How To Make Jason Voorhees And Friday The 13th Scary Again
What has happened to the Friday the 13th films and even more so, Jason Voorhees? When I was a kid, everyone was scared of Jason. I mean, even my Dad would get a little freaked out at seeing Jason running after Trish in Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter. Now, Jason is an action figure, an anti-hero, and for some people, a weird sort of role model. I love all of the Friday the 13th movies. I am a fan for life. But even I have grown weary of certain aspects of the character Jason has become. And, the fans that visit this website express much of the same sentiment.
Now, I go back to Friday The 13th 2009 and at the time, I was hoping to see something different that would get Jason back to what we all want, scary and feared. My initial thought when I saw the movie in the theater was being completely freaked out by Jason wearing the sack mask. Is it really coincidental that Jason was scarier with a different mask? It sure seemed that the scariest scenes were in the beginning of the movie when Jason’s head was completely covered with that sack mask. Could it possibly be that we are so used to seeing Jason in his hockey mask that it simply is not scary to see Jason that way at all any more?
My answer is yes! Seeing Jason with the hockey mask is almost like seeing his real face now. It used to be scary to see the hock and then get the big unmasking scene, but not anymore. The hockey mask over the years has been slightly redesigned, tweaked and repainted, but it is, in essence, the same. If you get use to something for so long, it quite simply isn't scary anymore. The same fact can hold true with Jason’s actual face. Even if you get the unmasking scene, you feel like you've seen Jason unmasked before. Makeup artists are always wanting to go back to the original Savini look of Jason to pay some sort of homage.
I think the producers and studio folk for the 2009 film should have left Jason wearing the sack mask for the majority, if not the entirety of the film. I know that writers Shannon and Swift wanted Jason to don the sack mask for the majority of the movie, but were overruled. And why is that? For promotional reasons? The hock sells, I get that, but if changing up the look of Jason for a new generation helps scare the audiences, then word of mouth brings people into the theater in the subsequent weeks after release.
I know that Jason’s look alone will not make a movie scary in it’s entirety. The writing and directing have to be there as well, but I believe your central character in a slasher film has to be believable as a scary physical presence to sell the rest of the film. Derek Mears did a terrific job making Jason awesome again. Now, think about how much better the character could be if a little mystery surrounding Jason was added back into the fold again with a slightly different look and motivation! All of the elements were there in 2009, and lets hope Paramount Pictures expands on our ideas along with Platinum Dunes to make the franchise scary again.
Now, I go back to Friday The 13th 2009 and at the time, I was hoping to see something different that would get Jason back to what we all want, scary and feared. My initial thought when I saw the movie in the theater was being completely freaked out by Jason wearing the sack mask. Is it really coincidental that Jason was scarier with a different mask? It sure seemed that the scariest scenes were in the beginning of the movie when Jason’s head was completely covered with that sack mask. Could it possibly be that we are so used to seeing Jason in his hockey mask that it simply is not scary to see Jason that way at all any more?
My answer is yes! Seeing Jason with the hockey mask is almost like seeing his real face now. It used to be scary to see the hock and then get the big unmasking scene, but not anymore. The hockey mask over the years has been slightly redesigned, tweaked and repainted, but it is, in essence, the same. If you get use to something for so long, it quite simply isn't scary anymore. The same fact can hold true with Jason’s actual face. Even if you get the unmasking scene, you feel like you've seen Jason unmasked before. Makeup artists are always wanting to go back to the original Savini look of Jason to pay some sort of homage.
I think the producers and studio folk for the 2009 film should have left Jason wearing the sack mask for the majority, if not the entirety of the film. I know that writers Shannon and Swift wanted Jason to don the sack mask for the majority of the movie, but were overruled. And why is that? For promotional reasons? The hock sells, I get that, but if changing up the look of Jason for a new generation helps scare the audiences, then word of mouth brings people into the theater in the subsequent weeks after release.
I know that Jason’s look alone will not make a movie scary in it’s entirety. The writing and directing have to be there as well, but I believe your central character in a slasher film has to be believable as a scary physical presence to sell the rest of the film. Derek Mears did a terrific job making Jason awesome again. Now, think about how much better the character could be if a little mystery surrounding Jason was added back into the fold again with a slightly different look and motivation! All of the elements were there in 2009, and lets hope Paramount Pictures expands on our ideas along with Platinum Dunes to make the franchise scary again.
