Written by Tim Murr
October 2017
 |
| Original artwork Copyright Stephanie Murr 2017 |
Friday The 13th, Jason Vorhees, and all related characters are property of the copyright holders. This is fan fiction, created with love, with no intention of profiting.
1
Summer had died and it had been a dead summer. Two
hikers that had gotten lost, a surveyor, and a Youtube Jason-spotter, that
tried to set up some wild life cameras. The ruins of Camp Crystal Lake hadn’t
been touched in years and there hadn’t been a large group of people in the area
since those feds set up that ambush. As the air turned chilly and the leaves
died on their branches, Jason wandered the area around Crystal Lake less and
less.
The most recent sighting that had gone on-line was
from a drone that had captured him crossing a clearing. Drones routinely flew
around the lake, some from law enforcement, some from private citizens. There
were also a mix of security, CCTV, and wild life cameras that had been
officially and unofficially set up in the last several years to catch a glimpse
of the infamous hockey-masked mad man. The view count on that last drone
sighting was in the millions as the eight seconds of footage spread across the
news and social media. But as all seasoned and noob Jason-spotters alike knew,
when the air turned cold, Jason became less active and would often disappear
for months.
The Jason-spotter had been found mid-August, spread
across a mile of Cunningham Road, just outside of the campground, well within
the border of the official dead zone where citizens were banned from entering.
A heavily armed state patrol unit rushed in after his remains were spotted on a
CCTV camera. They scooped up enough to bury and got the hell out. As a general
rule, cops don’t go near Camp Blood. Don’t bother calling 911 if you’re dumb
enough to go out there.
2
Calculus. Sixth period. What was she thinking
taking this class? Mr. Sawyer was the most boring man PJ had ever met. It
wasn’t just her, everyone in class was half asleep. Accept Miss Michelle Miner,
of course. Miss Michelle, sheriff’s daughter. Miss Michelle, most likely...
Miss Michelle, top of her class. Miss Michelle, so…blah. The very fact that
Miss Michelle even landed Dave Maguire really pissed her off. Not to mention he insisted on Miss Michelle
being invited to the costume party.
‘What are you thinking, Dave? Once she finds out
where the party is, she’ll just tell her mom.’
‘Don’t worry, she has no idea where the party is.
She thinks we’re going to your aunt’s cabin. If we can just get her there
she’ll relax and you guys will see how awesome she is.’
‘Make sure you get her phone,’ she had told him.
‘so she can’t call her mom and give us away.’
PJ had been friends with Dave since fourth grade,
she wanted him to be happy, but she didn’t believe for a second he’d be happy
with ‘Miss Uptight Kill Joy”, Michelle Miner.
Thank god for the bell. PJ was the first on her
feet and heading for the door. Mr. Sawyer said something about an assignment,
but she was going to fail this class anyway, so screw it.
As she reached her locker, she heard that chirpy,
chipper voice calling her name. She looked to her right and saw Michelle
running up waving.
“Hey, PJ, I just wanted to say thank you again for
inviting me to your party. I’m really excited, I finished my costume last
night.”
PJ forced a smile.
“No prob. I mean, Dave’s my best friend, how could
I not invite his girlfriend.”
Michelle blushed a bit. She wasn’t sure if she and
Dave were really at that point or not, but the idea that other people thought so
was exciting.
“Ok, well, I’ll see you tonight!”
PJ just smiled and nodded. As Michelle started to
walk away PJ asked,
“What’s your costume anyway?”
“Alice…In Wonderland.”
PJ smiled and nodded again and rolled her eyes
after Michelle had moved on. Of course, Alice In Wonderland, you fucking blonde
stereotype.
3
Michelle walked quickly through the hall, not
because she was in a hurry, it was just her natural way of moving. Head up,
eyes moving, alert. It’s how her mother raised her. Be ready for anything,
because in this world-in this town-anything can happen. Michelle had been told
this since she was a young child and her mother always kept her close, never
let her stray. Michelle was raised to be a fighter. Growing up in Crystal Lake,
only a fool didn’t look over their shoulder.
As a result, Michelle could come off as uptight.
She was a bit of a misfit, never getting to go to sleep-overs or on hikes. It
was just this year that her mother finally agreed to let her start dating. Her
father couldn’t handle how intense her mom was, how protective and stubborn. He
eventually moved out. Michelle had gotten used to nights in. She knew the day
would come that she could go away to college and never come back to this
horrible town. In the meantime, why rock the boat? Her mom wasn’t wrong, after
all. It was exceptionally dangerous here. They lived only mere miles from the
hunting grounds of the world’s most notorious mass murderer, who apparently was
also unkillable.
Michelle made her way across the courtyard of Crystal
Lake High to the parking lot and spotted Dave and his friends Tyler and Dylan
sitting on the retaining wall. Tyler was ok, but Dylan was obnoxious and loud
and always telling off color jokes. Dave was no angel, but he was nothing like
Dylan. To her, Dylan seemed like the type of friend you got stuck with rather
than choose.
“Hi, guys.”
Dave jumped off the wall and gave her a big hug,
literally sweeping her off her feet. She laughed and kissed him lightly on the
lips. He was tall and slender with long hair and a goofy smile. He was almost a
head taller than her, which she loved.
“Ready for to party?”
“Hell, yes,” she exclaimed.
“I can’t believe your mom is actually letting you
go out,” Tyler said.
“Well, she knows she can’t keep me inside forever.
She trusts me. Besides we’ll be on the opposite side of town from the lake, so
she’s being cool about it.”
She caught Tyler and Dylan give each other a look.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Dylan said, with a dirty grin.
Michelle turned to Dave and punched him in the chest.
“Seriously, if something’s up…”
“NO! No, Dylan is just being a dick.”
Dylan threw his arm around her shoulders.
“I’m just looking forward to smoking weed, drinking
beer, sacrificing a virgin on the altar of my cock…and getting hacked up by
Jason!”
Dave and Tyler smiled good-naturedly while Dylan
cackled like an idiot. Michelle gently put her elbow in his chest and sharply
pushed him off, never taking her eyes off Dave’s face.
“Why would Jason be all the way out there? Dave?”
As Dave shrugged his shoulders, giving Dylan the
evil eye, Dylan grabbed her hand.
“I’m just joking around, Michelle…ya know, because
your mom is all crazy.”
Michelle suddenly shoved him and cocked her fist,
but Dave wrapped his arms around her. Dylan covered his face, ducking away.
Dave pulled her back.
“Michelle, he’s just being an asshole…”
“Sorry, sorry…”
“Fuck you, Dylan! You call my mom crazy? Well,
fewer people have died on her watch than under any other sheriff in over forty
years!”
Dylan rushed in and wrapped his arms around both
Michelle and Dave.
“I’m sorry, Michelle! You’re just so fucking hot
when you’re mad, I can’t help myself!”
At this she cracked up, called him an asshole, and
hugged him back.
4
The house was a fortress. Steel doors, motion
detectors, bars over the windows, a panic room, and enough guns stowed around
the house to take down a small country. Sheriff Megan Garris knew though, none
of it would really matter if he ever came for her.
Jason never did come for her though, even after he
had somehow escaped from the bottom of the lake where she had helped Tommy
Jarvis trap him. She thought of these things every morning when she woke up.
It was a night. A matter of hours. And her world
was dashed upon the rocks. Her father was murdered. Her friends slaughtered.
And Tommy. The boy who cried Jason and no one, but her believed him. That blind
faith cost her everything. Deputy Rick Cologne testified that Tommy was the
killer, since no one knew where Jason’s body was, and that he had manipulated
Megan. It was Megan’s word against his, with no one to back her up but several
traumatized children. There was enough reasonable doubt that she wasn’t charged
as an accessory, and Tommy would avoid a death sentence and be sent to a high
security mental hospital. But he ran that night. Minutes after sinking Jason to
the bottom of the lake.
Don’t tell anyone where he’s at…He can’t be
disturbed again. I have to go, I’ve…caused so much…suffering…Megan, I’m so
sorry.
He stole her car and left her to take care of the
children. For that, if she ever sees him again, she’ll shoot him in the
kneecap.
A matter of hours.
Megan’s life was in a tailspin for years. She
drank, she became semi-reclusive, she got involved with the wrong men, until
one day she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and didn’t
recognize the person looking back at her. She said no. No. Fuck this. The very
next night, Jason returned and slaughtered another group of people. She said
no. Fuck that. It was a hard road to follow in her father’s footsteps, but she
made a life for herself she could be proud of, aside from her daughter’s father
who couldn’t hang. At least she never married him.
Megan was working late, because it was Friday the
13th with Halloween right around the corner and this stupid town was
full of stupid people who liked to do stupid shit on Friday the 13ths and
Halloweens. So, she slept late, woke up to a quiet house, worked out, showered,
and ate lunch in front of her laptop.
Crystallakekiller.com had the latest drone footage,
which was still fairly recent. She’d watched the short video several times
since it had been uploaded. A chill ran up her spine every time. She could
still feel his hands on her head. She had been inches from those eyes. She knew
he didn’t see her, he didn’t see anything, but rage.
In all her years with the Cunningham County
Sheriff’s department she had never seen him again. She’s cleaned up a fair
share of his messes, though. Containment. That was the policy she had pushed
from day one. Contain him. Give him the camp grounds. Close off the area and
just leave him alone. She was a rookie when the feds went in and ambushed
Jason, blowing him to pieces, but the son of a bitch came back even from that.
And massacred a lot of cops. That was followed by a massive incursion of state
troopers, National Guard, and surviving local cops storming the forest
intending to burn it all down to get him, but he was gone without a trace.
Megan had picked up Jessica Freeman and fugitive Steven Freeman walking down
the highway. They had a wild story about sending Jason to Hell. Megan believed
them and was instrumental in clearing Steven’s name.
How Jason came back again, no one is sure. Crystal
Lake had become Forest Green when Megan was still in school, and after a decade
of silence from Jason, the town fathers decided to change the name back to
Crystal Lake, to capitalize on the notoriety of the town’s history. Jason
seemed to rise to the occasion and the killings began anew.
The difference this time, Megan was sheriff. She
went to the state senate and got the area around the campground designated a
dead zone. She wanted to get a massive fence surrounding an eight-mile radius,
but there was no budget for that. Highways did get rerouted though, and several
billboards went up warning people away. Those billboards all contained another
ominous message. “Calling 911 will not get you help. Stay out.” Megan had seen
enough good cops go in the ground. No more, not on her watch.
She put on her uniform, filled her to-go cup with
coffee and half and half and headed for the door. On the porch, she was about
to lock up when Michelle’s car pulled into the driveway. Megan’s smile withered
at the sight of Dave in the passenger seat. He wasn’t necessarily a bad kid,
but he reminded her a bit of her old friend Cort. She couldn’t help seeing a
knife jammed into Dave’s skull. She shuddered. Fuck October. Fuck Halloween.
“Hi, guys. How was school?”
“Hi, mom! It was fine.”
“Hi, sheriff Garris.”
“Dave. So, big party tonight, huh? Where was it
again?”
“At PJ’s aunt’s cabin, over on Miller.”
“Will PJ’s aunt be home?”
Michelle turned to Dave, who stood there awkwardly
not realizing the question was directed at him.
“Oh…uh, yea! I think so.”
“Do I have her number?”
“Here,” Michelle said, getting out her phone, “I’ll
text it to you.”
Megan kissed her forehead and turned to Dave.
“I want her home at midnight. 12:05 and I’m running
your ass in.”
“Uhhh…”
“She’s kidding.”
“Be late and we’ll see if I’m kidding.”
5
Crystal Lake was brilliantly colored with fallen
leaves and Halloween decorations. Most stores had worked a hockey mask motif
into their window decorations, though Megan had banned the sale of hockey masks
resembling Jason’s a couple years ago after a high school kid was shot by one
of her deputies in the midst of a prank gone wrong. The tourists were here en
masse. Crystal Lake was fast becoming the new Salem, Massachusetts. The town
was full of goths and horror nerds, true crime fanatics and other weirdos.
Megan steered her cruiser down Main Street shaking
her head at all these assholes. Real people were dead. More than two hundred.
These morons were lined up taking selfies with the old camp sign that the diner
hung up. Assholes. Would they be hanging around here if they could see Sissy’s
mangled body?
She pulled into the parking lot of the police
station and took a deep breath. She had a feeling this was going to be a long
night.
6
Dave waited on the couch looking around the living
room of the Garris/Miner household. The place gave him the creeps, to be
honest. He knew Michelle’s mom was a gun freak and took a hard line on public
safety, bordering on fanaticism, but there was almost no warmth to the home.
Everything was utilitarian, kind of Spartan. Nothing said ‘family’ or ‘love.’
Just ‘survive’ and ‘fight.’
Most people in town knew Sheriff Garris, not just
as a Jason-survivor, but as a Jason-survivor who didn’t leave town. Dave had
tried to ask Michelle about her a couple of times, but Michelle kept it vague.
Beyond surviving a massacre a little over thirty years ago, Michelle really
didn’t even know much about it. Megan didn’t like to talk about the night, even
though her entire career as a police officer was founded on protecting the town
from Jason.
For anyone Dave’s age, no one was old enough to
remember the last time there was a major Jason incident, he was just out there.
Yes there were murders now and then and yes there was little snippets of
footage, but he never left his little corner of Cunningham County, so the
younger people didn’t grow up with the same sense of urgency and fear, and
honestly, sneaking into the camp, even for a minute had become a rite of
passage among the local youth. These sojourns were nearly always in broad day
light, never alone, and ended with some teenager driving their daddy’s car at
top speed on Cunningham Road away from the ruins of Camp Blood.
Dave was apprehensive about that night, it was a
crazy plan. A costume party at the camp, broadcasting live on Facebook was
ridiculous, but PJ had been planning this event for months. It was their senior
year and she wanted to do something big and nuts and this was the nuttiest
thing she could think of. She was able to convince ten of her best friends to
go along with it and Dave’s two older brothers agreed to buy a couple of kegs
and come along too.
Michelle was never a part of the plan. It was Dave
that insisted on inviting her, but PJ made him promise to not let her know what
was really going on until the very last second. If Sheriff Garris suspected
anything, they’d all spend the night in handcuffs. They might anyway, but if
all went well, they’d be world famous by the time they were caught.
“Ta-da.”
Dave turned around to see Michelle dressed like a
sexy version of Disney’s Alice. The dress bordered on too short and her legs
looked amazing in white fishnets. Dave flushed a little at how incredible she
looked. He jumped up and met her half way across the room. She twirled for him
and he applauded.
“Holy shit, you look amazing.”
She blushed and gave him a coy smile.
“Thanks, babe. So, what are you wearing?”
“Let’s go to my house and I’ll show you.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He put his
hands on her hips and pushed his tongue between her lips. His technique was
sloppy and over-whelming, lucky for him she really adored him. Putting his
hands on her ass, under the dress was a line she wasn’t ready to let him cross
though. She pulled back and wagged her finger at him.
“Careful, there. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”
He clasped his hands together and bowed
apologetically.
“Here,” she said, taking out her phone.
He froze for a second. He hadn’t anticipated her
just handing it to him.
“Take my picture.”
He took the phone from her and stepped back to
compose a few shots, directing her how to stand, where to put her hands, etc. She
did all his goofy poses playfully, but gave him the finger when he told her to
get her tits out.
“I’m just kidding!”
“Mm-hmm. Let me get my jacket.”
When she turned, he put her phone on silent and put
it in his back pocket and headed for the door.
7
Dave’s brothers, Robert and Michael, drove their
mom’s van into the camp with the two kegs and pre-carved jack o’lanterns. They
were both wearing pistols in their waistbands and there was a sawed-off shotgun
on the floor between them. They weren’t worried about getting spotted on the
security cameras entering the camp, since they’d already snuck out here at dawn
and knocked them down. They weren’t surprised to see them still not put back up
yet. They turned the van around so it was pointing at the road and quietly
unloaded the supplies.
Neither of the young men were oblivious to the
danger, but both had snuck out here dozens of times, stealing little momentos
to sell on E-Bay. They’d never once encountered Jason, but they did find a
headless body once. After that they stayed away for a year.
They were typical bored, small town boys, with too
much energy and testosterone and not enough healthy ways to release it. They
didn’t jump off bridges or get drunk, they walked the sacred killing grounds of
a real-life monster.
They agreed to help Dave and PJ set up in exchange
for free beer and the promise of available girls, not to mention internet
infamy if they pulled this off without getting killed. They certainly agreed it was a stupid
idea, but Jason hadn’t been seen since he had crossed the clearing, headed for
his shack. The chances of him coming back were thin, unless the party got too
out of hand and they made too much noise. Michael had insisted PJ keep the
guest list short and that everyone listened to them implicitly. This would be
no drunken brawl, even if it was going to look like it on Facebook’s live
feed.
Robert had seen Jason’s shack in person once, not
long before they found the headless body. It was about two miles away, down
near a part of the lake that had been cut off by storm damage. It was closer
than Robert liked, but he figured Jason must be getting pretty damn old. Could
he really be as much of a threat? He didn’t want that answer, but that he and
Michael might be able to turn a profit off this night, he was willing to risk
it.
They had brought fire wood and stones to set up a
fire pit in the middle of the grounds and positioned the jack o’lanterns around
on the far side of the pit from where the vehicles would be parked and the Go
Pro cameras set up. As they worked Robert heard a twig snap and they both went
for their guns, scanning the trees. Nothing moved.
Michael got his phone out and checked
Vorhees-Watcher.com, which had multiple live streams from the camp running 24/7
with any new footage running on a constant loop. There had still been no
movement. They themselves were only about twenty yards out of view of the
nearest cameras.
“We’re ok,” Michael said.
“What time is it?”
“Almost five.”
The sun was already getting low and some unfriendly
dark clouds were moving in.
“Shit, we might get rained out before we even
start.”
Michael nodded.
“Should we move into one of the buildings?”
“We’d have to get everyone tetanus shots first,”
Robert chuckled.
8
It wasn’t the first home he had built for himself.
He had dragged scraps from the campgrounds and the various derelict houses to
build his little shack. He didn’t need much, just a place to lie down and be at
peace. He was tired all the time now. Those others, the ones that used to come
again and again, had almost completely stopped coming. Maybe he’d finally
killed them all, or enough of them. The rage and hurt had gone out of him and
now he was tired.
He had been tired before. He had slept, long and
deep, once in dirt, twice in water. He had been at peace in the dark, until
mama’s voice started calling…Kill them, Jason…Kill them all… He always answered mama’s call and the power would
surge through his body and he would tear through every faceless meat sack in
his path.
He laid in a fetal position in his tiny shack that
was barely big enough to contain him. His body growing cold and stiff. From
across the cosmos came the tiny muffled voice of mama, Such a good
boy…sleep, my special boy…
But she was interrupted by the sound of an
approaching engine. He opened his eyes, but she whispered, Not yet, Jason,
just rest…
9
Dave came out of bedroom wearing a white sheet with
two eyeholes cut out and a pair of horn rimmed glasses on the outside. Michelle
smirked from the barstool in the kitchen.
“Nerd ghost?”
“No, haven’t you seen Halloween?”
“Ha, no. We watch romantic comedies and Disney
movies in my house.”
“I have so much corruption to catch up on!”
A horn blasted from outside. Dave pulled the sheet
off and opened the curtains. Tyler was outside in his dad’s convertible ’58
Plymouth Fury, with the top down. He was wearing a Riddler costume. Dave and
Jennifer were also in the front, he was just wearing a rubber pig nose
(appropriate) and she was dressed like a sexy zombie. Tyler’s younger brother,
Titus, was alone in the backseat, wearing a skeleton costume and a paper bag
over his head.
“All right, they’re here.”
“I could just drive us,” Michelle said hopefully,
not wanting to have a way out if this party didn’t go well. After all, these
were Dave’s friends, not hers.
Dave took her hand, “Come on, we’ll hang out, it’ll
be fun…”
She decided to go against her gut and not argue.
Dave locked the front door and they got into the back seat with Titus, who
didn’t greet them. As they pulled away, Michelle heard Titus mumble, ‘this is
going to suck.’
Michelle didn’t bother asking him why. She knew him
from school and he tended to be negative almost always about almost everything.
Dylan passed a bottle of Jack Daniels back to Dave,
who took a small swig and passed it to Michelle. She took it reluctantly and
had a sip before passing it to Titus. He pulled the bag off his head and had
two big gulps before passing it up to Tyler.
At risk of sounding like a party pooper, Michelle
said, “Be careful passing that around. Cops are everywhere tonight.”
Jennifer half turned around, “Oh, they’ll be too
busy with tourists. When do they ever pull over townies?”
As an answer, a siren blasted behind them and they
all looked back at the County Sheriff’s SUV suddenly trailing them with its
blue lights on.
Tyler gritted his teeth, turning white.
“Hide that fucking bottle!”
Jennifer put it up her skirt with a grin. Tyler put
on his right turn signal and pulled to the shoulder. The SUV sped past them and
disappeared around the bend. Tyler put his head on the wheel and everyone
chuckled. Jennifer pulled the bottle out and took another hit.
“See, Michelle?”
Michelle shrugged with a smirk.
10
PJ was dressed as a sexy witch and loading bags of
snacks and her IPhone speaker system. She had made the perfect horror rock
playlist for the occasion. Benny (punk rock vampire), Lori (sexy Freddy
Kreuger), Wes (sadistic surgeon), and Rosy (Black Widow) were clowning around
with some of the other party favors, like the brand new machete PJ had just bought
from the hardware store after school. She knew Dave’s brothers were coming
armed, but a little extra protection wouldn’t hurt anyone. Lori pulled her
plastic Freddy glove off and sat down with a bag of weed and started rolling
joints. Rosy started chasing Benny around PJ’s front yard with the machete.
“Fuck off, you crazy bitch! You’re gonna hurt
yourself!”
“I’m gonna hurt you! Hahahaha!”
PJ’s dad, Dennis, came out on the front porch and
crossed his arms disapprovingly and waited to be noticed. Lori saw him first
and blocked the weed with her body, coughing loudly to get PJ’s attention. PJ
turned around to yell at Rosy and saw her dad with his eyebrows raised.
“Oh, hi, dad!”
Rosy stopped chasing Benny and ran over to give
Dennis a hug.
“Hi, PJ’s dad!” She chirped.
“Rosy, please put that damn machete down, before
you chop off your foot and your parents sue me.”
“Yes, sir.”
She set it against the side of the porch and
skipped over to Lori and sat down.
“What’s up, dad?”
“Don’t be later than one, doll, I’m serious. If
you’re even a little…tipsy, call me. Do not drive.”
“Ok, dad.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Ok. Wes, tell your mom I said hi.”
“I will.”
Dennis nodded and went back inside.
PJ slammed her trunk.
“Ok, let’s go. Dave’s brothers are already getting
everything else set up.”
Wes started to get into the passenger seat, “Wait.
You still haven’t told me how we’re going to get into the camp if there’s a
road block.”
“Robert showed me an old dirt road hunters used to
use, we’ll take that. It’s pretty bumpy, but it goes right into the camp.”
Benny drummed loudly on the trunk, “the cops will
never know we’re there!”
11
Out on Trent Road, past the last of the farm
houses, PJ drove past Gabby’s dusty Ford Escort that was parked and waiting on
the side of the road. Gabby was dressed as Cat Woman and she had Liz (Harley
Quinn) and Jamie (Poison Ivy) with her. Gabby pulled out behind PJ and followed
her onto the narrow dirt road, passed the numerous warnings that they were
entering the designated dead zone and that no help was coming if they got into
trouble. Everyone felt a little sick in the pits of their stomachs.
12
Tyler sped through the back roads and
neighborhoods, taking a left onto Trent, which is where Michelle looked around
realized they were on the wrong side of town.
“Hey, what are we doing out here?”
They looked at each other, but no one answered, as
they passed the first warning sign.
“Dave, what the fuck?”
“Michelle, relax, it’s a surprise.”
Titus scoffed. “More like a dumb stunt. We’re all
gonna be internet famous tonight, Michelle.”
“How??”
“Probably by getting hacked up-“
“Titus, shut the fuck up!” Tyler shouted. “I don’t
know why you even came!”
“Because I was bound to be a teen suicide anyway,
dick!”
Michelle went for phone and realized she didn’t have
it.
“Dave, where’s my phone?”
“I don’t know, you must’ve left it at home. Look,
let-“
“Don’t! Fuck you! Tyler stop this fucking car right
now!”
He didn’t listen, just drove past two more signs,
only slowing down to not miss the turn.
“Michelle, I begged PJ to let me invite you! So
everyone would see that you’re cool to be around. We’re only going for a couple
of hours, get some footage of us partying, and get the hell out. It’ll be all
over the internet, we’ll be world famous!”
“And then?”
He turned to his friends for help.
Dylan fully turned around as Tyler steered on to
the dirt road.
“Look, Michelle. No one likes you or wants you
around. You’re stuck up and weird and your fucking mom kills everyone’s fun.
Dave swears you’re cool and if you just do this stunt with us, then you’re in,
you’re one of us.”
“Do you think that fucking matters to me at all,
you fucking stooge?”
Jennifer held up her phone.
“Michelle, I get a text alert when new footage of
Jason is captured-“
“So do my brothers,” Dave interjected.
“He’ll pass multiple cameras on the way to camp,
we’ll get an alert, and we’ll get the fuck outta there. It’s totally safe. PJ,
Robert, and Michael planned it all out. This road is our main escape route,
Cunningham Road is our secondary, both are in the opposite direction of Jason’s
shack.”
“We’ll be fine, Michelle,” Tyler added. “I
promise.”
“My brothers are armed to the teeth. Besides,
they’ve been coming out here for years and they’ve never seen Jason.”
Michelle had fire in her eyes.
“If we make it home alive, I’m never speaking to
you again. We are so fucking done.”
Dylan was still turned around facing her.
“You gonna tell your mom?”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Maybe we’ll just leave you out here, bitch.”
“Dylan, shut the fuck up! We won’t leave you,
Michelle, I promise.”
Tyler shrugged his shoulders, “Besides, there’s no
actual law about not coming out here.”
13
Everyone was already filling red cups from the
kegs, while The Misfits’ “Halloween” blasted from the speakers when Tyler
pulled in. Robert directed him to park the car pointing back toward the road
for a quick run. Michelle was the last out of the car, looking around, feeling
something frigid in her chest. She felt as though she had landed on an alien
planet.
Everything was different here, the air, the ground,
It all felt alive and hostile. This dirt had absorbed so much blood. Michelle’s
heart was pounding and everyone started to feel distant as she felt more
isolated. This place was haunted. Cursed. A blood curse.
“Here,” Michael said, holding out a cup of beer to
her.
She took it and gulped it down, hoping it would
calm her nerves.
14
Wes’s dad went into his son’s room and opened his
laptop. He had been in trouble several times in the last couple of years for
public drunkenness and possession of marijuana. He had narrowly escaped reform
school and expulsion and was on probation. This party at PJ’s was the first
time his father had agreed to let him go out in almost a year. It was a showing
of faith on his part and a reward for good behavior. That didn’t mean Walt
wasn’t going to check his laptop history and messages regularly.
Walt opened the laptop and clicked the Facebook
app. At the top of the time line was a live feed video marked Halloween party
at Camp Fucking Blood. The video swung back and forth showing kids that Walt
recognized immediately, even in costume. One of the kids was a petrified
looking Michelle Miner. Walt knew where they were and he was horrified at their
stupidity. Then the camera man turned the camera on himself and there was
Walt’s own god damned stupid ass son, with a fucking beer in his hand,
shouting, ‘come get me, Jason, you faggot!’
15
Megan got the call while helping Deputy Etchison
separate a tourist and a towny.
“Sheriff, I’m putting a call through from Walter Sawyer.”
“Go ahead, June…Mr. Sawyer? Sheriff Garris here.”
As he laid out what he was seeing on the screen,
someone shouted in the crowd, “Holy shit! Someone’s having a costume party out
at Camp Blood!”
Megan looked around in horror as people started
getting their phones out.
“No no no…”
“Sheriff…Listen…Your daughter is there. I saw her…”
People started running to their cars. Megan dropped
her cell phone and grabbed a couple who were getting into a hatchback.
“Don’t go out there! You’ll die!”
But they just laughed at her.
She ran in front of another car.
“Stop, dammit! I’m ordering you to park your
vehicle!”
They just drove around her.
Etchison wearily walked over and pulled her from
the road.
“Jeezus, Megan, what’s going on?”
“Some damn kids are out at the camp…partying and
broadcasting it on the internet.”
“Ho-leee shit.”
“Call Lieutenant Rick Cologne over at the State
Patrol. We need a chopper over the camp.”
“What are you gonna do, boss? We aren’t going in
there, are we?”
“Hell no. No officers are to step foot within the
dead zone. I’m driving my Fuck-You-Jason in and saving as many people as I can.
I want support and roadblocks on all roads and I want a chopper with a
spotlight over the camp.”
Megan jumped in her cruiser and sped towards the
station.
16
Thunder rumbled loudly and lightning crashed in the
distance. Robert kept his eye on the black clouds overtaking the night sky and
kept checking his phone.
Dave kept trying to talk to Michelle, who was
having none of it.
The rest were either dancing or drinking.
Michael had convinced Gabby to follow him to the
other side of the cars.
Tearing down Cunningham Road was a line of victims,
er, tourists, who were too far removed from the reality of the real Crystal
Lake, that had nothing to do with that little shit town.
And two miles away a voice rang in Jason’s ears…Now
Jason…Kill them…Kill them all..!
17
Megan’s cruiser came to a screeching stop in front
of the garage. Bill limped out from his office biting into an apple.
“Sheriff?”
“Is it gassed up and ready to roll?”
He gulped, “Always…”
She hit the button on the garage door and the motor
started loudly raising the metal door. The lights snapped on and there set the
Army’s special gift to her; an Armored Huron Kenworth T370 personnel carrier,
outfitted with gun ports and filled with full auto AR-15s.
She started climbing into the driver’s seat when
Etchison and Cooper came running up.
“Sheriff, we’re coming with you.”
“Hell no. You know my rule.”
“You can’t drive and shoot, you need us and I’ll
shoot you in the ass before I let you go without us. Right, Coop?”
“Damn right.”
She sighed and nodded.
“I bet you would, you old bastard. Saddle up,
boys.”
18
With
every step, the stiffness loosened. With every step, the rage built.
Stronger, angrier, faster…They were back…again….Kill
them…Kill them all…
Yes, mama…all.
Jason moved through the darkness with the winds
picking up and every single camera failing to capture him.
19
As the Huron pulled out on to Main Street, Megan
saw the mass exodus in full swing, several cars at a time, all heading in the
same direction. Etchison was watching the video on his phone shaking his head.
“Damn, Megan. Word’s spreading fast…”
Megan picked up the radio.
“I need all units blocking any road leading into
the camp, now! Turn everyone away, anyone gives you trouble, put them cuffs.
And make sure I’ve got a clear path. I’m coming down Cunningham Road in the
Fuck-You-Jason.”
Her deputies sounded off and got moving. Megan had
the lights and sirens blaring, passing cars on the left. Etchison got on the
loudspeaker.
“Attention! Do not approach the dead zone! You will
be arrested! This is your only warning!”
Deputy Bunn came on the radio.
“Sheriff, I got the road blocked, but I’d say half
dozen or more cars already got through. Should I start sending people back
towards town?”
“Hell no. Keep those idiots parked where they are,
I need the oncoming lane empty.”
This was only the second-time Megan had needed to
take the Huron into the dead zone. It was to get that lost land surveyor after
his wife bawled on her knees in Megan’s office to try and find him. She knew he
had accidentally wandered into the dead zone, because he had called her when
stumbled on to a badly decomposed corpse. Megan had felt awful for her and
agreed to drive through, but didn’t tell anyone else, specifically to keep them
from wanting to go with her. Of course, she was too late for land surveyor. She
prayed she wouldn’t be too late for her daughter.
Lightning streaked the sky and the air felt alive
with malevolent spirits. The Huron barreled down Cunningham Road, coming up on
a line of stopped cars. Several people were on the side of the road with their
phones out, taking selfies and filming the Huron as it passed by. Over the
trees, she saw the lights of the state patrol’s helicopter heading for the
camp.
20
Michael was leaned against the front of the van with his head
back. Gabby’s lipstick was smeared over his lips. She was down on her knees
giving him a blowjob. He reached down and got a handful of her hair, but she
smacked his hand away and mumbled ‘stop that.’
He moved his hands to her shoulders, moaning
softly. He suddenly went very stiff and she expected him to finish, but instead
he clamped his hand back on to her head and grabbed a fistful of hair. She got
pissed and tried to jerk her head away, but she was yanked to her feet suddenly
as Michael’s body shook against the front of the van. His head was gone and
blood spurted from his neck like a fountain.
Gabby had no voice to scream, her mouth was just a
horrified, silent O. She continued rising, her feet nearly a foot off the
ground. She could feel hairs coming out of her scalp at the root as she was
turned, coming face to face with the world’s most infamous masked face. Only
one eye was visible in the light that seeped between the vehicles and it said
only one thing; I hate you.
Jason put his other hand in her mouth and gripped
her lower jaw, giving it a little tug to the left and right, before jerking it
with little effort, right off her face. He let her body crumple to the ground
as she drowned on her own blood.
Jason stood over her and Michael watching the life
drain from their bodies while the others went on snapping pictures and dancing
to head banger noise that hurt Jason’s head. He looked past the vehicles and through
the cloud of pot smoke at their weird dress. He tilted his head, confused.
Something was different tonight…but that passed. Nothing mattered except they
all had to pay…kill kill kill…
Lori was taking a selfie with Wes, pressing the
claws of the Freddy glove to his throat.
“Hang on, one more…”
She licked his face while he pretended to die. Then
the sight of approaching headlights caught his eye.
“Hey, who the fuck are they?”
PJ held up her phone.
“Uninvited guests! We went viral, guys!”
A wave of fear passed over Wes.
“Lori, shit…maybe we should get everyone out of
here. I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.”
“Look at that lightning. As soon as that storm gets
to us we’ll have to split anyway.”
Suddenly a bright spotlight lit up the whole
campgrounds as the helicopter reached them. When it did, it revealed Jason
standing behind Lori. Wes fell backwards on his ass pointing, trying to warn
her.
Lori spun around as Jason brought his machete down
on the top of her head, splitting her through her crotch. He shoved through her
two halves before they even had a chance to fall and came for Wes like a Mack
truck, stomping on his stomach and bursting several internal organs before
slicing the top half of his head off.
The others stood in stunned silence for only a
second before racing for the cars.
Robert emptied his pistol into Jason’s chest, which
Jason just shrugged off while looking around, watching where each person ran.
As he fired, Robert was steadily walking backwards, by the time he was out of
bullets he was by the van door. He yanked it open and grabbed the shotgun.
When Tyler reached the Plymouth, he found Gabby
propped up in the driver’s seat with Michael’s head in her lap. He started to
run toward the road, but ran into the path of an oncoming Toyota. He bounced
off the hood and landed in a ditch.
Benny, Rosy, Jennifer, Dylan, and Titus were
panicking by the cars realizing that the drivers had the keys. Rosy spotted
Gabby’s purse and made a break for it, hoping the keys were there and not on
her body. The shotgun’s blast echoed in the night, mixing with the crash of
thunder as the first raindrops fell.
Rosy opened Gabby’s purse and turned to run with
keys in hand.
Jason, while still advancing on Robert reached into
the bonfire and threw a large burning hunk of wood, smashing Rosy’s skull and
setting her hair on fire.
The Toyota driver, panicking after hitting Tyler,
swung a u-turn and hit another car head on, blocking the road for two other
cars that now couldn’t escape.
Titus dived for the keys pissing himself a little
as the second blast from the shotgun went off.
Robert, knowing it was useless, tried to get in the
van, but he wasn’t fast enough and Jason slammed the door on his head. And then
again. Then a third time, only satisfied when Robert’s left eye popped out.
Dave had gotten himself tangled in the sheet and
tripped, while trying to reach Michelle.
Michelle didn’t know when she had fallen to the
ground. She was dizzy and dark streaks blurred the edge of her vision. All she
could really see was Jason flinging Robert’s limp body through the air,
knocking Dave off his feet, just as he was tossing the sheet aside. The rain
poured down her face as she tried to shake off the terror that kept her on her
hands and knees as Jason advanced on Dave.
Dave crawled towards Michelle, yelling for her to
run, but his voice was lost in the storm and the helicopter’s engine. All
around people were screaming, car horns were blaring.
Michelle saw what was almost relief in Dave’s face
as Dylan and Jennifer yanked her to her feet. Jason locked eyes with her as he
kept coming for Dave. In one fluid movement, Jason punted Dave in the head
while throwing his machete. Warmth splashed across Michelle’s left side as the
machete went almost all the way through Dylan’s neck. He staggered backward
reaching for help as the blood spurted. Jennifer pulled her arm hard, screaming
‘run,’ but Michelle’s legs were rubber.
Dave was seeing stars and spitting broken teeth
into the mud. Jason grabbed him by the back of the neck with his right hand and
lifted him to his feet. Jason was backlit by the helicopter, he looked god-like
as he punched Dave over and over, shattering his cheekbones and forehead,
caving his face in.
Gabby’s car had started and Titus, Jennifer, and
Benny were half in shouting for Michelle to run. There was another crash of
metal as two more cars collided trying to get out and coming fast was a loud
engine bearing down on them.
Michelle started backing away finally, starting to
get her wits about her. Jason had paused to watch her, tilting his head to the
side, as if trying to remember if he knew her.
Dylan had fallen to his knees, the machete slid out
and fell to the ground. Michelle assessed her position. If she went for the
car, Jason would overtake her in seconds, if she went for the woods, she would
still be in his domain, and would only prolong her life by minutes. She only
had one choice.
She picked up the machete and gripped it with both
hands.
Gabby’s car wheels were spinning, stuck in the mud.
The other engine was even louder.
Jason seemed to sigh as he started coming at
Michelle.
Michelle raised the machete, praying for one clear
shot.
Two smaller trees went down as the Huron burst
through the thick brush off the side of the road, sideswiping the Plymouth and
smashing into Jason. Jason hurtled through the air, over the nearly dead
bonfire and crashed into the building.
21
“Holy
shit,” Michelle whispered breathlessly, as Megan jumped out of the truck with
an AR-15.
“Mom, I didn’t-“
“Later, get in the car! Coop! Help them get
unstuck!”
“Right, sheriff!”
Cooper jumped out with his rifle and ran over to
Gabby’s car, holding on to Michelle’s arm.
“One of you get out and help me push and then drive
like hell back to the police station. Your parents are already there!”
With Titus behind the wheel, Benny jumped out and
he and Cooper pushed as Michelle collapsed, still holding the machete, in the
back seat beside Jennifer, who was shaking uncontrollably, chanting ‘go, go,
go,’ in a hoarse whisper.
Megan turned around and could see Etchison slide
into the driver seat and shut the door as Megan slowly circled around the
bonfire. She could only see Jason’s feet and he hadn’t moved since smashing
into the building.
“Mom, don’t…”
Jennifer spun around to look.
“What the fuck is she doing..?”
Megan was a full twenty feet from the Huron, the
assault rifle, loaded with armor piercing rounds, heavy in her hands. She was
controlling her breathing, she was listening to the sounds around her, and
despite the rain in her face she kept her eyes on Jason’s still body.
Etchison gunned the engine as he inched the Huron
forward, the helicopter hovered directly overhead, spotlight trained intently.
There were horns blaring from cars trying to disentangle themselves out on the
road, but a few idiots were wandering over to see the big, bad Jason for
themselves.
Etchison’s voice boomed over the loud speaker, “Get
back! He’s not dead! All of you get back to your cars and drive away, if your
car isn’t drivable, ride with someone!”
Megan spotted a hipster running up, trying to
shield his phone from the rain.
“Hey, asshole! Stop!”
He looked up at Megan to say something, but Jason
was suddenly on his feet, grabbing him by the neck, squeezing the life out of
him as he ran for darkness. Megan squeezed off only two shots, because Jason
moved so fast.
The Huron and Helicopter pursued Jason, but they
lost him between the ruins of the cabins. Megan followed him as far as he
dumped the hipster’s body and then backed out slowly. He had escaped all their
lines of vision and could now be anywhere.
22
“Why doesn’t your mom just leave…she’s going to
die…”
“Shut the fuck up, you brain dead bitch. If she
gets hurt, it’ll be all of your faults.”
“We’ve all snuck out here since we were kids…we
never saw him…”
Gabby’s car suddenly leapt forward and came to a
hard stop. Benny started to get in the passenger seat, as Deputy Cooper came to
the driver’s window.
“Listen, I don’t feel real comfortable sending you
down that old hunter’s road, looks like Jason got away, so you might be in more
danger trying to leave. He’s killed people out there before. So, keep the
windows up, doors locked, engine running. Don’t panic or do anything stupid.
Wait for me and I’ll tell you where to go.”
Titus nodded dumbly and started rolling up the
window as a few people approached Cooper.
“Excuse me, deputy, my friend went over there a
minute ago, right before the gun shots, is he ok?”
“How the fuck should I know? I’m asshole deep in
mud trying to move a fucking car! Get your asses back to town, before I arrest
you!”
“What about our friend?”
“He’ll be properly arrested. Fuck off.”
Benny, who was still standing outside the car
looking around, saw him a split second before all hell broke loose; out of
nowhere Jason rose up behind the people talking to Cooper and punched through a
man’s chest. Cooper was sprayed with blood. The woman beside the dead man tried
to run, but Jason jammed his fingers into her eye sockets and swung her at
Cooper as he dived for his rifle that had fallen in the mud. The force of her
body knocked the wind out of him, slamming him against the side of the car.
All the kids inside the car began screaming. Titus
tried to go from Park to Drive, but only hit Neutral and started gunning the
engine, screaming at the car to move. Benny could see the assault rifle and ran
for it as Jason grabbed Cooper by one arm and a fistful of belly fat. Michelle
screamed at Titus that he was in neutral, but Jason slammed Cooper on the hood
and then smashed him into the windshield. Benny aimed the rifle and pulled the
trigger, but nothing happened. He was inexperienced with guns and started
looking for the safety.
Titus tried to crawl out of the door, but Jason had
seen Benny and was coming for him. On his way, he kicked the door with incredible
power, slamming it against Titus, shattering several ribs. Benny tried to swing
the rifle like a club, but Jason caught it easily and yanked it from his hands
before swinging it himself, caving the side of Benny’s head in.
Behind him, people were screaming. Jason spun
around to see who would die next and felt his own machete sink into the side of
his neck. He grabbed the blade and tried to pull, but Michelle had both hands
on the handle and was trying to yank it back.
“Michelle! Get down!”
Over Jason’s shoulder, she could see Megan taking
aim. She let go of the machete and hit the ground. Machine gun fire rocked the
night and with the lights from the Huron and helicopter so brightly shining on
them, it became sensory overload for Michelle as she tried to crawl away, but
she was temporarily blinded and had lost her sense of direction and wound up
with Titus gasping for air in her face.
Megan emptied her clip into Jason, ejected it and
loaded a fresh one, as she had practiced dozens, if not hundreds of times.
Rotted chunks of flesh had flown off Jason, but he was still on his feet. He
staggered left and right and reached up for the machete, which is when Megan
opened fire again, this time knocking him off his feet.
The remaining eight people who hadn’t or hadn’t
been able to flee emerged from behind their cars and slowly approached for a
closer look. Cooper coughed up blood and rolled off the hood and fell on his
hands and knees in front of Gabby’s car. Etchison pulled the Huron around
beside Megan and rolled down the window, looking back at Jason. Michelle
cradled Titus’s head to keep his face out of the mud. Megan watched everything.
“Megan…”
“I know.”
“I hate to be cold about this, but I think we
should grab Michelle and Cooper and cut our losses. Everyone knows better than
to be here…”
“I know. Shit. Get Coop and tell Michelle to follow
you. I’ll cover you.”
Etchison climbed down with his rifle, leaving the
door open. Megan had her right foot firmly planted behind her, barrel aimed
straight at Jason, and finger slightly squeezing the trigger, waiting for even
the slightest movement. The rain had slowed to a drizzle. People were inching
closer and closer, snapping pics with their phones. Etchison waved at them to
get back, but only two complied. Cooper was pulling himself up when he saw
Michelle looking up at him.
“Go to your mom,” he whispered.
“I don’t think I can move Titus.”
Etchison took Cooper by the arm.
“I can walk, get the kid…”
Again, Etchison waved for the people to get back,
but they continued snapping pics and videoing. He handed the rifle to Michelle.
“Careful, it’s ready to rock. Just point it at him
and pull the trigger if he moves.”
She nodded, mimicking her mom’s stance. Etchison
stooped down and lifted Titus to his feet. The kid coughed blood, leaning all
his weight against the deputy. Cooper staggered past them, drawing his pistol.
Michelle waited to move until Etchison and Titus passed then she moved
sideways, covering them.
Megan whispered, “Good girl, don’t stop.”
As expected, Jason sat up, but as Megan began
firing he flung the machete from his neck and through Etchison’s arm and
Titus’s back. Michelle fired, but the AR-15 had a greater kick than the smaller
single shot rifles she was used to firing, and her shots went wild, strafing Jason’s
back as he got to his feet. Megan yelled for her to run between controlled
bursts of fire, which Jason just shrugged off as he decided who was next.
Etchison staggered toward Megan with his arm
hanging on by only a bit of fabric, he was losing a lot of blood very quickly.
Cooper hooked his arm around his waist and started walking him to the Huron
while blasting Jason with his pistol. The onlookers were scattering into the
trees and Megan quickly lost sight of them. Michelle had stopped moving when Titus
died and Megan could see she was picking her shots. Jason kept looking back and
forth between them, standing his ground as the rounds punched fresh holes
through his torso. Megan got off a headshot that blasted away a chunk of hockey
mask over his left eye.
That was it, Jason charged Michelle. Michelle
emptied her clip and ran towards Megan who was loading a fresh clip. Cooper let
Etchison go and moved to get between Jason and Michelle. He leveled his pistol
at Jason, aiming for his left eye. Michelle passed behind him while Jason came
right at him, ignoring Megan’s gunfire. Cooper fired, striking the cheek of the
hockey mask, and the next instant, Jason’s fist went through his chest.
Megan dropped her spent rifle and pulled her side
arm.
“Hey, maggot head, over here!”
But Jason ignored her, flung Cooper to the side and
kept after Michelle.
Michelle looked back and saw him gaining on her.
She pivoted to the left and turned him away from the Huron, running back toward
Titus. Without stopping she grabbed the machete.
“Michelle! No!”
Michelle could hear his thudding footsteps getting
closer and closer. Michelle spun, with everything she had, and sank the blade
into the side of his head, knocking off the hockey mask. Jason staggered to the
side and went down to one knee. Michelle started to run, but saw an opening and
kicked the machete deeper into his skull, knocking Jason to his side. She
backed away as Jason got back to his feet, pulling the machete out.
He was feeling tired again. They were hurting him…ma…ma…
Kill them, Jason…kill them all…
Black goo oozed down his face. Shards of shoulder
blade exploded out his back. Megan advanced on him, picking her shots
carefully. Michelle kept backing away. Rotted meat began to stretch and stitch
itself back together. Megan was close, but Michelle was closer. Michelle
glanced at her mom and Jason broke at a run towards her. She ran toward the
cabins. Megan ran for the Huron.
Michelle’s lungs were on fire and she was seeing
black spots as her head pounded. He was going to catch her. It was
inevitable…Then she heard the Huron’s engine roar.
23
Jason almost had heard as the Huron bared down on
him, he turned as it struck him, cracking many bones in the process. He pulled
himself up on the grill, locking eyes with Megan. She smashed him through one
the cabins, putting the pedal to the floor. He reached for her, trying to free
clothes and ribs that got stuck on the truck grill. Megan drove the Huron at
top speed, aiming for the dock. Jason looked back and saw where they were
headed and desperately tried to pull himself loose.
The wooden dock cracked and moaned as the truck hit
it, with parts of it collapsing in the wake of the truck.
Megan screamed, “FUCK YOU!” as they went off the
tip of the dock, plunging into the inky, black water. The spotlights on top
burned all the way to the bottom and she was able to watch Jason get crushed
and pinned under the weight of the truck, as the cab began to flood.
“Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you..! Get up now,
fucker!”
He reached and pushed and pounded desperately
before the rage finally went out in his eyes and he became still.
The truck was ass up, leaning partially on the
collapsed dock that had sunk behind them. Megan swam out the window, heading
for the spotlight shining down from above. She floated up, kicking her feet and
watching Jason until he was too deep to see.
24
Michelle had collapsed on the beach, sobbing
loudly, calling for her mom. Jennifer fell to her knees beside Michelle and put
her arms around her.
“I’m so sorry…”
“Oh…fuck you…” but Michelle hugged her back anyway.
Megan came to the surface, gasping for breath and
Michelle and Jennifer ran into the water to help pull her out and they all fell
in the sand.
The helicopter landed behind them and Rick Cologne
stepped out and called for them to move their asses. Once they were aboard, the
helicopter rose straight up to avoid trees and then swept over the carnage
below, over Cunningham Road, and on back to town.
Roll credit.
First up: Tim Burton's 1999 film SLEEPY HOLLOW. I was lucky enough to catch this in the theater and you could never have prepared me for how deeply I would fall for with this love letter to the Hammer films of yore. In fact, it immediately shot to the top of my own list of favorite Burton flicks (pushing previous No.1 title holder
Third and last up: I mean, come on now. It's GOTTA be John Carpenter's seminal 1978 slasher HALLOWEEN. This is a perfect movie; any and all arguments end there for me. What the greatest living director of horror films (and the greatest of all time, in this writer's opinion) did with this flick flat-out changed the game. There's definitely a case to be made that he was building upon the work that other films before him had laid out previously, almost as a roadmap leading Carpenter to creating this masterpiece (films such as PEEPING TOM, PSYCHO, and BLACK CHRISTMAS come immediately to mind) -- but it's HOW he did it that makes this movie remain ridiculously effective almost 40 goddamned years later. The simple yet insistently chilling score from Carpenter himself. The iconic Shape and his mask. The original Final Girl we all fell in love with, the one we rooted and were terrified for, Laurie Strode (played so memorably by soon-to-be-Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis). The way Michael Myers seemed to be fucking EVERYWHERE, ready to step out of any shadow, stand up from behind any object, and the steady, unstoppable intent of his approach when he was coming directly for you. This film is John Carpenter declaring "Pay attention -- there's a new sheriff in town, everyone." And all of us did. The master is just that phenomenal.
