A Look Back At The Excised 'Demon Dog' Of Jason Goes To Hell
Many fans dislike the entire premise of Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday. The shift from slasher film to more of a body hopping Terminator film, ala The Hidden, turned the core audience off and has left a long lasting smear on the reputation of the franchise. With that being said, Jason's journey to hell was a labor of love for the K.N.B. effects team as they salivated at the chance to work on a Friday The 13th film. Their work is looked at as some of the very best in the franchise and one of their props was a slick looking design that never made it into the final film.
Though glimpsed only briefly in the trailer for Jason Goes To Hell, the K.N.B. effects team created an elaborate creature for the climax of the film which was intended to represent the demonic spirit inhabiting Jason Voorhees. The creature was affectionately called the Demon Dog on set and was supposed to be the catalyst to the eventual rebirth of Jason for the finale of the film. One of the cool attributes of the Demon Dog is that some of Jason's facial features (i.e damage) was transferred over to the evil spirit. The axe mark can be seen above the demon's left eye and also it is missing it's right eye, just as Jason was in the film. This attention to detail gave the "Dog" a personality and tied it to the title character nicely.
After viewing the dailies for the film, however, it was decided that the whole thing looked too corny and the adult sized demon was scrapped. Eventually, a smaller demon was created, which fit what was shown earlier in the film as Jason switched host bodies. The newer and smaller demon would become known as the "Hell Baby" and took a more gratuitous route to helping Jason be reborn.
Even though the "Demon Dog" looked like a lumbering slab of meat on film (the deleted scenes can be seen on the DVD release), the attention to detail on the prop showed how K.N.B. effects took the time to mold the demon in the likeness of Jason Voorhees and create yet another unique creation not seen in the franchise to that point or since that time.
Though glimpsed only briefly in the trailer for Jason Goes To Hell, the K.N.B. effects team created an elaborate creature for the climax of the film which was intended to represent the demonic spirit inhabiting Jason Voorhees. The creature was affectionately called the Demon Dog on set and was supposed to be the catalyst to the eventual rebirth of Jason for the finale of the film. One of the cool attributes of the Demon Dog is that some of Jason's facial features (i.e damage) was transferred over to the evil spirit. The axe mark can be seen above the demon's left eye and also it is missing it's right eye, just as Jason was in the film. This attention to detail gave the "Dog" a personality and tied it to the title character nicely.
After viewing the dailies for the film, however, it was decided that the whole thing looked too corny and the adult sized demon was scrapped. Eventually, a smaller demon was created, which fit what was shown earlier in the film as Jason switched host bodies. The newer and smaller demon would become known as the "Hell Baby" and took a more gratuitous route to helping Jason be reborn.
Even though the "Demon Dog" looked like a lumbering slab of meat on film (the deleted scenes can be seen on the DVD release), the attention to detail on the prop showed how K.N.B. effects took the time to mold the demon in the likeness of Jason Voorhees and create yet another unique creation not seen in the franchise to that point or since that time.
