The Production Battle To Unmask Jason In 'Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood'

As we wrote about previously, there was a lot of tension during the production of Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood. Co-Writer Daryl Haney recounted one instance of tension when Director John Carl Buechler was ready to unmask Jason Voorhees in the film and display his gruesome face. Mr. Buechler was proud of the awesome effects that were created for the face of Jason and wanted to show it off.

To truly give the audience the sense of how much Jason had decayed throughout the previous six films, Buechler thought it was essential to give Jason as much screen time as possible without the hockey mask. His inclinations were correct as fans have been singing high praise for Jason's look for over 20 years. However, there was a bump in the road that almost changed the course of the film.

Producer Barbara Sachs was not too thrilled about Jason being unmasked so early in the film. Her worries were not hers alone as some higher-ups in Paramount also feared the early reveal would seriously effect the outcome of the ending of the film. Sachs' plan was to have Jason finally unmasked on the dock, after the house explodes, and right before Tina's dad drags him underneath the surface of Crystal Lake. Of course, this would have given the audience a very small glimpse of the decayed and beaten face of Jason Voorhees.

Luckily, John Buechler won a small victory in keeping with his intended vision and the rest as they say is history. Below is an original hand drawn storyboard by Director John Buechler himself of the climactic unmasking scene!