Terrifier 2 Director Knows How To Revive The Friday The 13th Series [Exclusive]
Counting Ronny Yu's 2003 mash-up film "Freddy vs. Jason" and a remake in 2009, there have been twelve "Friday the 13th" movies to date. There would likely have been more by now — poetically speaking, shouldn't there be at least 13 of them? — but production on further sequels has been stymied by some complex litigation; Victor Miller, the original screenwriter of 1980's "Friday the 13th," has argued in court that a labyrinthine series of business transfers put the rights to the original movie back in his name, while producer/director Sean S. Cunningham asserts that his company owns the rights due to a 40-year-old work-for-hire contract. Until that dispute is settled, no further "Friday the 13th" movies are likely to be made.
That hasn't stopped ideas from being floated. Rumors have circulated for years about potential "Friday" sequels. The screenwriters of the 2009 remake wrote a direct sequel to their movie that was never made. Other Jason fans might be familiar with the unmade "Friday the 13th: The Beginning," the unmade "Jason Never Dies," or the unmade "The Diary of Pamela Voorhees." There are certainly a lot of ideas surrounding Jason Voorhees, considering that the "Friday the 13th" movies have such a basic, uncomplicated premise: psychopath in a hockey mask murders counselors at a summer camp in New Jersey.
/Film's own Jacob Hall recently sat down with Damien Leone, the director of the ultra-violent, ultra-low-budget gore hit "Terrifier 2" (which is about to see a theatrical re-release on November 1, 2023) to chat horror movies, violence, and to address the fan rumblings that he would be the ideal director to revive "Friday the 13th." It may come as no surprise to learn that Leone is a Jason Voorhees fan, and he had a few ideas as to what his approach might be, should he direct a sequel.
Livin' in the '80s
Leone admitted that he didn't already have a pitch or a treatment for a "Friday the 13th" movie at the ready, but he has certainly given the matter some thought. He felt that the spirit of the original few Jason movies needed to be recaptured, and that making them period pieces would help in that regard. He said:
"[...] I've been on record for quite some time now saying if I could ever remake one slasher film, it would be 'Friday the 13th.' Jason was always my favorite slasher since I was a little kid, and I think that there's a way to ... I mean, my approach would be to keep it in the '80s, honestly. I would have it take place in the early '80s. I would try and make him as scary as possible because I feel like that's something they kind of lost as the movies went along. You just start getting too comfortable with these villains and you need to be scared of them again."
Leone has a point. After several sequels, horror fans begin attending slasher films to feel the thrill of witnessing killers doing what they do best, not to sympathize with the victims nor actually experience fright. Leone wants that feeling back. He also feels that the violence shouldn't be slick and fun, but "brutal" again, an appropriate sentiment from the maker of "Terrifier 2."
And, believe it or not, it sounds like meetings have happened. Leone said:
"[B]elieve it or not, I've gotten to talk to some people who are execs who are in charge of that franchise. I think I'm still a little too obscure on that Hollywood list of people that they would approach to direct that film."
Although "Terrifier 3" is coming.
Jason, but also Freddy
It seems that Leone is far down the list of preferred directors for a new "Friday the 13th" movie. Although litigation may still be raging, studios seem poised at all times to get a new Jason Voorhees movie off the ground, and several filmmakers seem to be champing at the bit to tackle the material. Leone realizes that it may be unrealistic to assume he'll be helming "Friday the 13th" anytime soon. He is at peace with the possibility that he'll be permitted to do one in several more decades:
"I've been told, 'Listen, everybody and their mother wants to make that movie. It's a long list.' So unfortunately, I don't think I'd get to make it now, but maybe when they reboot it in the next 20 years, I'll be able to take a crack at it. But that would be a dream project and so would 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.' [...] I think there's a lot of interesting stuff and scary stuff you can do with Freddy that we haven't seen in a long time. The hard thing about 'Nightmare Elm Street' is just finding that new Robert Englund. That would be the hardest thing, of course."
Only two actors, Robert Englund and Jackie Earle Haley, have played Freddy Krueger. Finding a new Freddy actor would be a massive casting rigmarole.
Leone also noted in the interview that he would not be willing to make a new "Halloween." There have already been 13 "Halloween" movies, and they cover at least five separate continuities, so he feels he could bring nothing new to the table at this time. If there's ever a 13th "13th," however, Leone wouldn't be a bad choice.