Jason lives, and he’s thriving.
This week, the patience of Friday the 13th fans will be handsomely rewarded with the debut of Crystal Lake, a delightfully gory prequel series helmed by creator and showrunner Brad Caleb Kane. Leading the cast is recent Emmy winner Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees, mother to Jason and an enduring presence across the entire franchise.
Unsurprisingly, expectations were high going into the Peacock-premiering series, as the inherent lack of narrative limitations when tackling a Voorhees origin story in this form had longtime Friday the 13th enthusiasts optimistic about the possibilities. A24 backing and a Cardellini-led cast certainly didn’t hurt the hype either.
Today (Oct. 13), the review embargo lifted, and as of this writing, Crystal Lake is the highest-rated entry in the entire Friday the 13th franchise, per Rotten Tomatoes. Though beloved, and certainly impactful on slashers at large, the Jason films have never exactly been a magnet for adoration from critics. For example, the original Friday the 13th, released way back in 1980, holds a 48 percent Tomatometer average. General audiences have been considerably kinder to the film that started it all, landing it at 60 percent on the Popcornmeter.
Crystal Lake is faring significantly better among critics, as it’s currently holding at 86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Complex recently had a chance to view the series in its entirety before its debut, and while not every aspect of this franchise-expanding take on the Voorhees family story totally lands, its peaks are undeniable.
Grounding the mayhem is an absolutely pitch-perfect performance from Cardellini. William Catlett, playing Crystal Lake Police head Levon Brooks, also leaves a lasting impression as his character comes to terms with the increasingly high-stakes goings-on of not only the community at large but also his own inner life.
The series launches with eight hour-long episodes on Peacock on Oct. 15. Where the Friday the 13th franchise goes from here is anyone’s guess, but Crystal Lake is a refreshing reset.
