News

Sean Cunningham Talks ‘Friday the 13th’ series, Despite CW Giving it the Axe

Published

7 years ago

June 8, 2017

Horror on television has been really hot lately. Scream the television series, Scream Queens despite it just getting the axe, and of course American Horror Story which is soon to be airing its seventh season. Why not a Friday the 13^th television series? Well that’s exactly what was beginning to take form over at the CW Network in 2014.

Originally the series was to have Sean S. Cunningham as executive produce, the director and co-writer of the first movie that started the franchise itself! The story was to be set in the town of Crystal Lake and be about how the ensemble of characters deal with Jason’s (inevitable) return.

We at iHorror followed the development of the show. How were the creators going to take a machete wielding maniac chasing big breasted actresses every week and turn it into something more appealing for the returning audience? You can read their original concept here . It sounded well-crafted and even kind of deep, a concept that held water and could have worked.

Fast forward two years later and rumor was spreading that this project was no longer going to happen. Having our horror dreams realized then taken away is sadly something we are used to as horror fans. Strangeland 2, anyone? But the CW tried to keep the fans interested with claiming the television show will come up again for debate in April 2017. It wasn’t dead in the water… yet.

Jason Parker reported: “At that point [April 2017] it will be determined by CW if they can find a story to warrant a series order. If they opt to not go with Friday the 13^th at all then the show is open for a different avenue of release. Netflix has long been requested by fans as a destination that would hopefully limit the amount of studio interference”

Well kids, it’s June 2017, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it looks like the series has officially received the machete from the CW network. CW president Mark Pedowitz explained to the Television Critics Association press;

“We had better pilots. The bottom line is we felt we had stronger things to go with, and we didn’t go forward with it. It was well-written, it was darker than we wanted it to be, and we didn’t believe it had sustainability… We didn’t believe that it was a sustainable script, a sustainable series. It was a very good pilot, but not a sustainable series.”

This left many of us wanting to know what exactly was being talked about behind closed doors. What direction was it going to go in? And as for it being “darker than we wanted to make it” well yeah, it’s a Friday the 13^th! What did they expect?! What made it so dark that the CW cringed away from it? Well, this past week the podcast Shockwaves sat down with the man who started it all, Sean S. Cunningham, and picked his brain about the process he was part of to get Friday the 13^th greenlit for television. You can listen to the podcast from Shockwaves here.

Initially Cunningham reports the CW was really excited about the potential project, and offered ideas to help mold it more effectively for television. You need to make the story interesting and compelling enough to make the viewers come back week after week, but you also need to service the fans who know who Jason is, and who know what he would and wouldn’t do. Cunningham explained;
“The assumption is this. Crystal Lake is a town that really exists, and a long time ago they had a serial killer named Jason Voorhees, and then some Hollywood creep comes out and makes this exploitation horror movie called Friday the 13^th. And then they make another one, and another one, and it just crushes the town. The town becomes the place that “Jason built” And the stuff that happens, they know what really happened. The rest is Hollywood lore. There are people there that lived through it, and they will tell you what really happened. And so, what you can do is set up Crystal Lake as, more or less, like the town in JAWS, Amity Island. You have the town with all its prime movers in the town, but the town is located in an area that would allow Jason to exist in whatever form. But other things as well. I would describe it as a place where if The X Files Mulder and Scully wandering into this county, they never would of left! There’s so much weird shit going on!”

Where does this leave us? Another network? Perhaps Netflix? All we can do is wait and hope for the best, something us horror fans have become quite good at. Maybe one day we will see our favorite hockey masked killer terrorize townies on the small screen.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

8 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.