The Diner was called Hastings Mill Restaurant and is located at 156 West Hastings Street. Not too surprisingly, the scene was shot in a diner in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. In fact, it’s worth noting that most of the alley scenes, the rooftop boxing match and the diner scene were all shot on one city block. That fact is simply amazing to find out. First, we’ll take our visitors through the documents we used to find the Diner shooting location and then show you current day photos of the building.

Below are the Call Sheets for day 10 of shooting for the Diner which includes a hand drawn map of the location of the Diner. The Diner is circled in red.

We had a hard time locating exterior or interior photos of the diner from that time. The Diner is no longer in business, but below are photos that are as recent as 2024.  The first photo is a wide shot of the block the old Diner is located on. In that photo the old Diner is the building to the left. The building to the right is actually the Vancouver School of Film! The two photos below are closeups of the old Diner.

So now we know of yet another filming location of the franchise. If you live in Canada or fancy a trip across the border from the U.S. and want to make a little trip to see series history, it is suggested to go see this area soon. There are more locations in Vancouver that the Manhattan crew used for the film. Some include a research facility and a ship yard.

…….And also, there may have been a third actor to portray Jason in Part 8!

For those fans that search out shooting locations for the Friday the 13th series, here is another location for you to add to your list. Search the rave scene on google maps: 13476 40th Ave Surrey, Canada. Big thanks to Mario for sharing these documents with us!

Robert mentions that the diner has not changed much since 1985 and I am inclined to agree. Using the images he posted, I was able to find the location of the diner. The Diner is located at: 30354 Mulholland Hwy, Cornell, CA 91301. Check out the pics below and make sure to visit Robert’s blog where he visits shooting locations for all sorts of films!

I started out to the Stockton Fire Dept, where the original 1934 Chevy Firetruck resided in 2024. The truck as most of you know can be seen at the end of the film when they are putting out the fire of the main house. The firetruck now resides at Stockton Gas right down the road. It is behind the rustic old Gas Station down in the woods (rusting). The truck is now owned by a Mr. Lee that owns Stockton Propane Gas. He will let you look at the truck but only during business hours 9 to 4:30. So call before you go. If you don’t go up to the door of the business which looks closed down and ask to see it before going back. (Note: there is no fences, no gates and no no trespassing signs.) It would appear that you could just drive down the dirt road to it, but do not, this is how I almost got shot (for real). I got as far as to see the truck and my wife said there it is, as I was screamed at to halt. The neighbor and I’m guessing employee guards the road and is told to shot first and ask questions later. Luckily I was going slow and had kids in the car. I explained to the man why I was there and told him I meant no harm after that he was nicer than nice, but detoured me to Mr. Lee’s house. which is down the road a ways.

I pull up at Mr. Lees house, which is one of the coolest old men I have ever met. Mr. Lee looks like a mixture of Waylon Jennings and Burt Reynold’s before all the face lift and plastic surgery. He walks out of his garage nicely dressed with a huge Mr. T style gold medallion and necklace. He has tons of old cars behind the house, mostly old Cadillacs and a pretty new Cadillac Limo in his driveway, what for in the middle of no where I have no idea. But this guy was a country pimp. I humbly walk up to this man and say, “Hello Sir.” “Are you Mr. Lee?” He answers back, “What’s left ov’ him, who’s asking?” Like out of a movie or something. I extend my hand to shake his hand and he just stares me down. I am thinking to myself at this point, this is a no go. The man asked me next what I am doing there and who sent me. I tell him his employee and that I am a fan of Friday The 13th and he was “neighborly like” as they say after that. He told me that if I come to the office during business hours, he will be more than happy to show it to me and let me take some pics. I will be going back tomorrow and will update after I get some pictures. He also told me that the two fireman/ EMT’s in the film were Burns or could be Mr. Henry P Barns and Mr. Seals (A.K.A. Uncle Seals). They were both real firemen real Stockton Firemen. Barns moved to North Alabama and is still a fireman. Seals retired an lives at a retirement home in around the area in Baldwin County.

Below is a link to my facebook album where I am uploading photos of the visits. I made it to the main filming location at Byrnes Lake off of 225 in Baldwin County Al. It is right of 65 north of Mobile Al. The location is a public camping/fishing area with a boat launch and the small pier that was beside the bigger pier that was torn down by telekinesis in the beginning of the film still stands. The place where the main house was is flooded and grown up, the big house was blown up and destroyed as yo now in the film. The party house was also a “Shell House” and was moved to another unknown location, which I am looking for. That area is cleared and is partly accessible. There is a ton of trails and paths in the woods for hiking which looks to be were they filmed the woods scenes. This is a great location still to have a picnic or fish so it serves more than one purpose and can be enjoyed all day or camp out all weekend.

I went back out today and got some pictures with the firetruck, pier and tried to see if I could make out where the main house was. It is clear as day where the party house was cause there is pavement there. The place where the main house was is like marsh land now. I put on some boots and went out there to see If I could get some good shots of where it might be but it is all marshy and grown up could be any woods.

The little pier is exactly the same, exept repairs have been made for safety. The road leading in has been paved up to the actually landing, but you can still tell it is the place. There is a big clearing right before that would make an excellent campgrounds. If that area was there I can tell why they used this location, it would be perfect for trailers, camp and production crew area, being close by, but still hide from the houses and lake.

I am still looking for the party house because I am told it is near by somewhere and the shell was moved. I assume the shed out in the woods was somewhere else or torn down. I have video of everything coming soon.

I dislike gore and startling suspense so I didn’t rush out to the theatre.  I did see the movie when it came out on video. I also taped an edited version shown on TV so I could show my kids some of the movie.  (They are adults now and I assume that they have seen the uncut video.) 

The stunt coordinator was another crew member who was an especially nice guy.  He was generous with “how-it’s-done”  information and let my son (6^th grade at the time) “help” a little.  I remember my son carrying buckets of fake blood one day.

One day I’ll gather my family and we’ll look at our scrapbook from the film and share memories.  I’m sure they remember events and people I’ve forgotten. 

I was pleased to speak with Jason about the filming.  He approached me with respect in a friendly, business-like manner.  His courtesy and patience earned my trust so I was willing to share some of my experience with him.  Jason is welcome to visit next time he’s in Southern California.  I’ll send him home with a little souvenir from the shoot.

Cathryn

The next step was the actual shooting of the movie. We will explore the film shoot as it pertains to Cathryn’s experiences. She explains the difficulty of security, nosey neighbors, views of her property from afar during filming, and her memories of the cast and crew! She was even present during a number of the special effects set-ups and shared her thoughts on that as well.

One thing that was not counted on was that the crew actually set up their own workshop on-site, and used it to make set elements for the other locations; something that Cathryn was not aware was going to happen. Again, for the production, this all made sense, but it was a preview of what Cathryn would come to deal with during the shoot.

SHOOTING THE LOCATION

Memories of the Cast and Crew

During the one month shoot, Cathryn met all of the cast and crew that was on the film. She admits that although she did meet everyone that was a part of the production, she really doesn’t remember much about the actors or the crew at this point. A member of the cast that she does remember is Shavar Ross. Cathryn remembered that he was very nice and and down to earth. His mother and brother were often on set and, in fact, Shavar’s brother acted as his stunt double in certain scenes!

One thing that was remembered about the crew of the production, collectively, was the grumbling about being hired on for a “low budget” production at a “low budget” salary and later finding out that the film was a Friday the 13th ____ that was sure to make money.

True, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was a low budget movie, however, the box office grosses these movies pulled in were like a major motion picture. Since the movie was given the title, “Repetition” no one knew that the movie they were about to work on would be a major box office success. Once the crew arrived on location, they quickly realized that they were going to be paid lower wages than what they could have negotiated previously. Cathryn does state that the crew, were very professional in their jobs.

On a few occasions, Frank Mancuso Jr. and his sister would visit the Ranch during the shoot. Cathryn did not remember much else about his visit. Interestingly enough, her family has a small connection to the Mancuso’s as her father knew Frank Mancuso Sr. from a time way before he was CEO of Paramount!

The Filming Experience

Part of the negotiations for the use of the Ranch property were that there would be set hours that crew would be able to be on site for filming purposes. However, Cathryn would see crew members and service contractors arriving at all hours – deliveries, pick-ups, even a few crew members who thought it was ok to bring friends or family members to show them the set – on Cathryn’s few days off.

There were also deliveries made to the Ranch during designated “off hours” and no crew members were around, so Cathryn would have to sign for the items. She was paid an additional daily amount for being available on premises. Some funny and scary situations did arise during the filming where neighbors that she didn’t even know would come to her Ranch and tell security that they were friends to gain access to the property. At that time there was no fence around the property so it was a logistical nightmare all around. Cathryn would see these people that she didn’t even know wondering around her property. She served as back-up for security, fire protection, prop house and resource person during the entire three months shoot.

Although, there were the negatives, there were the many positives involved with filming. Cathryn recalls one night of filming where the rain, wind and lightning rigs were in full operation for a scene. From a distance you could see this small patch of weather, a mini storm cell, hovering over her Ranch in the valley. At night, she said it looked quite spectacular. During the filming of some scenes, police would be called to block off portions of the road that surrounded the property. Neighbors were contacted and advised that they might hear “gunshots” from the filming.

Cathryn was in attendance for some of the death scenes in the film and described two scenes in particular. Juniors’ death scene was trimmed, as we all know, however, she recalls that in order to achieve the effect of Junior driving into the meat cleaver, they used a common filming trick. The filmmakers would start the shot with the meat cleaver in Juniors’ neck and then pull the motorcycle backwards at a fast speed. On film, the scene initially looked like Junior started at the decapitation phase, but then just drove backward. In actuality, the film would be run in reverse and show Junior driving his bike towards Roy and into the meat cleaver.

The other effects scene that was remembered was Bob Desimone’s (Billy) axe to the head. Cathryn recalls the fake head held up on a stand before it was needed, but cannot remember if she saw the actual filming of the axe to the head or if she was just told that the fake head was filled with a red gelatinous substance. In the movie, the audience only sees the axe hit the head in a split second and then cut away. The photo below shows what Cathryn describes.

Off Location Shooting
Most people know that the opening dream sequence of the movie was shot in the backyard of Corey Feldman’s house. We know that the Diner scene and the trailer park scene, where Reggie’s brother was staying in his van, were also off location. It was assumed that most all other shooting was conducted at the Ranch. According to Cathryn, there was one time that she recalls that the filmmaking crew left the Ranch to film additional scenes.

The scene where Tina and Eddie had their adult escapades was indeed shot in another location. Cathryn explains that there were not a lot of trees on her property and that certain scenes required it. Tina and Eddie were in a very wooded area. Also, she told me that there was no lake or any other body of water on her property, so the scene where Eddie is squatting by the water and skipping rocks is not located at the Ranch.

STRIKING THE LOCATION
After filming concluded at the Ranch the cleanup then began. Every wall that was repainted, every piece of furniture that was moved, every door and window that was removed, all had to be put back to its original state. It truly was a month long process. As predicted, the crew did leave the loft and shed that was constructed in the barn. In fact, the shed and loft still exist in the barn today. Only recently, did Cathryn have some of the loft reduced in size.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, the film was a draining process on Cathryn’s family. There was a lot to manage, but when I asked her if she would do it again, she said yes. I am sure there were lessons learned and a second go around for a three month production would be a bit smoother. I wondered if the producers ever asked to come back to film the next sequel and I was told that in passing it may have been mentioned, but there were no formal offers.

Cathryn was able to keep some pretty cool items from the production. She currently has a shooting script, a number of behind the scenes photos from during filming, a film strip and some of the prop plates and glasses that are made of candy glass. These were made for the scene where Tommy fights Eddie in the breakfast hall.

Here is one final story to leave you with. Cathryn would periodically cash checks from Terror, Inc. at her local bank. The paying business on the check indeed said Terror, Inc. After a while, a curious teller had to ask what Terror, Inc. was. Imagine telling your bank that you are cashing checks for having Jason Voorhees stalk and kill teenagers at your house! Every fanboys’ dream!

I would like to thank Cathryn for enduring my many emails and for being so gracious for talking to me on the phone for the time she did. Also, thanks must go out to “Germaniac” for finding the location which allowed me to start my conversations with Cathryn.

When Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was released in 1985, there was a lot of interest and also much speculation to what the movie would be about as Jason was effectively killed in the previous movie, The Final Chapter. After its release, fans criticized the movie for the missing component that had resided in the previous films and the one constant in the franchise, Jason Voorhees. And although fans were in an uproar over the new direction that franchise was taking, there was an equal amount of disparity behind the making of the film. Some of which is documented in the Peter Bracke book, Crystal Lake Memories.

With that being said, over the years many fans have grown fond of the film and even began searching out the shooting location of the much maligned film. The shooting location and the secrets it held were one of the last true mysteries left in the franchise. What a treat it would be for fans to finally find the infamous location and see how it changed through the years. Well, one fan, known to many in the Friday the 13th community as Germaniac, indeed found the location and shared its whereabouts with fridaythe13thfilms.com!

After seeing the location on Google Earth, we were happy to learn that the land that once was used for shooting of “A New Beginning” was kept up beautifully. Major buildings used for the movie were still very recognizable. Then, an even greater surprise was revealed to us when we contacted the current owner for an interview. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the current owner of the property was also the owner of the property during the shooting of “A New Beginning” 25 years ago! Cathryn agreed to talk to us and share some of her experiences, but one of the conditions is that we do not display the address of her property or encourage any fan contact for privacy reasons. We, of course, obliged and now we are ready to give you a first hand account of what it was like during the shooting of “A New Beginning”.

Randy Travis chose the ranch for a television film project and Cathryn found him to be both friendly and very much a professional on the set. She also mentioned that Harrison Ford once had a still photo shoot at the ranch and enjoyed picking a few oranges from the ranch orchard to take home.

HOW THE RANCH WAS CHOSEN FOR THE SHOOTING LOCATION
Cathryn remembers when location scouts just dropped in on homeowners when scouting in a neighborhood for a production company. Eventually, after several shoots, she contracted with a Hollywood location agency which sent many projects her way. She also submitted photographs of the ranch to the California Film Commission to include in their scouting notebooks which is where the scout from Terror Inc. found the location. The scout arranged a visit to the ranch, took photos to show the producers, and then brought key members of the production team to the site.

Since the ranch spanned many acres and housed many buildings, it was thought to perfect for filming. The ability to shoot almost the entire movie in one place was very appealing for a timely production and for budgetary concerns.

GETTING IT IN WRITING: HAMMERING OUT THE DETAILS
Cathryn negotiated, herself, with the producers to ensure that every piece of her property was left in its original state. All pieces of her property would be put back in its correct place and intact along with repainting any walls that had been altered for production. Additionally, insurance, on-site fire officer, overtime, specific ranch areas available, and many other details were negotiated. The production company wanted Cathryn’s family to move out of the ranch to a motel at the company’s expense, but that was not acceptable and the family stayed on site for the entire shoot.

The producers worked out a shooting schedule that would include times that the shoot would take place as well when deliveries would arrive during the production. As we found out, these schedules were not always followed. Also, a question that was raised by the producers was something that we would never think of as being a concern. Cathryn was asked if killings portrayed in the story would bother her and if not, would a lot of killings be problematic. At that point, there had been no mention of a Friday the 13th movie – just a “low budget film”. This was kind of humorous, but apparently, very necessary.

The entire endeavor for shooting “A New Beginning” at the ranch spanned 3 months. There was one month to dress the location, one month to shoot, and one month to strike. During the process there were a number of obstacles to overcome. This was the longest production that Cathryn and the ranch have ever dealt with and that is why many details were hammered out before production began.

DRESSING THE LOCATION
During the one month of time the crew had to dress the location, there was much to accomplish.

There was a lot of work that went into the barn to make it ready for filming as it was an integral part of the finale of the movie. For the entrance to the barn, there were three breakaway doors created to serve for filming the scene were Reggie breaks through with the tractor. Each huge door was made from Balsa wood and painted and weathered to exactly match the original doors of the barn. Cathryn mentioned that the reproduced doors looked just like the antique barn door they replaced.

Inside the barn, there was major construction that took place. The tool shed that Pam hides in and eventually pops out of with a chainsaw was made from scratch and was added just for the film. The bigger project involved adding the entire loft in the upper portion of the barn. The loft was necessary to achieve overhead shots of the main entrance to the barn as well as shooting the final confrontation of Roy, Pam, Reggie and Tommy.

In the main house, the entire front window was removed and three sets of breakaway windows were created from scratch. Each window set was made using balsa wood and every pane of glass, 14 in total, was made of “candy” glass. Both materials broke easily and was necessary as the window would need to be broken during the scene when Roy throws Reggie’s grandfather through the window towards the end of the film.

Upstairs, in the main house, Cathryn mentioned that her son’s room was transformed into Violet’s room complete with new purple paint job and posters. Her daughter’s room was dressed to be the room Robin stays in with the bunk bed where she encounters Roy and Jake.

Please read Part 2 of the report as we will explore the film shoot as it pertains to Cathryn’s experiences. She explains the difficulty of security, nosey neighbors, views of her property from afar during filming, her memories of the cast and crew and much more!