The question of when the next Texas Chainsaw Massacre getting a slew of sequels, remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, and spinoffs as long as these projects prove profitable.
However, if producers took a moment to think about what viewers wanted from a new addition to their favorite slasher series, fans would likely receive far fewer critically derided sequels like 1985’s hastily produced Nightmare On Elm Street: Freddy’s Revenge. This would, ittedly, mean less money for producers and studios. However, it would also mean better (and fewer) movies in beloved slasher franchises and could result in fans being less likely to avoid remakes, reboots, and sequels out of a knee-jerk aversion to what is often perceived (not entirely inaccurately) as cynical cash grabs.
Ever since 2009’s Friday the 13th remake performed well at the box office but failed to impress critics, the franchise’s next remake/reboot/sequel has been trapped in Development Hell due to issues regarding the rights. However, what few fans appear to have asked is not what form the next Friday the 13th project will take, but rather whether it needs to happen at all. There are twelve Friday the 13th movies currently, with the first ten being installments in the franchise, the eleventh being Freddy Vs Jason, a franchise crossover, and the most recent being 2009's remake. With this in mind, it is fair to ask whether there is an original way to revive the franchise, or if the efforts and funds required would be better spent elsewhere.
The Case For A New Friday the 13th Movie
The iconic slasher franchise has been dormant since 2009 and, since Jason Voorhees is as beloved as Michael Myers, many fans want him to receive the Halloween 2018 treatment. The argument is that everyone from Leatherface to Ghostface, to Michael Myers, to Chucky have all now received a re-quel wherein their villain is re-envisioned, their earlier movie’s familiar plot beats are remixed and subverted, and the original Final Girls arrive to reprise their fan-adored roles. However, the question of whether the Halloween 2018 approach works for Friday the 13th is one that not a lot of fans have interrogated, and the answer may not be one that lovers of the series will be eager to hear.
Why A Friday the 13th Requel Could Be A Bad Idea
WhileSally Hardesty in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 did not have the same appeal because the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s heroine was not a traditional Final Girl. This would be an even bigger issue with Friday the 13th, whose original Final Girl Alice barely met Jason before being killed and whose replacements were mostly interchangeable, long-forgotten heroines of standalone sequels. However, this is not the only issue with another Friday the 13th franchise addition.
Meta Slashers Are Back (But Not Standard Slasher Movies)
The success of There’s Someone Inside Your House’s failures.
How A Friday the 13th Franchise Revival Could Still Work
The trick to getting a Friday the 13th sequel right would be to abandon everything that works about the series. While this sounds counter-intuitive, it has proven to be a successful strategy for earlier slasher reboots. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 failed precisely because the sequel stuck too close to the formula of earlier Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise installments, keeping the original movie’s anti-gentrification satire, half-heartedly attempting to humanize Leatherface again, and including increasingly absurd amounts of gore. The equivalent for Friday the 13th would be another remake/reboot hybrid that featured both Ms. Voorhees and Jason but didn't explain this plothole (like 2009's remake), didn't redesign the franchise's killer, and brought back characters from earlier installments for nostalgia. In contrast, Scream 2022 dropped the franchise’s obsession with Sidney and was far stronger for this decision, earning some of the best reviews since the original 1996 movie by offering something authentically new for viewers.
As much as Friday the 13th fans say they want a simple slasher story like the original sequels, the divided reception of 2009’s remake proves this is not the whole story. 2009’s Friday the 13th was a distillation of everything that makes the original movies in the series work and it still was not liked by a lot of the fandom, proving that a sequel to the series needs to change things up somewhat. As such, adding an ambitious meta edge like the Fear Street series did could be a solid start for a Friday the 13th sequel/reboot/re-quel that wants to prove the franchise still has something interesting to offer new viewers in 2022.
