What If John Carpenter Directed 'Friday The 13th' 1980 Instead?
What if John Carpenter directed Friday the 13th first, before a Halloween film was even conceived? Would there have been a Friday The 13th without the landmark release of Halloween? I pondered these questions and what the ramifications would be on each franchise. Focusing on a Carpenter version of Friday the 13th, what that would the film be like?
Lets start with the fact that Friday The 13th, in essence, is a clone of Halloween. Freely and openly admitted to by Cunningham and associates, their Friday the 13th was a mimic in many aspects of the Halloween movie. So, with the originator of Halloween on board with Friday the 13th, there would be no clone in the works and it would be an original concept film. Knowing that, would Carpenter hold back the gore in his Friday the 13th movie in exchange for tension? I could imagine Friday the 13th having a lot of the same angles and shots that the Sean Cunningham directed version has now, except I wonder if Carpenter would hold back the gore, knowing the type of movie he was about to shoot. He had a no holds barred mentality when it came to his remake of The Thing, so the possibility of a high gore quotient is available.
As for the long term franchise implications, would Friday the 13th the franchise exist today as we know it? Would as many sequels have been made with a Carpenter led jumping off point in the franchise? It's hard to say as it would be a wonder if Paramount would have taken a chance with an indie film such as Friday The 13th without the success of Halloween proceeding it.
If Paramount took a chance on Friday The 13th with Carpenter in the director's chair, I believe the film would have been a huge success regardless, as the movie-going crowd of the late 1970's was ripe for a roller coaster, exploitation type Horror film. In my mind, it's a win no matter if Carpenter or Cunningham filmed the original Crystal Lake slasher, but it's interesting to see how Horror history could have changed as well as the careers of these two veterans of the genre.
Lets start with the fact that Friday The 13th, in essence, is a clone of Halloween. Freely and openly admitted to by Cunningham and associates, their Friday the 13th was a mimic in many aspects of the Halloween movie. So, with the originator of Halloween on board with Friday the 13th, there would be no clone in the works and it would be an original concept film. Knowing that, would Carpenter hold back the gore in his Friday the 13th movie in exchange for tension? I could imagine Friday the 13th having a lot of the same angles and shots that the Sean Cunningham directed version has now, except I wonder if Carpenter would hold back the gore, knowing the type of movie he was about to shoot. He had a no holds barred mentality when it came to his remake of The Thing, so the possibility of a high gore quotient is available.
As for the long term franchise implications, would Friday the 13th the franchise exist today as we know it? Would as many sequels have been made with a Carpenter led jumping off point in the franchise? It's hard to say as it would be a wonder if Paramount would have taken a chance with an indie film such as Friday The 13th without the success of Halloween proceeding it.
If Paramount took a chance on Friday The 13th with Carpenter in the director's chair, I believe the film would have been a huge success regardless, as the movie-going crowd of the late 1970's was ripe for a roller coaster, exploitation type Horror film. In my mind, it's a win no matter if Carpenter or Cunningham filmed the original Crystal Lake slasher, but it's interesting to see how Horror history could have changed as well as the careers of these two veterans of the genre.
