Jason Also Known As The Prowler?
By now, many of the fans know that the Jason was played by two people in Part 2, Warrington Gillette and Steve Dash. Their confrontation at a particular convention will live on in infamy as well as their war of words on the message boards. Since then, they have more or less reconciled and moved on. Another point of discussion for Jason in Part 2 is that of The Prowler. Ever since the credits ran at the end of the movie and The Prowler was displayed, many fans have wondered who this character was?
There was much speculation through the 80’s and 90’s and one thing was agreed upon and that was The Prowler was another reference for Jason. If that was the case, why credit the character with a second name? Since the convention circuits grew bigger, actors and crew began to elaborate and then with the release of both Crystal Lake Memories and Making Friday The 13th, most everything became clear. What was already known was that Jerry Wallace was credited as The Prowler, but what scenes did he appear in?
One scene that is known for sure is that he was the hands that shoved the ice pick into Alice’s head and he also took the tea pot off of the burner on the stove when it began to whistle. Other notable shots in the film that were not Gillette, Dash, or Wallace were the numerous shots of Jason’s feet as well the scene where Vicki goes upstairs and finds Sandra and Mark dead. Jason’s rises from the bed with knife in hand and the close up shot of Jason’s hand with the knife is another production crew member.
Friday the 13th Part 2 was truly a callaborative effort in creating the Jason character. That being said, why did Jerry Wallace get screen credit for Jason’s hands and no one else from the crew gain credit for their role in creating Jason?
I’m not sure that the dual crediting was done to delineate some other characters; it’s more likely it was for some contractual or business reason (or just an oversight). However, the character that kills Alice at the beginning of Friday the 13th could easily be someone other than Jason (perhaps his father, Elias?), just because we never see Jason track any other final girls down after their respective films (although one could argue that since Alice killed Jason’s mom, she is unique). Also, how would burlap-sack Jason track Alice down anyway? Another character would explain some things, definitely.
You bring up a good point about the ability of Jason to track down Alice. That has also been very debateable. Some fans say that Alice was in California and Jason travelled all the way there to kill her. Other people mention that Alice went back to Crystal Lake to face her fears and that’s when Jason struck. Your theory of another person, like Jason’s father, is interesting, but I am sure the intentions were that Jason killed Alice.
Alot of times in movie credits (especially horror), You dont get the whole story. I wasnt aware so many people contributed to the role of Jason in part 2. But Ive noticed in other installments its the same thing. At the end of part 5, it says Roys stunt double is played by Tom Morga. Which is kind of true, but Morga played both Jason and the imposter Jason. For years I thought Dick Wieand played the imposter Jason. But all he played was Roy unmasked. At the end of part 4, You dont even see who played Jason because Ted White refused screen credit at the time. Also in part 4, Tom Savini played Jason for a few shots like the bannana girl murder, and twisting axels head around. Also in part 6 as been reported here on FT13thfilms, Dan Bradley played Jason during the paintball murders before they got rid of Him and used CJ Graham. And in part 8, Ken Kirzinger (Jason of Freddy vs Jason) plays the diner worker Jason throws against the mirror (yeah whos the better Jason). As for part 2, that prowler thing kind of threw me off. I know in the credits to the original halloween and halloween 2, Michael Myers is credited as The Shape. So knowing that I kind of thought Jerry Wallace played the Masked Jason. But then watching the end credits to part 3 and 4, when they show the cast from previous films You see the name Steve Daskawicz better known as Steve Dash. But no mention of Warrington Gillette. But anyway thanks for setting the recored straight.
It sounds to me like so many people are vying for credit in Part 2 when the attitude of the filmmakers was “Anyone can do it.” If you ask me, the most memorable Jason moment of the movie is when he stands up from the bed. Can we track that guy down?
jasonsfury-
“Some fans say that Alice was in California” – why do they say that? Did she say she lived in Cali, in the first one? I can’t remember.
In the first movie she mentions to Steve Christy that she may have to go California to straighten something out. Now, she never says that she lives there, but it is implied by the fans. The novel by Simon Hawke might mention more. I honestly can’t remember.
I thought a woman played Jason at the beginning of 2? Or was it just the walking shot?
The walking shot, yes. Ellen Lutter. Can we find all the names?
Jason bigger and bulkier with every film. In fact this seems to be the norm in slasher film sequels