Let’s Remake FRIDAY THE 13TH… Again
Mike Sprague
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Recently we reported that screenwriter Victor Miller had won the first round of the now-infamous lawsuit that’s been plaguing the Friday the 13th series. This lawsuit has kept any new Friday films from hitting the screen and has even gunked up the works when it comes to the famous Friday the 13th: The Game.
But all of that is (kind of) over now as a judge recently ruled that Miller has been awarded rights to Friday the 13th here in the U.S., while the original film’s producers, including director Sean S. Cunningham, retain rights elsewhere. This rights royale has us thinking that Miller will want to waste no time in getting a new Friday the 13th film off the ground. But considering that he doesn’t (at this time) have the rights to Hockey Mask wearing Jason, what kind of movie will Miller make?
We think that – yet another – remake of Friday the 13th might be the best bet. Stick with us here. Remaking Friday the 13th again might be an entertaining idea. We’re talking about starting from scratch. Let’s pretend that all of the numerous sequels to Cunningham’s original 1980 slasher never happened. This reboot could be killer.
Let it be known right off the bat that, as you might assume, I’m a massive fan of Friday the 13th. The original movie is one of my favorites, and as I’ve always said, if I HAD to get a tattoo on my fucking face, I would go with Jason Voorhees. Personally, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter are my favorite entries in the series (let’s not even get into my undying love for Jason Goes to Hell). But I have tons of respect for the original as well; just putting that out there.
So yeah, even a super-fan of the original film – and the Friday the 13th series as a whole – thinks it’s about time to try something new. Let Cunningham and co. have the rights to Jason. Let them keep making more and more Jason films with the hockey mask sporting mongoloid. I’ll watch every one of them; you can rest assured. But Miller really should seize this opportunity to do something fresh – and ballsy as all hell.
Okay, since we agree that Miller should take the original Friday the 13th film and remake it – as if none of the other movies ever happened – what exactly does that mean? First off this means that Miller and the new gaggle of filmmakers surrounding this fantasy reboot would have the opportunity to reimagine Pamela Voorhees (and Jason) from the ground up. Maybe Jason isn’t a mongoloid this time around. I know this is getting to be utterly blasphemous, but that’s what we think the series needs: an EPIC shake-up.
Let’s set it in the modern day. Let’s reimagine Mrs. Voorhees, if only slightly. Let’s cast someone with true acting chops to play Pamela this time around (all due respect to Betsy Palmer) such as Uma Thurman, Helena Bonham Carter, Carrie Anne Moss, Amanda Plummer, Melissa Leo, Winona Ryder, or Daryl Hannah’s gargantuan ass. Or how about this ironic shit, Jennifer Jason Leigh? Yes, this choice is a bit gimmicky, but Leigh is a top-shelf actress and would literally kill it as rebooted Pamela Voorhees.
And let’s give audiences a whopper of a final act where we realize that both Mrs. Voorhees AND Jason have been killing side-by-side the whole time! This is a theory I’ve always had regarding the original Friday the 13th film, by the way. Some of the kills are just too brutal and would take too much upper body strength for Pam to have pulled off.
As we all know, Jason didn’t drown in the lake all those years back. He just went off into the woods to become a potato sack, shack-living backwoods butcher as seen in Friday the 13th Part 2. But Pamela doesn’t know this. So how cool would it be for Pamela to be carrying out all of these camp counselor kills, only to realize in the final act that Jason has been out there all along – and he’s more brutal than she is taking out the trash.
This new approach to Friday the 13th would give Pamela a lot to deal with and is prime-drama for days. I mean think about it, not only does she realize her baby boy is alive and (relatively) well, but now she must also deal with the guilt of having gone on a roaring rampage of bloody revenge in the name of someone who was never carelessly killed in the first place. Crazy, right? That said, as batshit crazy as Pamela is by this point in time, ten bucks says her reaction will be to keep up the killing. But that’s all good as Pamela and Jason Voorhees killing counselors side-by-side sounds like an epic good time to me.
And finally, let’s set the film up for a ton of potential sequels by having Annie get the machete to the head and Pamela surviving! This way the new series of Friday the 13th sequels could have Pamela and Jason living and killing as a reunited family.
Sounds good to us!
To wrap up, Miller should remake the original Friday the 13th almost word-for-word, but he should use this opportunity to reboot the sequels from here on out. At the end of the day, this works out like gangbusters for us fans as we will have Cunningham’s Jason movies coming out alongside Miller’s Friday the 13th sequels. More Jason and Pamela every year times two! God, I hope this happens. Blumhouse would be a good home for it.
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And there you have it, that’s why we think Victor Miller should reboot Friday the 13th now that he holds the rights. What do you think of this article? Make sure to hit us up and let us know in the comments section or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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