Crystal Lake

Screened on Peacock

🪓 While not the first Friday the 13th television series, Peacock and A24's Crystal Lake is the first to focus on the stories of the films, mainly the subjects of the first and original: Pamela Voorhees and her son Jason. While I entered this with much caution, as most fans have wisely done, I'm both relieved and thrilled to say that for what it is, on its own terms, while simultaneously rooted deeply in the original lore, I think most will find it both fun and entertaining. Even the hardcore and skeptical fans of the franchise should find a fair amount to appreciate.

No question, there's definitely filler at times - I bet most casual viewers of the original films find them to be lacking in story, understandably - but overall it’s more solid than I expected. Good performances, especially Linda Cardellini 🔪 (Freaks & Geeks, DTF STL) of course, good new characters, and it strikes the right balance between the campiness (pun intended) of the films, and what was needed to stretch it to a series in a way that was plausible enough - without going too overboard. Thank goodness they didn't go the feared route of Jason being some government cyborg in space or something silly like that - it would have lost me way more than Jason X (as fun a film as it is). Where they do take it, however, COMPLETELY tracks, in a way that I think multiple generations can understand and relate to.

I’ll have to give it a few watches to solidify the details of what I liked but generally it worked for me. Still, I can also confidently say I don't want a season 2 - at least not like this. While I had no desire for an origin story in the first place, I accepted it was inevitable (especially for a mini-series!) and just wanted to ENJOY being in this world again in some form. I think for most, if they go in it for a good, silly fun time - as the films always intended - that’s what you’ll get. Don't expect quality like you would with say Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, or shows like that. Why anyone would expect some profound brilliance now, from a series of nearly 13 films that really are what Roger Ebert called "dead teenager films," I will never understand. A24 was of course going to attempt to ELEVATE the franchise here, but thankfully it didn't go too far in that regard, and they balanced it with qualities that fans expected, while bringing in new fans who needed a bit more meat on the bone. An overall fun experience, if you're open to one.🩸