Friday the 13th
Fan Films
Last Friday the 13th I came across a list of fan
films on social media, so I decided to check them all out, given I’m a fan of the franchise. I can say I’ve seen at least three Friday the 13th fan films
before; one was good (Never Hike Alone,
review here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2019/09/never-hike-alone.html),
one was okay (Never Hike in the Snow,
haiku review here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2020/10/tremors-shrieker-island.html),
and one wasn’t that great (Vengeance,
review here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2019/09/friday-13th-vengeancethe-dead-dont-die.html). Below are my reviews/descriptions for the
other fan films I came across and checked out.
They’re all available on YouTube and if the film doesn’t come up in
search by just the title alone, type in Friday
the 13th before the title.
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Jason’s Bloodtrails (2020)
People die, but obviously it’s not long enough at just
5-minutes.
Here Comes the Night (2019)
We do get to know at least half the characters in
18-minutes. Decent short very much like a Jason movie.
Camp Blood: Cat and Mouse (2020)
Just okay (barely) 9-minute film in which we see Jason only
go after one victim; two if you count the very end.
Michael vs.
Jason: Evil Emerges (2019)
Been suggested for a while and even though I prefer these 2
cinematic villains over Freddy Krueger, neither one talks and both are
invincible (like most of their ilk), so how would it effectively work? This 29-minute film does manage to be
entertaining, so perhaps a short film was the best way to make it work? If anyone can make a feature-length film that
works, bring it on! As for whether
there’s a winner here…I won’t say, but remember the invincible comment?
Death Curse (2020)
Didn’t much care for this 22-minute film that mostly felt
fast-paced and clearly wasn’t edited well.
Extraction (2012)
Barely even average 12-minute film with a somewhat worthy
ending.
Resurgence (2020)
This one managed to resemble a typical Friday the 13th film in just 20-minutes, although the
acting was terrible, but I can kind of (but not really) let it slide since no
one likely got paid (like most fan films).
I give them a B for trying…well, maybe a B-.
Repetition (2013)
I don’t recall Jason ever killing anyone with an empty
canned good before. That’s all that
stands out in this 14-minute short. Oh,
and there’s a creepy dude sipping blood through a straw from one of his
wounds. The kills weren’t terrible
either. Wait until after the credits for
another scene that’s never quite been done in a Friday film before…
Legacy (2017)
Okay-ish 19-minute film set on a beach. In other words, the setting doesn’t very much
resemble a Jason Voorhees film.
J’s Night (2014)
This 30-minute French film (yes, that means subtitles) takes
place in the States (there was a Massachusetts license plate). It’s average (if that) and violent when it
wants to be; those French sure do love violence (look no further than the New
French Extremity).
No Man’s Land (2011)
I know the platform is YouTube, but the picture quality
isn’t the greatest. 52-minutes isn’t
long in the general sense, but it is when the picture quality isn’t the
greatest. It’s pretty standard as far as
narrative goes (there isn’t much to expect in these movies, especially fan
films), but the violence looked like it may have been worthy if the picture
quality was better. This entry was
listed as one of the better fan films on a post I came across, but I can’t
agree. Did I mention that the picture
quality wasn’t the greatest?
The Man in the Lake (2016)
This 41-minute film was kind of bland, meaning not too
suspenseful; some of the kills were fine, but some nods to past films (I hope
you know not the fan ones) weren’t exactly worthy. Not the worst fan film I’ve seen, but…
Jason Rising (2021)
This almost-an-hour fan film is definitely well-shot and has
atmosphere. I’m guessing it’s a sequel
to The Final Chapter (Part 4) based
on information given, but I could be wrong (does it really matter where a Jason
fan film falls on the timeline though?).
Someone else besides Jason returns from the dead to do some killing
(shouldn’t be hard to guess who, at least for fans), plus a familiar face from
early in the franchise makes an appearance.
One of the better fan films that certainly gets an A for effort.
Voorhees (2020)
This one takes the cake for being the longest of the bunch
at 99-minutes. It doesn’t take the cake
for being the best, but it’s definitely not the worst. As has been done before, criminals pick the
wrong place to lay low for a bit. Camp
Crystal Lake doesn’t really look much like a camp here (much like Legacy), more of a field with an
abandoned house and farm. Some of the
violence is worthy; one involving a hammer comes foremost to mind, one scene
was actually kind of gross, and I don’t recall anyone ever being killed with a
wind chime before…
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I listed the films in the order I viewed them instead of
alphabetically or (obviously) from best to worst or worst to best. When it comes to the Friday the 13th franchise, you pretty much either like
them or you don’t. Someone I once went
to college with stated about the films, “Yes, I do enjoy them as corny as they
are,” and I pretty much agree. Jason was
one of the first cinematic villains I got into, so I’ll always have a soft spot
for his films. I do obviously prefer the
actual films in the franchise, which most I’ve seen several times. I doubt I’ll ever watch any of these fan
films again, but I’ll watch any released that come across my radar given I am a
fan of the franchise. That being said, I
don’t think anyone without even a remote interest in the property would care to
check out these fan films posted online that made no profit. Hopefully my descriptions (which include
run-times for each) will enable you to decide which ones you would want to
check out if you do decide to watch any of them. My favorites of the bunch were probably Jason Rising, Michael vs. Jason: Evil Emerges,
Here Comes the Night, and Resurgence, but a post I saw listing the
best ones only included two of those four (Jason
Rising is recent, so that might’ve made it on the list). These amount of fan films in addition to the
studio ones (which are 12 if you include Freddy
vs. Jason and the 2009 remake) prove that Jason Voorhees is far from dead,
and these are just titles I happened to come across as I’m sure there are even
more! 8/23/2021
---Sean O.
8/24/2021
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