8 Easy Steps To Make The Next Friday The 13th Great

Jason's inevitable comeback tour needs more than just the greatest hits

Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
Paramount Pictures

In an age where Hollywood is obsessed with giving every possible franchise a reboot in an attempt to spawn countless sequels, it's more than a little ironic that Friday the 13th can't seem to get a film made.

The un-killable franchise was one of the very first horror series to truly cash-in on the idea of limitless amounts of sequels, pumping out one every year. They were cheap, fairly easy to make and made a killing at the box office. Even when the films weren't great or didn't do particularly well, they more than turned a profit.

However, the last time Jason Voorhees graced the big screen was all the way back in 2009 in a Michael Bay-produced remake that was received about as well as a medium rare sirloin at a vegan party. In the years since, several versions of a follow-up have taken shape only to fall apart. What was originally set to be a direct sequel to the remake wound up morphing into another reboot, with several well-versed scribes trying their hand to no avail.

But now, fans may finally have a light at the end of the tunnel. Jason Blum recently spoke out about actively looking to acquire the rights to the franchise and make a fresh installment.

While fans eagerly await further news on the status of their beloved franchise, let's take a look at exactly how Mr. Blum could go about accomplishing the unthinkable; making a truly great Friday the 13th film.

8. Back To Basics

Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
Paramount Pictures

Judging from the last few installments of the franchise and the stalled attempts of several writers since then, it appears as if the creatives behind these films have forgotten why they were so effective in the first place.

We don't need to see Jason in space, turn into a parasitic demon worm or take a cruise to Manhattan (yes, all those things really did happen). The best and most effective films in the franchise are the earliest installments, all of which center on Jason's original stomping grounds of Camp Crystal Lake. In these films, Jason was not a superhuman zombie of a killer, he was simply a deformed maniac who preyed on the would-be counselors of the camp.

It was in this simplicity that the stories found universality. Everyone had been to camp, just as everyone has sat around a campfire and heard urban legends before. It was the conscious adoption of these cliches that allowed the series to bore into the mind of its viewers and stay there.

Any new installment would do well to return to this mindset and tone. Ditch all of the camp and insanity of the latter-installments and give us a return to the reason this franchise was so successful in the first place.

Contributor
Contributor

A film enthusiast and writer, who'll explain to you why Jingle All The Way is a classic any day of the week.