Breck Eisner (Sahara, The Crazies, The Last Witch Hunter) is in talks to direct the new Friday The 13th film. He previously remade The Crazies in 2010– which I, personally, thought was pretty great – so he’s no stranger to putting his own stamp on older features. Additionally, as The Crazies (1973) was directed by George A. Romero, he has the courage to breathe life into films crafted by horror legends, so may not shy away from taking risks when re-imagining the story of Friday the 13th.
Friday the 13th has been jumping between directors for quite a while, so it’s great to see that it’s, at least, landed in someone’s capable hands. The Last Witch Hunter may not have been the most exciting film from last year, but it raked in money at the box office and that’s always going to be important. Perhaps Vin Diesel will have a role in Friday the 13th. Imagine that.
Rumours fast began to spread that this new Friday the 13th film would be an origin story, but producer Brad Fuller said, “It’s more of an alternate world that we’re creating for Jason – an alternate space, alternate reality – in this film. Yes, Pamela and Jason are together in this film, but this is the same Jason we all know and love. He’s Jason; he kills – he kills teenagers. We went down the origin route with the second Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, and I think when you go too deep into a character’s origin, the character stops being scary at some point.” So, it’s a resounding ‘no’ on it being an origin story, but it will be set in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, there will be a summer camp and there will be camp counsellors. What more could we ask for?
Friday the 13th will come from a script written by Aaron Gusikowski (Prisoners). Keep your eyes peeled for more!
Words: Jessy Williams (@JessyCritical)
