This article contains major spoilers for “Crystal Lake”.
The “Friday the 13th” franchise is finally back. “Crystal Lake” is a new prequel series centering on Pamela Voorhees and Jason Voorhees, the boy who eventually becomes the machete-wielding slasher killer that fans like me love. The Peacock series is taking some crazy turns, with one particular twist changing everything we know about Jason. Now, showrunner Brad Caleb Kane has come out of the woodwork to defend this twist.
The series follows single mother Pam Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) after Jason drowns at Camp Crystal Lake. Without going into detail, we eventually meet Jason’s father, Elias (Hamish Linklater), who works for a mysterious company called Bellflower. Jason Voorhees’ big twist in “Crystal Lake” is bound to leave many “Friday the 13th” fans furious, as Elias used him to see if humans could survive nuclear war by infusing him with cockroach DNA (or at least giving him cockroach-like qualities somehow). Yes, Jason now appears to be canonically a human/cockroach mutant.
Speaking to Dread Central, Kane confidently defended his decision to explain Jason’s unique abilities in this cockroach case. Here’s what he had to say about it:
“It’s important to understand that this is not science fiction. This is scientific fact. In this case, it’s not the government that’s doing all of this. It’s the corporations. It’s the corporations that are working to extract pharmaceutical gains and all that kind of stuff…I just applied it to the Jason Voorhees origin story. It seemed like a very natural place to go with that.”
It’s worth remembering that the “Friday the 13th” TV show lost showrunner Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal”) in May 2024. What he had in mind remains largely a mystery, but A24 and Peacock instead chose to follow Kane’s resilient “Jason is a half-human, half-cockroach” plan.
Crystal Lake showrunner knows Jason’s big twist will be divisive
The main goal of this series is to help fill in the gaps in our understanding of this 46-year-old horror series. We have a much better understanding of Pamela Voorhees, who was revealed to be the killer in the original film. “Crystal Lake” even explains the origin of Jason Voorhees’ machete. But we’ve always wondered why Jason is essentially immortal.
Later entries, notably 1986’s “Jason Lives”, took the supernatural route in trying to explain it. For his part, Brad Caleb Kane affirms that his explanation is a little more founded. He is also aware that this will draw the ire of fans. Speaking further, Kane explained that he was ready to take the pressure:
“I know some fans will pull out their machetes because they like Jason to be revenant, mysterious, supernatural. I’ll give them that, and that’s fine. I’ll take the slings and arrows. I took a hit, but I didn’t send him to hell. I didn’t send him into space. I didn’t pit him against Carrie White – all the things people have done on this show. I took a much more grounded move.”
Carrie White is the telekinetic protagonist of Stephen King’s “Carrie,” and a character named Tina in “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” essentially served as a replacement for Carrie with a different name, using her superpowers to fight Jason. Kane’s point is that this series hasn’t been afraid to make crazy decisions. “Jason X” for example sent him into space. Still, the cockroach problem is a tough pill to swallow, despite Kane’s explanations.
Jason Voorhees is arguably the greatest horror slasher of them all. He is loved and enduring. This show completely reframes our understanding of him, for better or worse. Regardless, the man behind this decision remains steadfast.
“Crystal Lake” is now streaming on Peacock.
Gn entert
