Friday the 13th Archives - Cemetery Dance Online

Review: Sackhead – The Definitive Retrospective on Friday the 13th Part 2 by R.G. Henning

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 13, 2023October 12, 2023ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2, R.G. Henning, Reviews, Sackhead1 Comment

cover of Sackhead Sackhead: The Definitive Retrospective on Friday the 13th Part 2 by R.G. Henning
Independently Published (January 2023)
277 pages; $18.99 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Despite the legal entanglements that have stunted the growth of the Friday the 13th series for years, the popularity of the movies, and Jason Voorhees in particular, continues to grow. Friday fans are bombarded now with more t-shirts, soundtrack releases, action figures and merchandise than was ever available when new movies were being made. The series has seen its share of making-of books as well, including a couple on the first movie (Making Friday the 13th and On Location in Blairstown), plus a massive series-spanning tome called Crystal Lake Memories that stands as one of the best behind-the-scenes books ever devoted to a film franchise, if not the best.Continue Reading

Video Visions: Why Slashers?

Cemetery Dance OnlineApril 12, 2019April 4, 2019Video VisionsA Nightmare on Elm Street, April Fool's Day, Black Christmas, Columns, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Hunter Shea, Last House on the Left, Psycho, The Burning, The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Video VisionsLeave a comment

Any horror fan who grew their first pubic hairs during the golden age of the genre in the ’80s has a special place in their cold, dead hearts for slasher movies. How could we not? We were surrounded by game changing flicks like Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (a VHS darling in my neck of the woods), and A Nightmare on Elm Street. And then there were the likes of Maniac, The Burning, Madman, My Bloody Valentine, Prom Night and so many others, good and very, very bad. It seemed like every month there was a new villain hacking his way through scores of pot smoking, beer swilling, hormone raging teens and twenty-somethings. Continue Reading

If Books Could Kill: Jason Voorhees in Print

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 13, 2018July 13, 2018EssaysBlack Flame Publishing, Blu Gilliand, Crystal Lake Memories, David Grove, Essays, Friday the 13th, Jason Voorhees, Peter M. Bracke, Simon HawkeLeave a comment

If Books Could Kill: Jason Voorhees in Print

Somewhere along the way, Friday the 13^th got a new mascot. Instead of an unlucky black cat — back arched, fur standing on end, claws bared, hissing — the official symbol of this unofficial holiday became a mute serial killer in a hockey mask.

His name is Jason, and today is HIS day. Today, you won’t be able to look at social media without seeing his masked mug on every other post. There will be lists about his best kills, and debates about who is the best “Final Girl” (it’s Ginny, from Part 2), and arguments over which is his best movie (it’s The Final Chapter).

Here at Cemetery Dance, we love movies, but we live for books. So on this, the last Friday the 13th of 2018, I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at the Jason Voorhees story as it has played out in print. As you’ll see, the authors who have tackled the character of Jason Voorhees over the years have taken him on a ride as wild — and wildly uneven — as the film franchise itself.Continue Reading

If Books Could Kill: Jason Voorhees in Print

FREE email updates!

Categories