind.
Not sure this was the way to remind everyone Jason exists, but it gets us talking.
That’s something.
(After reading an interview with the director, there are some interesting ideas here, though I didn’t pick up on them. I also saw that the actor playing Jason is WELL over six feet, so maybe it’s how he was shot, he just doesn’t have the presence I expect from old bag-head. Check the short out and see what you think.)
3 out of 5
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 