Believe it or not, Friday the 13th became a huge success not soley on the merits of directing and gore alone, but the music had a huge part in the success as well. Harry Manfredini’s bass and violin sounds were crucial in creating the atmosphere needed to sell certain scenes. My all time favorite tense scene uses Harry’s music beautifully while Joseph Zito slowly pans the camera to the inevitable discovery of Doug hanging in the bathroom. You know Doug is dead, you know that Trish is going to find him, but the panning camera shot coupled with the brilliant score creates a level of anticipation that is far more terrifying than the body itself.

I completely lose myself in that moment and from their on out I am on the edge of my seat until the conclusion of the movie. If you can think through the franchise and picture certain scenes that frightened you most, which scenes truly scared you with the use of the musical score? And yes, there are a few of those scenes out there later in the series as well!

Remember, check out our ever growing, comprehensive list of the conventions going on this year to make sure you do not miss out on seeing your favorite actor from the franchise!

Rare hydro cal/plaster face cast of Kane Hodder from Jason X. This is a 100% authentic face cast of Kane Hodders face when he was in makeup on set of Jason X. The only other one in existence was sold by me and was pulled from silicone …I was keeping this for myself but hard times have hit and it must go. It came from a friend who works with the special effects company here in Toronto that is responsible for the makeup of Kane and the special fx on the movie which was filmed here.

She has not changed a bit since she helped create a horror franchise 30 years ago. She is beautiful! Check out her photos below and if you are interested in getting an autograph from her, please email Chris at the following email, clcarbaugh at comcast.net. Also, fans should really try to attend these conventions if they are in or near your city of residence. Review our list of horror conventions for 2010. It’s a great time to be had when meeting the people you grew up watching when you were younger!

A big thanks to Chris and Stacy for the photos. It is much appreciated guys!

The screening of Part 3 will be held May 24th at the Cinefamily at 8PM. Tickets are $14. So, if you live in or near the Los Angelas area, find out more information and buy tickets by clicking on the banner below. Enjoy and have fun hanging out with Larry and Doug Benson during what I am sure will be a crazy hour and a half of fun. Thanks to Larry for letting us know about the screening!

The creators just recently finalized two new characters for the game, Candyman and Undead Jason. Here is what they have to say about the newest Jason character:

Jason will be more based upon his strength, powerful attacks and ability to heal and endure from hits. No double mode for him yet. His attacks will feature many other weapons than the machete.

So, there you have it, more progress on one of the most popular fan games out there. For more information, check out the Terrordrome website and for pics of the newest Jason check him out below.

Back in the 80’s when I first watched this movie, I never knew that so many people from the Friday the 13th franchise were involved in making this movie. One major player in the franchise would not even be a part of the Friday series until after House was released in theaters. If you do not know about everyone that was involved in making this movie, then you are in for a treat.

House was produced by Friday the 13th 1980 director Sean Cunningham and directed by Friday the 13th Part 2 and Part 3 director Steve Miner. Harry Manfredini also joins his Friday buds to help score House. His music is easily recognizable and has a distinct blend of his older music from Friday the 13th with a pinch of Swamp Thing and the beginnings of his more recent synthesizer heavy scores that we have come accustomed to in Jason Goes To Hell and Jason X.

There are a number of actors that make appearances in House. Two actors that were in previous Friday the 13th movies and one that would appear much later in the series. In House, Steve Susskind (Harold Part 3) plays Frank McGraw, William Kats’ agent/publicist. Ron Carroll (Sgt. Tierny, Friday the 13th 1980) plays a Policeman/Detective. Finally, in a very small role, Steven Williams (Creighton Duke Jason Goes To Hell) plays a policeman that is called to, what else, the House.

The last two crew members, for me, are the most intriguing of the entire crew. Dan Bradley performed stunts for the movie and took direction from the film’s Stunt Coordinator, Kane Hodder. Dan Bradley would play Jason in the paintball scene in Jason Lives the same year that House was released in theaters. Kane Hodder, of course would go on to play Jason two years after House in Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood.

I don’t think there is another movie made that contains so many Friday the 13th alumn on one crew. So, if you have never seen House or have not viewed the movie in a long time, I would log into NetFlix or Blockbuster and revisit a true horror classic.

I do know of a sculpt and paint job that will rival and possibly be better than this bust. Details on that will be showing up here at the website soon. So, look out for that. In the mean time, check out pics of this amazing Ryan Bean sculpted bust below that was painted by Travis at Night Owl.

He can be found at a number of conventions throughout the year and he mentioned this past weekend at Monster Mania that he will be at Camp Blood: Friday the 30th reunion in August. Check out some of his Jason portraitures below and to see more of Jason Voorhees and other horror characters, check out his website at www.artpusher.net.

Remember, if you have something that you would be interested in seeing, please put a comment. If you want, send an email as well. I will see if I have the item and feature at some point in the future.

In the middle of the shirt, there is a slight color variation between the poster and the shirt, mainly on the Jason and Alice characters. This is probably due to the simple differences of material the art design was printed on. It still looks great and am sure everyone will be proud to own these items. My camera is pretty grainy, so my pictures are not the best, but still check out the pictures below and see the poster in the last picture.

Walter explained in great detail his work in Tales From The Crypt: Demon Night as well as his role of Dr. Satan in House of 1000 Corpses. His stories of Rob Zombie on set as well as working with Billy Zane were spectacular. For me, that’s what makes the conventions the most fun, which is learning about the making of movies and what the actors experiences were during the production. I know many other fans love to collect autographs and get pictures with the actors. So, what are your experiences at conventions? If you have not attended before what do think to expect in such a unique atmosphere?

1. New Contest To Get Those Competitive Juices Flowing Again
2. Two Special Interviews That Offer A Unique Perspective On The Saga
3. New, Huge Update For The Camp Blood: Friday the 30th Reunion
4. News On The Brand New Sideshow Collectible Jason Statue

Check back often for all this and more this Spring. Remember, as the seasons change, Jason it out there, waiting!

There is a very impressive list of horror genre veterans in attendance, but since we are a Friday the 13th website, we will list the relevant actors and crew from the franchise. In attendance will be Kane Hodder, Tom Mathews (Tommy, Jason Lives), Jeannine Taylor (Marcie, Friday the 13th 1980) and Chris Carnel (Stunt Coordinator, Friday the 13th 2009).

Now, Tom Mathews is not listed as showing up at many conventions this year, so this would be an awesome opportunity to meet the last Tommy Jarvis. Also, This is believed to be Jeaninne Taylor’s first convention ever! Check out MonsterMania’s website to see all of the guests and events and if you go, let us know about your experiences so fans that cannot attend get a feeling of what it is like to be at these type of venues.

The first two friday the 13th movies were released in a very thick and sturdy package upon their intitial release on home video. Instead of just a cardboard sleeve, the box would fold open from the face to reveal the cassette inside. From there, the cassette would slide out sideways towards the middle of the box. This packaging was used briefly in the late 70’s and early 80’s and is a true rarity to find nowadays. I actually think they should have kept the packaging throughout the run of VHS as it protects the cassette better than just the cardboard sleeve. (Note: I had to use a picture of my Part 1 Beta tape as my version of the VHS is packed away)

From what I can tell, there were three printings of the Friday the 13th movies on VHS. There was the initial printing when the movie was first released onto home video. Then, there was a reprinting of the first five movies in 1988. Lastly, in 1994 all of the original eight Paramount movies were reprinted once again. The 1988 reprinting only shows in a few subtle changes to the box cover and VHS cassette, but the 1994 reprinting was cheaply done with the help of Gateway and in Extended Play. Ouch!

There are two ways to determine if the VHS you own of Friday the 13th Part 1 through Part 5 are first or second printings. One way to tell the difference is by the Paramount logo used on the cover. The other way is to look at the copyright date either on the cover or on the label that is located on the VHS cassette.

As you can see the the first run of VHS cassettes for these five movies had Paramount Home Video spelled out on the VHS cover and on the label of the VHS cassette. As for the date, the example above of The Final Chapter shows the year 1988 on the label which signifies a second run production. The picture below the zoomed in image is of the first printing of the VHS and shows the date 1984.

For the third printing of the films in 1994, Gateway partnered with Paramount to release horrendously cheap VHS products. Not only did the VHS cassette itself not have the usual label on it (the movie title and information were printed directly on the cassette), but the film was recorded on Extended Play. For those that do not know what this means, it is like compressing a file down to almost nothing as to save storage space. In the case of the VHS, this was done so not as much tape was needed inside the cassette casing. This was another way to create a cheap product and cheapen the viewing experience as well.

Spotting these productions were quite easy. You could tell just by the weight of the VHS itself. It was very, very light compared to the old printings of the movies. Also, you could check the date on the cover, which would read 1994, or look on the back cover and you would see the red Gateway symbol at the very top.

UPDATE: I forgot that there was a fourth printing of these movies in 2002. Unbeleivable that Paramount was still churning out VHS in 2002. The cover art follows the samedesigns from the DVD’s that were released before the Box Set, From Crystal Lake to Manhattan”.

Now that the inner geek of jasonsfury has been channeled, I hope for those of you that grew up during the era of the VHS, you can perhaps be taken back to a greater time in life. Maybe you learned something new about VHS and the Friday the 13th franchise you did not know before. If you still have those old cassettes, take them out and do a little investigating to see what print run of VHS you own in your collection!