Jason X Writer Talks Horror And Killers With Halloween: Resurrection Writer
There are a lot of people out there that are an unforgiving bunch when it comes to the small success of Jason X in theaters back in 2002. Everyone has their opinions on why they don't like the film or why they think it should be ranked at the bottom of Friday The 13th "Best Of" lists, but this writer not only enjoyed the majority of Jason X, sans the last few minutes, but all of the writer Todd Farmer's other film work the last decade (Drive Angry, My Bloody Valentine).
During the time period that Jason was going to space, there really was no where left for Jason to go. Almost ten years earlier he had gone to Hell and was preparing to battle Freddy. If the fans were to get another Jason at the turn of the century, then to space was where you would find him. Fans know the shortcomings of the film, from Internet piracy and delayed theatrical releases, to a very small budget and short production schedule. However, at the core of the story, Todd Farmer wrote a pretty awesome Jason romp. Some fans think that Jason was better off not having a tenth film in the series at all, but all of the die-hard fans know they went out opening weekend to see the movie, even if they thought the film was way out of the left field for the Friday The 13th film franchise.
The point is, that Todd Farmer is a good writer and has a core set of values when it comes to writing and storytelling that should not be overlooked. This can be witnessed by reading a brand new interview conducted by Sean Hood (Writer, Halloween: Resurrection). In the interview, Todd explains to Sean the differences between the Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers characters, in his opinion.
From Genre Hacks
SH: You may be the only writer to write BOTH a Halloween movie and a Friday the 13th movie. To you, what are the differences between the character Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees? Do they behave differently beyond wearing a Shatner mask and Hockey mask, respectively?
TF: I was just thinking about this recently. In fact, I've written for Freddy, Pinhead and the Miner as well. My first slasher work was with FREDDY VS JASON back in the pre-SCREAM days. Followed that up by strapping a rocket to Jason. Later came the Miner, Michael and recently Hellraiser outlines, I've had a pretty good run with the icons and feel honored that I have. But that said, wow. All these years and no one has ever asked that one. After so many films in each franchise, filmmaker inconsistency has left both Michael and Jason with multiple personality disorder but at their heart I think they are both different and definable.
Jason is a psychopath. Michael is a sociopath. Jason knows the difference between right and wrong but chooses revenge. While Michael kills without emotion or morality. Jason likes killing. Michael is indifferent. Jason's like a baby duckling which fixates on the first thing he sees except when he sees you, he's going to kill you. Michael, however, makes choices. Jason is a hunter. Michael is a prick. Jason is a wolf who stalks and kills his prey. Michael is a cat who likes to play with his food first. My opinion, of course.
Todd goes on to explain his passion for characters and his mission to not disrespect the audience. Now things get lost in translation, i.e. from script to screen many people get their hands on a story and interpret it to their vision. That being said, Todd's stories are immensely entertaining and do contain a lot of interesting characters. As anyone who reads my writing knows, I think characters and inventive kills are the driving force behind the Friday the 13th films. So, if you're interested in reading the entire interview with Todd Farmer, please head over to Genre Hacks Blog now! It's a very interesting read that gives some great insight into his desires when writing a story.
