Director(s) – Jack Norman (The Wicked One) and Brandon Prewitt (The Woods Within)
Starring – Jack Norman, Christy Faulkner (Watch This, Scarewaves), and Tiffany Jordan (Chasing Ghosts)
Release Date – 2014
Rating – 3/5
The idea of a fan film is exciting to the die hard movie, comic, book, and so forth fan. Fan films can be an expansion of some of our favorite stories given to us by fans that love the stories for the same reasons we do. Sadly, fan films are something I just recently came across when I started following the indie production company Studio 605.
After the slasher The Campground they started work on a web-series that was actually a Friday the 13th fan film. I caught the first few episodes but I did not want to just review each episode as if it was a stand alone film so I waited and when they released them all together I had to review it. I just had to wait until I had time.
**Spoiler Alert**The film opens with a group of teens/twenty-somethings sitting around a camp fire having a good time when Jason Voorhees shows up wearing a sack over his head and wielding a pick-axe. The group tries to flee but Jason is relentless and murders them all. We then jump a year into the future and the camp is trying to re-open when Jason attacks again killing everyone except one teen and finds his trademark hockey mask.
The boy becomes obsessed with Jason and this forces him into seclusion. We then jump 10 years and Jason (or is it the young boy that is all grown up?) is at is again killing everything that moves or has a good time.**Spoiler Alert**
When I was younger, middle school age, my dad and I watched Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter on VHS. This was part IV in the series but it was my first exposure to the Friday the 13th franchise. I had seen my fair share of slashers before but I had yet to see a Jason flick. However, after watching that particular film I had to jump on the bandwagon and watch them all which lead to a lifelong obsession to the point I now have a Jason tattoo.
When I heard Studio 605 was creating a fan film for the series I had to see it. I knew their love for slashers would lead them in the right place with the film, as well as, Jason Voorhees. After watching the first episode I knew these guys were heading in the right direction.
The acting in this one is hit or miss. Director Jack Norman did a great job portraying Jason. He was brutal and really channeled the moves the character was known for. Also, several key characters showed a lot of talent but really lacked the experience. My biggest complaint is the fight scenes. The characters had a hard time making the fight scenes seem convincing. That really brought some of the action packed scenes down.
The story is a fan’s look at several key moments from the series involving Jason from Part II, Jason getting the mask in Part III, the obsessed survivor similar to Tommy Jarvis, and all the kills. Finally, the film houses several great examples of great practical effects, the same kind used in the actual series. Sadly, not all the kills are on screen. In fact, a great deal take place off camera which is a bit of a disappointment. Overall, Friday the 13th: The Curse of Jason is a great fan film that is worthy of the Friday the 13th name. Check it out and enjoy!
