For those who haven’t seen Friday The 13th: A New Beginning, this article contains spoilers.
Jason Voorhees is one of the most enduring figures in horror. Regardless if you love or hate the franchise, there’s no denying its impact on popular culture. Often overlooked is what went into making the 12-film series. Through extensive research and interviews, I’m inviting you to take a closer look at each of the Friday The 13th films. This is Crystal Lake Confessional.
When Joseph Zito finished up on The Final Chapter, he had a secret goal: despite the title he wanted the franchise to live on. But instead of Jason Voorhees’ inability to die, he subtly suggests evil is contagious and could overtake any of us at any time, effectively carrying on Jason’s legacy. Paramount Pictures on the other hand didn’t pick up on that notion until The Final Chapter became the runaway hit of 1984. $33 million dollars on a $2 million dollar budget persuaded the studio to explore that idea.
However, they would be doing so without producer and franchise champion, Frank Mancuso Jr. Looking forward to pursuing other genres, Mancuso took the hands-off approach as executive producer. Paramount hired Danny Steinmann to direct Friday The 13th: A New Beginning. But unlike previous directors, Steinmann wasn’t hired for his experience in horror, it was his penchant for trashiness. After all, his directorial debut was the 70s adult film High Rise.
Even by pushing the series in a new direction, A New Beginning has more in common with the first film with its antagonist being shrouded in mystery until the final act.
A New Beginning follows Tommy Jarvis, now a young adult suffering from PTSD due to the events of The Final Chapter. He is sent to a boarding house for other troubled teens with hopes of eventually returning to society. But after a freak accident involving 2 of the troubled kids turning on each other, a string of grizzly murders forces Tommy to face his fears and take on a mysterious killer bearing a close resemblance to Jason Voorhees.
Despite having the highest body count so far and being played up as a traditional slasher film, A New Beginning was originally panned by critics and fans alike. Fans hated the idea of a copycat killer and critics despised the mean-spirited redneck humor. While still a Friday film by design, A New Beginning puts the primary focus on what was a byproduct in the films before it: gore, drug use, and gratuitous nudity.
It wasn’t until recently fans began to warm up to A New Beginning, making somewhat of a cult classic.
With both intentional and unintentional comedy from an array of colorful characters, the film is essentially an underdog experiencing a renaissance. Steinmann’s choices were made based on what he felt the audience wanted. And while the general consensus for the franchise was skin and gore were fun, it wasn’t more important than having Jason doing the killings. Upon modern viewings, A New Beginning feels more misunderstood than an outright disappointment.
One person who can relate to that aspect is A New Beginning actress Deborah Voorhees (no relation). Her portrayal as promiscuous bad girl Tina McCarthy has been a fan-favorite since the film’s release regardless if the film was loved or hated. A role that originally caused friction in her career but fortunately defined a new one.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to catch up with Voorhees to talk a little about her experience in and out of Crystal Lake.
Coop: What was the audition for A New Beginning like? Did you have any idea you were about to read for a Friday The 13th sequel?
Deborah Voorhees: It was cattle call style. Three days of auditions and long lines. I didn’t even know it was a Friday film until my third call back. Initially, they had given out a different name and I don’t remember exactly what the name was but it started with an R…
C: I believe it was Repetition?
DV: Yeah, that sounds right. So yeah, it was basically like a cattle call. You know, just tons and tons of people there with lines and lines. But yeah! I was glad I got a callback!
C: Despite A New Beginning being sort of the black sheep of the franchise, your portrayal of Tina remains a fan favorite. Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the Friday The 13th fandom?
DV: No. Fans have been super kind and thoughtful! Very seldom does anyone cross boundaries, and when that happens I stop it immediately. Everyone has been super nice and polite so not at all. Horror fans are mostly pretty great people.
C: My personal favorite aspect of A New Beginning is how bonkers it is. Everyone involved looked as if they were having a blast. What was it like on set?
DV: Any time you’re on a film set, it should be nothing but fun. Filmmaking is a bunch of grown-up kids gathered together to play, especially in horror films where everything is just silly fun playing for faux blood and such.
C: Not long after this film, you pretty much retired from acting altogether. What was behind that decision?
DV: I wanted to go to college and write. I became a journalist for well over a decade at The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Then I taught British Literature and journalism and then went back into filmmaking. I’m currently working on my new film 13 Fanboy, which I directed and wrote. I also produced with my producing partner Joel Paul Reisig and had a role in the film.
C: A New Beginning also had some negative implications for your teaching career. What happened to that?
DV: Well, I was thrown out of two high schools for the nudity in the film.
C: With Friday The 13th being such a popular mainstream franchise loved by so many, did you feel betrayed in how it would have such a negative impact on your career?
DV: Not at all! This is just life. People are just how they are and there really isn’t anything I can do about that. I think people worrying about nudity in a film is silly and ridiculous but that’s just my personal opinion and my conflict of what’s right and wrong. Theirs is different and that’s okay! We can be different!
C: Did that particular experience influence your decision to get back into filmmaking?
DV: Yes, I decided to go back to my first love: filmmaking! I felt like it was a less judgmental career choice plus I love storytelling so.
C: How do you feel about how women are treated in Hollywood. Is it better? Is getting worse?
DV: I think today we have more variety of types of women. Are women still being sexualized? Yes of course. We’re sexual beings. But men are also being sexualized now, which I think is fantastic.
C: The balance is definitely shifting. Especially since horror isn’t being marketed exclusively to men like it was back when A New Beginning was released.
DV: I love it! I would love to see more male nudity so it would be hypocritical of me to say ‘I wanna see less female nudity’. I could personally care less about seeing any female nudity because it does nothing for me. But I would love to see more male nudity (laughs)
C: Do you have any particular favorite scene of A New Beginning?
DV: Probably the cop car scene, that was a lot of fun to shoot.
C: What kind of advice would give for someone who is out there trying to reach their goals but being hit with adversity?
DV: I would suggest: Don’t ask anyone for a job. The reason is it’s unlikely you’re gonna get one anyway so just forget it. My suggestion is to just do things for yourself, get out there and try to make your own path and make your own way and when you’ve proved yourself enough you’ll get a call from someone. And if you don’t, you’ll still have a body of work and something you made along the way might have become successful.
C: Doing this series I’ve learned a lot about the struggles filmmakers have in and around Hollywood. That’s not really something they teach you in film school.
DV: Think of everything you’ve made or put together as a filmmaker as your school. I wouldn’t recommend going to film school. Not that it hasn’t probably been very good for some people but I think it’s extremely expensive to go and you’re going to learn more about making a film by making a film than you would be being taught about it.
C: That seems like a recurring theme among the directors of this franchise. Indie filmmakers using the opportunity to break into the mainstream.
DV: Whatever it is you want to do or accomplish, make it happen. Don’t give me the excuse ‘oh I don’t have any money or I don’t have any contacts’. That’s bullshit. Make contacts. Find the money. You’ll do it. I had 2 cents when I made my first film. Whining to me will not get you anywhere!
C: Right, you can learn how to utilize art or better your art, but creativity isn’t exclusive to education.
DV: It’s not like journalism. I was a long-time journalist and that’s one area where you will NEED a college education. You have to learn about ethics and things that are incredibly important. As where in filmmaking it’s all craft. You can teach yourself. It’s not that you don’t go to film school, but you DO go. But it’s your own and you create it and you learn it yourself.
C: Your film 13 Fan Boy features Kane Hodder, Dee Wallace Stone, Corey Feldman, as well as a ton of Friday alumni! When can we expect to see that?
DV: We don’t have a date right now but we are shooting for late 2020.
C: I have seen your other films, I’m not just geeking out with just the horror.
DV: Well, thank you!
C: Yes! I enjoyed Billy Shakespeare. Above everything, it was clearly made with such love and care. I like to look for the heart in film and sometimes that’s hard to find in horror.
DV: I think you’ll really enjoy this one. It’s a mixture of genres really. There’s a lot more to this film than I think people are expecting. If they’re looking for just an 80s slasher film, this is not it. This is a thriller, a whodunit, a drama.
C: Would you ever consider directing a Friday The 13th film if such an occasion should arise?
DV: Of course I would!
C: According to a few things I’ve read, Danny Steinmann was difficult to work with on the set of A New Beginning. But the actors say otherwise. What was your experience working with him on the shoot? Was the film really a troubled shoot?
DV: Danny was very kind and easy to work with!
C: Critics always seem to have in for horror films (the Friday films in particular). Why do you think people love horror so much? Is it empowerment?
DV: It is a safe way to explore the concept of death.
C: A lot of people tend to think making a film is as simple as pointing a camera and shooting. The more I listen to filmmakers the more I realize it’s far more complicated, mentally, and emotionally taxing than the average person gives it credit for. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned while making a film?
DV: Filmmaking requires an incredible amount of work. It takes years to get a film made. You have to write the script, attach bankable actors to the film, raise money, handle logistics, gather props, costumes, hire crew/production staff/actors, shoot, edit, promote, distribute. It is like starting a new business from scratch. It is incredibly difficult. The number of details to do all of the mentioned steps are numerous. The only reason a film ever gets made is that someone decided to not take no for an answer.
For more information on 13 Fanboy, visit: Voorhees Films
Catch up with previous installments of Crystal Lake Confessional here.
Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – –Part 6 – Part 7
Part TS – Part 8 – Part 9 – Part HM – Part 10 – Part FvJ – Part 2009