Folks, its PuyGuy again, this time laying down my take on an classic Horror icon. Yeah, I know, AGAIN, this is an Editorial by me which IS NOT about Comics or ComicBookMovies. But since we already have SciFi / Fantasy / Tarantino News on this site, I guess CBM is more like a general geek-info site anyway. And the classic Horror Franchises are undenieable very "geeky".
So, whatever happened to the Friday Franchise? Is Jason Voorhees retirering or what? Well, I might be in the minority here about this one, but I for one liked the 2009 Friday the 13th Remake by Director Marcus Nispel quite alot. Sure, it wasent anything special or memorable, but it was a decent Friday flick. It contained all the elements which the Franchise is known for, and it executed them in a very crafty and exciting way. At least it was a justified Remake, since it wasent even possible to rape the Franchise even more than it had already been done with Friday the 13th Part V up to Part X.
Lets face it, they were all shit. Not even guilty pleasure. The essence and the spirit of the Original Take on the Franchise (Part I up to Part IV) was cpmpletely butchered. The 2009 Remake brought it back to its roots, yet modernizing it, resulting in an good and enjoyable Oldschool Slasher flick. And even though the Remake was a financial success, it appeared like the studio (Platinum Dunes) wasent too pleased with it. There has been talking about a sequel, but nothing really happened. However, there were some specified ideas...
I have to say that I really liked that idea of a Friday movie set in the snow. That would have been really be a neat and interesting addition to the franchise, that hasent been done before. But this is a rumor from like 3 years ago, so it probably wont happen anymore. Actually I dont wanna talk so much about what a Friday movie should be like, I wanna state something here which is quite mind boggling to me.
How hard can it be to get a Friday the 13th movie off the ground?
Like seriously, where is the problem? It is so easy for the studio.
I have now less than 3 Points why I think another Friday the 13th effort should be a done deal already.
1)
Screenplay.
If you approach a screenwriter who does proffesional screenwriting for a living, this guy shouldnt struggle too much with getting a decent Friday script off the ground. I dont imagine it to be very complicated writing a Friday-script, you dont really gotta have a vison or something. You have the basic elements that must happen in EVERY Friday film, you make up some plot points (setting, fate of characters etc.) and then you just have to come up with a few flat and exchangeable characters. In the end of the day they are no more but bait for Jason anyway.
The thing which would probably demand the biggest creative effort from the writer is to come up with some nice kills, at best kills that havent been seen before this way. But once you got this right, et voila, you got yourself a decent Friday the 13th script, ready to sell to a studio. There are hundreds of writers who could pull this off.
2)
Director.
Well, let me make this one short. In my opinion it is INCREDIBLY easy to get a decent director for a Horror film. Even more so if it is a Horror film which is part of a long lasting and well established franchise. It really doesent take a director with a "vision" or something. You already have all the elements of what this franchise is, you just have to use them properly and in a fresh way. But you dont have to reinvent the wheel. There is only so much you can do with the Friday Franchise. (Setting it in Space was a nice little idea, it played out mediocre.) It isent necesary anyway. A grounded Jason-film can work just fine. As I said, no visionary guy necessary, just get a good craftsman, someone who knows to make a movie properly. At least from the technical movie making aspect.
So, who could the director be? I am not going to name names here, just tell you what I think of Horror directors in general. A studio can basically go for Hacks and Studio-Whores, Yes-Sayers, they can still deliver a decent Friday film. Look at Marcus Nispel. Not a very creative guy, but he knew what it needed to pull off a Friday-movie.
Tons of mediocre directors out there would LOVE to see their names attached to a Horror icon. And just in case you dont find a Hack who is willing to direct the 13th film in a franchise...You still have like 500 music video directors who are EAGER to do their first major motion picture effort. Platinum Dunes did it with Samuel Bayer for NoES. He never made a movie before, he never did after. Samuel Bayer wasent the creator of this film, he was just the executer. And thats all it takes for a decent Friday flick.
And sometimes, not always, but sometimes, stunning careers rise from giving a music video director a first feature film. Look at Marc Webb. Hell, look at David [frick]ing Fincher! Finchers first film was a threequel of a SciFi Horror Series, and whilst it ended up as mediocre, it was the starting point for the filmography of one of Hollywoods biggest talents alive today. Closing point: It is not hard to find a decent director for a new Friday-film.
3)
Budget.
Okay, this time I ll make it REALLY short. Budget is most likely the biggest and most important issue for a studio deciding wether to greenlight a movie or not. But why is that the case with Friday the 13th? I honestly dont understand. A Friday movie can work just fine with, lets say 30 Millions. AT MAX. The last Friday movie from 2009 had an official budget of 19 Millions. And it did not look cheap at all. It looked okay. So really, where is the problem with greenlighting another one? A Friday movie will ALWAYS make its money back, and be it only for the hardcore Horror nerds seeing it. The character of Jason is established, it will always draw enough people in the theater to justify it. With a budget of 15-25 Millions a WorldWide BoxOffice of 100 Millions would already be a respectable success.
Well, that were my points about making another Friday movie.
What do you guys think? Be sure to leave a comment.