Jason fans rejoice. A lot of what you’ve been waiting for becomes a reality in these two films about the iconic horror franchise.
13 FANBOY (2021)
This film has such a fantastic meta premise, brings together loads of horror veterans of the Friday the 13th movies playing themselves, indulges in its own fanboy premise, and is directed by Deborah Voorhees, one of the actresses from Friday the 13: A New Beginning.
The opening kill scene sets a classic 80s slasher tone with a killer, a barn, the woods, a chase, and killer POV.
As a bonus, I created a little ScareBearDan POV…
The film then focuses several years later on the (fictional) daughter of actress/director Deborah Voorhees, now an adult and starring in horror films herself. She’s also very tight with Dee Wallace, who seems oddly out of place in a sea full of lesser-known Friday the 13th cast members.
However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that this film is a nod to and acknowledgment of Dee’s elevated status as a horror icon, so how could she possibly say no to taking the lead role as herself?
Dee and the main girl are most specifically being stalked by a psycho fan while they’re doing the Monsterpalooza horror con, but the body count comes in as the masked killer starts brutally offing Friday the 13th actors one by one. Unfortunately, the kills don’t happen at the con, so the film tends to lose focus and feels like it’s throwing in random characters left and right.
Most surprising is that Lar Park Lincoln, the queen of Friday the 13th Part 7, is disappointingly underutilized, and spends most of what little time she gets onscreen stuck in the killer’s lair. Perhaps she didn’t want to have a major role in the film? I don’t know, but Friday fandom alone dictates that she should have been one of the leads in the film.
Also odd is that Corey Feldman has a role…but not as himself! WTF? Such a recognizable face of the horror genre and the Friday the 13th franchise should not have been cast in a role as anyone other than himself.
He is relegated to being tossed into the mix briefly as a red herring. He’s just one of several background characters presented as weird and possible killers…then vanishing from the film almost as quickly as they appear, rendering their inclusion pointless.
Giving a fun meta twist to the situation, appearing as himself is filmmaker Vincent DiSanti, known for the highly regarded Friday the 13th fanboy film Never Hike Alone. Because no matter how you slice it, this is a fan film about talent involved with the Friday the 13th films facing off against a masked killer for real. And that includes two of the actors who actually played Jason through the decades. Yahoo!
The novelty of that premise is also what ironically makes the whole film feel disjointed and padded to about 20 minutes too long. With the main girl and Dee Wallace being the main targets, all the excessive kill cameos fail to glue the plot together, as would, say a group of counselors working together to open a camp in a Friday the 13th movie.
It’s the final act that saves the day, with the reveal of the killer’s true motive. And for Dee Wallace fans, it’s extra special. Even so, the last few minutes of the film are just awkward and the conclusion feels incomplete.
ROSE BLOOD: A FRIDAY THE 13th FAN FILM (2021)
While 13 Fanboy is a meta film about Friday the 13th, Rose Blood is a true fanboy film that is a direct sequel to Friday the 13th Part 7. Just ignore the cheesy narrator at the beginning—very out of tone for a Jason flick—and sit back for the fun first scene.
It goes right for the fanboy points in the modern day with none other than Lar Park Lincoln reprising her role as Tina. She is now in a mental institution and she hears voices…and sees them, in the form of Terry Kiser, her doctor from the original film. Major kudos to both actors for feeding the hunger of fans and making appearances in this project.
However, Lar once again isn’t the star, for this film takes us to 1989, about a year after the events of Part 7. Hardcore fans are really going to have to suspend disbelief, because the role of Tina has been recast by a young woman who looks nothing like Lar.
Slasher fans are also going to have to be very patient about getting to the “guts” of the film. Approximately the first hour focuses on young Tina being held captive in a facility, where the intent of the military and scientists is to use her powers to conquer Jason.
There is a lot of talk. I mean a lot. There are a few too many authority figures and experts in their fields that weigh the film down with their perspectives on the situation while bringing no thrills or excitement. There’s also a young girl with powers of her own brought in to help with the proposed takedown of Jason, but she’s considered dangerous and is strapped up like Hannibal Lecter.
With all the talk, there are some very forced efforts to go for the nostalgia, as characters have conversations about video games, video game systems, and graphics of the time. On the bright side, there’s plenty of hunky man meat to appreciate on the military team. They really help dress up the bland, generic scenery.
Finally, there’s a semi-exciting scene involving the new girl with powers (that happens off screen), and I began to fear this whole film was going nowhere.
And then…it happens. Over an hour into the movie, Jason is released from the lake once again, infiltrates the facility, and wreaks fricking havoc.
The massacre is a bloody blast, and the low budget amateur feel of all the dialogue-driven scenes is exchanged for what feels like a genuine Jason slaughter fest.
And this shit is violent and gory!
I loved it and could see this film being added as an extra to a future Friday the 13th physical release if it doesn’t get its own release.
While the story isn’t mind-blowing, Jason delivers what we’re really here for, plus we jump forward in time to Lar at the end so she can take Jason on once again with a little help from the always sexy Kevin Spirtas, her boyfriend from the original movie!
Finally, there’s a major spoiler in the final still shot below, so don’t scroll down if you don’t want the final act ruined for you…
HOLY CRAP!
Seriously, super spoiler photo below…
It’s another dream come true for fans of some of the biggest slasher franchises of all time. Question is, will there be a full-length “vs.” movie spawned from this brief scene?
Brace yourself…
We do get a “to be continued” tag scene after the credits, so stick around for it. Time will tell if this will be continued.
