Friday the 13th Returns: A24’s ‘Crystal Lake’

Dust off your hockey masks because Sky Atlantic and A24 have reinvigorated the cult-classic franchise Friday the 13th with the highly anticipated prequel series ‘Crystal Lake‘.

Set in 1970’s New Jersey, the series revisits Camp Crystal Lake and follows Pamela Voorhees, played by Emmy-nominated Linda Cardellini, who is grappling with the grief of her son, Jason, who died a year prior. The series delves deep into her origins and violent nature, whilst also answering questions like “Who is Pamela Voorhees?” and “What haunts Crystal Lake?”

With Brad Caleb Kane as creator, showrunner, and writer, production by film company A24 and writing input from original Friday the 13th writer Victor Miller, ‘Crystal Lake’ promises to deliver gnarly kills, suspense, and emotional storytelling.

When asked what fans should expect from the series, Kane said, “They’re going to be seeing a show that was made and crafted by fans, people who grew up with the franchise, people like me who saw these movies in theaters when they were released with large crowds, who screamed at all of the kills, and who wanted to recreate that feeling for at-home audiences…Crystal Lake was made with so much love and respect for the fans and for the franchise.”

There is vast lore in this blood-soaked slasher universe, which ‘Crystal Lake’ continues to expand on, whilst also paying homage to the original Friday the 13th by revisiting the filming locations and rebuilding the sets.

Whilst staying true to the heart-pounding thrill of Friday the 13th that drew us to Camp Crystal Lake in the first place, Kane is enthusiastic to unpack our main character, Pam Voorhees.

He said, “Pam seemed like such an interesting person, and we wanted to learn more about that character. Where did she come from? What makes you so triggered that you’ll kill anybody who comes to the place where your son died? This has to be somebody who was mistreated. Pam had a lot of violence done to her in her past, and we wanted to explore that. That’s the benefit of long-form storytelling…It was exciting to us, and Pam was a rich character to dig into.”

In her starring role, Linda Cardellini spoke about what it was like to step into the role of a slasher.

She said, “Pam is her own version of a slasher. To me, that was really exciting because it’s something I’ve never done. She isn’t the victim; she is the perpetrator. Typically, in big franchise movies, they are male slashers. So this idea of a female slasher is interesting and somewhat unexplored.”

With a severe lack of female slasher villains in the horror genre today, expanding upon the origins of one of horror’s first, and arguably most iconic, female killers is an exciting prospect, and one that fans are looking forward to getting their hands on.

Upon its original release in 1980, Friday the 13th was criticised for graphic violence. However, this later inspired the gory films we see today and set the bar for new levels of on-screen violence. After all, a good slasher is defined by its gruesome kills.

When asked if fans can expect iconic kills in the series, Kane stated: “Yes! Because the show is mostly about Pam, she enacts some pretty spectacular kills, and they come from a very emotional place.”

Cardellini was also asked if she had any favourite kills from the series.

She stated, “I like the first two kills in the first episode…They did some amazing things with the way one of the guys’ faces falls apart, so much so that when we did it on set, it bothered me for about a week or so afterwards!”

So, what can fans expect when they watch Crystal Lake?

Cardellini stated: “It’s unexpected what’s going to happen. There are things you do expect – like these bold, almost absurdist kills – but there is also a lot of story to uncover. We dive into what it might be like to live at Crystal Lake and really build out the world. The story is heartfelt at times, it is funny at times, and it is also scary!”

All episodes of Crystal Lake will be available exclusively in the UK and Ireland on Sky and streaming service NOW on 19th October.

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