Tackling something as gargantuan and iconic as Jason Voorhees is a massive feat. Rewriting the lore altogether while never losing what made the original special? Well, that’s near impossible. Fortunately, that’s exactly what the new Peacock series from a24, ‘Crystal Lake’ has been able to achieve and more. ‘Crystal Lake’ takes a look at how Jason came to be through the eyes of the original ‘Friday the 13th’ killer: Pam Voorhees. The approach of never compromising what made the original film special paired with phenomenal performances from a cast that includes Linda Cardellini, William Catlett, and newcomer, Callum Vinson, who steals the show as young Jason Voorhees, has given audiences a mindful, yet brutally shocking adaptation of a classic horror film. While it suffers from some pacing issues and some questionable side quests, ‘Crystal Lake’ pays off in a big way, leaving audiences wanting more.
Jason Voorhees wants to be a treated just like any other kid. Unfortunately, due to Jason’s appearance he’s under constant ridicule and bullying at the hands of his peers, something that has not escaped his very protective and loving mother, Pamela. After an accident that leaves Jason missing and presumed dead, Pam struggles to cope with the loss of Jason while their past begins to catch up with her. ‘Crystal Lake’ provides a thorough and respectful new layer to preexisting lore in a way that never seeks to insult the original source material. The series may be far from perfect, but it has all of the potential in the world to have a bright future filled with new layers to the ‘Crystal Lake’ mythos. .
Let the Bodies Hit the Floor
‘Friday the 13th’ left a rather blank canvas in it’s wake, ripe for the showrunners of ‘Crystal Lake’ to paint a more detailed background for the original murderer. Pam Voorhees had no motivation outside of the death of her son and the negligence of teenagers. Brad Kane, the series showrunner, was able to not only give Pam one, but give her one where the audience was sort of on her side at times. It humanized her in a way that was lost in a movie that was released in 1980. ‘Crystal Lake’ made her a grieving mother again. The layers of grief and the lengths to which a mother will go were explored in a way horror has never looked at it’s antagonists. This new emotional layer hooks audiences in and drags them along the horrifying ride.
WARNING TO ALL FANS OF THE ORIGINAL: While there are shot for shot remakes of scenes from the original, it is important that you separate ‘Crystal Lake’ from ‘Friday the 13th.’ They do depart in some major ways. The show does, however, leave off in a way that makes room for a future continuation of the series. If audiences are unable to do this, they will have a bad time with this series.
READ MORE: REVIEW: ‘Carrie’ Season 1
Where ‘Crystal Lake’ struggles, however, is the side quests that audiences will find themselves on. At times, it feels like the showrunners needed there to be a reason for Jason to become the monster audiences all know him as so they forced a government conspiracy into his background. While the backstory can make sense if viewers have some knowledge of how probable those kind of experiments would be in a Cold War American world, most are just going to connect the dots to ‘Stranger Things’ and the plotline may lose it’s effect. ‘Crystal Lake’ manages to land the plane despite this in the end. However, the bumpy ride has the potential to lose viewers along the way.
Where ‘Crystal Lake’ truly stacks up is in it’s body count. Of course, there has to be grotesque kills and brutal sequences, this is a ‘Friday the 13th’ prequel after all. The blood and guts are all there as audiences won’t be disappointed by just how far this show was willing to go in this department. There is some truly shocking stuff sprinkled in throughout this season and in no way is that a bad thing. Kill after kill, audiences are rewarded for sticking with the show throughout.
A Mother’s Love
For ‘Crystal Lake’ to work and for audiences to care it’s protagonist (antagonist?), the series has to have an authentically motivated and emotionally empathetic Pam Voorhees. Audiences needed to believe that the events of the series would drive her to murder, but they need to keep an emotional connection to her as well. ‘Crystal Lake’ absolutely found their Pam Voorhees in Linda Cardellini. Cardellini was breathtakingly brutal in her portrayal of a broken and desperate mother who searches endlessly for the little boy rescuers never found. As Voorhees collapses more and more into her own psyche, Cardellinni never loses that hint of a mother’s love that brought Pam into the dark in the first place. With her incredible performance, Cardellini should find herself in quite a few awards conversations this awards season.
Cardellini was not alone in her mastery as the cast as a whole nailed each of their roles expertly. William Catlett’s portrayal of the stoic Sheriff Levon Brooks matched Cardellini’s at every turn. Catlett was charged with grounding ‘Crystal Lake’ in reality, a task he was more than up to as his performance was exceptional. The true shining star, however, is young Callum Vinson, who plays young Jason Voorhees. Vinson, who wore heavy make up throughout the shoot, was endearing and charming. His portrayal sets the tone and pace for the series, making audiences fall in love with Jason in a way that makes the monster more sympathetic and real.
The Future of the Franchise
Heading into the release of ‘Crystal Lake,’ there were many questions about the series longevity. Would this be a one and done series? The answer was hinted at during the ‘Crystal Lake’ Panel at New York Comic Con as the cast seemed more than eager to return for another season of the series. The series, itself, left plenty of room for quite a future, itself. It’s departure from the original lore allowed the show to provide breathing room for the series to bloom moving forward.
If other audience members are like myself, they’ll be left wanting to know what comes next in terms of the role other ‘Friday the 13th’ films will play in the series. Given the trajectory of the finale, it seems that, while there may be homage paid, the series is going to move far away from the campy horror of the later ‘Friday the 13th’ films. ‘Crystal Lake’ seems dedicated to remaining grounded even when it gets into supernatural territory with it’s explanation of why Jason is the immortal monster that he becomes. This is all before there is any discussion of the other countless loose ends that the audience is left with by seasons end in general. Loose ends that will most assuredly be tied up with another season.
Final Thoughts:
The innaugural season of the Peacock ‘Friday the 13th’ prequel series, ‘Crystal Lake,’ was a certified gorefest that provided much needed context and lore to a horror icon. While the season struggled at times with pacing and questionable storylines, ‘Crystal Lake’ delivered an overall shocking and exciting first season. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
