Original horror stories are having a moment on the big screen, with Sinners, Weapons, Obsession and Backrooms all providing creepy breakout hits in the past 18 months. On the small screen, the genre is rehashing the classics with Carrie, IT: Welcome To Derry and Interview With The Vampire expanding the backstories of genre icons.
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Now it’s the turn of Friday The 13th, the 1980 slasher that spawned a bloody, long-running franchise. Crystal Lake is a prequel to the original film and focuses on Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), the mother of franchise villain Jason, who is revealed to be the real killer in the shock conclusion of the first movie. Pamela is a single mother working at the titular summer camp who becomes bereft when her young disabled son (Callum Vinson) drowns and is never found (in later films, it is revealed that he did survive, returning to become the iconic killer of legend).
Nine months after his initial disappearance, though, Pamela is isolated from her community and obsessed with the idea that Jason is still out there. Local police chief Levon (William Catlett) encourages her to move on with her life. Just as she begins to take those steps, people connected to her past turn up at her doorstep, resulting in a tense confrontation that leads to murder. And, as the bodies start to pile up, Pamela must hide her deadly impulses even as they gradually connect her to Jason.
The set-up is reminiscent of Bates Motel, the 2013 show that dramatised the origins of the first Psycho movie and ran for five critically acclaimed seasons. Like Norma Bates, Pamela is an expansion on a character who was part of a shocking twist at the end of the first movie. Unlike Norma, Pamela doesn’t have nearly the same narrative background to work with. As such, Crystal Lake becomes a somewhat formulaic serial killer show, where Pamela’s detachment from reality widens as the walls close in.
Crystal Lake would have been interesting as a 90-minute movie, but over eight episodes it’s a mixed bag. Creator and showrunner Brad Kane does a great job of capturing the retro tone of the movies, with the famous whisper-like sound being creatively dropped, as well as certain music cues that feel authentic to the original movies. The small-town setting also provides a great selection of oddball locals including the loose-lipped police deputy Dorf (Cameron Scoggins), and Levon’s sister Briana (Devin Kessler), a journalist who finds a story in her brother’s case.
On the downside, the show can go too far with its violence – the graphic mutilations and bloody spatters are over the top, even for a slasher. At times, it feels as though the plot of each episode is simply an excuse to get to another elaborate and highly detailed killing. Gore fans will love it but in an age of elevated horror, it’s a little empty. Take the bond between Pamela and Jason. It’s supposed to be the foundation of the whole tragic affair but isn’t really developed, given that his drowning occurs in the first few minutes of the debut episode.
Cardellini, a talented star who just won an Emmy for her performance in DTF St Louis, does her level best to add some brains to the bloodshed. She initially portrays Pamela as someone toeing the line between recovery and insanity, slowly letting the mask slip as she revels in her dark side. Catlett is fun to watch as an old-school police officer who suddenly has a killing spree in his sleepy town, while Gwendolyn Sundstrom is endearing as Grace, Jason’s friend who bonds with Pamela.
Unless you’re squeamish, Crystal Lake is an inoffensive expansion of the Friday The 13th franchise that prefers gore over lore. An actor of Cardellini’s calibre deserves richer material than she is given, but nostalgic production and a humorous streak make it a satisfying watch for horror completists.
‘Crystal Lake’ is out now on Sky and NOW TV
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