The Complete History Of Friday the 13th (Book Review) Author Peter M. Bracke has written a MASSIVE coffee table-sized book chalk-full of splendid (and rare) photos that span the making of FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) all the way through FREDDY VS. JASON (2003). It's basically 25 years of Jason movies and how they were created---all told in the words by the people who participated in them! This is such a great narrative approach, where you pretty much 'hear ' the uncensored words of the producers, directors, special effects people, actors, actresses, etc. on how each movie was made and what their experiences were. Yes, some of the perspectives are a bit at odds and there's some differences of opinion, but overall, what a great way to experience how these classic slasher movies were created and what effect they had on cinema, the ravenous fans, and pop culture at large! There are two editions of this book: a superb coffee table hardback with ultra clear photos, art, and posters and just recently released, an e-book edition with additional text material added---including longer interviews that equal the tune of 1,200 + printed pages! So this is by no means a short read, but if you're a diehard fan of the series, you will absolutely love reading about how Sean Cunningham and Victor Miller created FRIDAY THE 13th, how the success was so unexpected, and how Paramount changed the way independent movies were distributed with FRIDAY 1 and its sequels. It's exciting, relevant stuff and if you grew up in the era where you enjoyed these movies each year in the movie theater, you'll be excited to learn about all the behind-the-scenes madness that was going on to get these movies out there each year. Everything is covered in this book- from the starlets having to perform their nude scenes to the icon status that Jason Vorhees eventually became. You'll read about the uncut special effects, the battles with the MPAA, and the continual frustration everyone had with that. Every director gets their battle perspectives revealed and the chapters on Friday the 13th 1, 2, 4, and 5 provide the best anecdotes, especially all the drug-fueled madness that allegedly went down on the Part 5's NEW BEGINNING set---which happens to be one of my personal favorite FRIDAY movies. Composer Harry Manfredini is given a lot of time to talk about his splendid musical contributions and the entire "selling of the franchise" to New Line Cinema is covered, all the way through the breakthrough box office success of FREDDY VS. JASON. (The 2009 reboot is wisely skipped, since FREDDY VS. JASON pretty much endcaps the original "classic" Freddy and Jason eras.) When you read how original producer/director Sean Cunningham got ahold of the franchise and nearly ruined Jason in the first two New Line entries (JASON GOES TO HELL and JASON X), you're just amazed that the series did end on such a high note with FREDDY VS. JASON. It's also wild to read how Cunningham was pretty much banned from being on the FREDDY VS. JASON set, yet he continually takes credit for so much of its success! It's one crazy story after another and again---everyone in their own words revealing what really went down (at least from their perpective) from the beginning of the series---and I found this book to be thoroughly dramatic and engrossing, wishing it would've gone on even longer, if you can believe that! So this book is NOT to be missed if you're a diehard slasher cinema fan, a FRIDAY THE 13th fan, or someone who wishes to make low budget horror movies. After reading both versions of this material, I feel like I'm now a SCHOLAR on the subject of the FRIDAY movies, but like Jason searching for new victims...I want MORE!
The Complete History Of Friday the 13th (Book Review) Author Peter M. Bracke has written a MASSIVE coffee table-sized book chalk-full of splendid (and rare) photos that span the making of FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) all the way through FREDDY VS. JASON (2003). It's basically 25 years of Jason movies and how they were created---all told in the words by the people who participated in them! This is such a great narrative approach, where you pretty much 'hear ' the uncensored words of the producers, directors, special effects people, actors, actresses, etc. on how each movie was made and what their experiences were. Yes, some of the perspectives are a bit at odds and there's some differences of opinion, but overall, what a great way to experience how these classic slasher movies were created and what effect they had on cinema, the ravenous fans, and pop culture at large! There are two editions of this book: a superb coffee table hardback with ultra clear photos, art, and posters and just recently released, an e-book edition with additional text material added---including longer interviews that equal the tune of 1,200 + printed pages! So this is by no means a short read, but if you're a diehard fan of the series, you will absolutely love reading about how Sean Cunningham and Victor Miller created FRIDAY THE 13th, how the success was so unexpected, and how Paramount changed the way independent movies were distributed with FRIDAY 1 and its sequels. It's exciting, relevant stuff and if you grew up in the era where you enjoyed these movies each year in the movie theater, you'll be excited to learn about all the behind-the-scenes madness that was going on to get these movies out there each year. Everything is covered in this book- from the starlets having to perform their nude scenes to the icon status that Jason Vorhees eventually became. You'll read about the uncut special effects, the battles with the MPAA, and the continual frustration everyone had with that. Every director gets their battle perspectives revealed and the chapters on Friday the 13th 1, 2, 4, and 5 provide the best anecdotes, especially all the drug-fueled madness that allegedly went down on the Part 5's NEW BEGINNING set---which happens to be one of my personal favorite FRIDAY movies. Composer Harry Manfredini is given a lot of time to talk about his splendid musical contributions and the entire "selling of the franchise" to New Line Cinema is covered, all the way through the breakthrough box office success of FREDDY VS. JASON. (The 2009 reboot is wisely skipped, since FREDDY VS. JASON pretty much endcaps the original "classic" Freddy and Jason eras.) When you read how original producer/director Sean Cunningham got ahold of the franchise and nearly ruined Jason in the first two New Line entries (JASON GOES TO HELL and JASON X), you're just amazed that the series did end on such a high note with FREDDY VS. JASON. It's also wild to read how Cunningham was pretty much banned from being on the FREDDY VS. JASON set, yet he continually takes credit for so much of its success! It's one crazy story after another and again---everyone in their own words revealing what really went down (at least from their perpective) from the beginning of the series---and I found this book to be thoroughly dramatic and engrossing, wishing it would've gone on even longer, if you can believe that! So this book is NOT to be missed if you're a diehard slasher cinema fan, a FRIDAY THE 13th fan, or someone who wishes to make low budget horror movies. After reading both versions of this material, I feel like I'm now a SCHOLAR on the subject of the FRIDAY movies, but like Jason searching for new victims...I want MORE!
