Jason X (2001)

Plot: The year is 2455. Professor Yilo and his students are on a field trip to the old planet Earth where they discover a tunnel containing two frozen bodies. A girl and Jason Voorhes, the killer from the first 9 Friday the thirteenth movies. The team brings the bodies back to their spaceship in the hopes of resuscitating them and, you guessed it, Jason returns to his murderous ways in space.

News:

12 November, 2001

The first trailer is now online. You can find it at the official site.

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13 June, 2001

This sharp looking number is the official poster for the movie. New Line did a really good job on it. Reportedly they did similar quality work in putting together the trailer. Let's just hope the movie itself matches up.

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24 April, 2001

You can kiss that August 17, 2001 release date goodbye apparently. According to Friday the 13th Films, New Line is now considering waiting to October 2001 or even possibly 2002. It won't be a direct to video release though.

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27 November, 2000

The evil folks over at Diabolical Dominion managed to get their hands on this great photo of Jason from the movie.

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8 November, 2000

First off, check out the teaser poster to your left courtesy of CA. Second, New Line screened this movie and the response has been ... mixed. Over at Ain't It Cool News, they have posted several positive reviews.

Just want to let you know, I saw the Jason X movie on Wednesday too. I felt compelled to write after I read the comments on the two reviews. Just to let them and everyone who seemed cynical that, yes, the movie did kick ass.
- Joshua

But, it was fast paced and funny and there was really a story going on. I was surprised at how many twists and turns it had. Several times I found myself on the edge of my seat. I mean, I thought all of those franchise movies were the same things over and over. This one was alot of fun.
- Sarah

There is plenty of fun to be had with JASON X. Jason is back in a movie that is a breath of fresh air to a franchise that was limping after part 3D. I personally was NOT looking forward to this movie. It sounded just plain dumb and still will to most of you out there. I enjoyed the movie for what it was: Cheese. Bloody cheese, but fun bloody cheese.
- AtomoPrime

Meanwhile, over at Coming Attractions, the view is considerably more negative.

Jay Sherman of the critic would some this movie up perfectly with his famous quote: 'It Stinks.' In fact I have never seen a worse sequel. Including Leprechan and Children of the Corn.
- GaronX

I'm telling you folks, the movie is BAD. Semi-intelligent viewers hoping for something clever or fresh or scary will be insulted and distracted by its inherent stupidity, appalling dialogue and story.
- The Inspector

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23 October, 2000

Fans of the Friday the 13th series can relax... a little. The August 17, 2001 date is not set in stone. Diabolical Dominion received word that the actual release date is still undecided.

"We can also officially confirm that no official release date has been set for the film, but it looks as though March or April of 2001 are the best choices. New Line will make an announcement in the future, but for now, nothing is set. This comes up after several disputes online were started over the supposed date, which was originally set as October 13, 2000 and was then moved to April 13th, 2001. Then, unfounded rumors that the film would be kicked back to August 2001 began popping up, followed by New Line's small update that 'Jason X' wouldn't be seen until Fall of that year. Well, it turns out that all of them seem untrustworthy. As of this writing, we can CONFIRM that no date has been set."

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20 October, 2000

I hope you weren't really anxious to see this movie because you have a really long wait ahead of you. New Line Cinema has pushed back the release date of the picture to August 17, 2001. Originally scheduled to be released last week, the movie was pushed back to April 2001 and has now been pushed back even further. This can't be a good sign.

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9 October, 2000

Video Quarterly managed to get into an early screening of the movie and reported back with an opinion on "Jason in Space."

Basically this one is an insane joke that wants the audience to laugh along. For example, one of the grunts on the ship (always with the marines getting slaughtered) gets skewered pretty well and says, "You're gonna have to do better than that". Another knife enters the sergeant and I uttered at the same time as the sergeant did..."Well, that oughta do it." And he dies...this one is playing for laughs, violence and special effects.

Read the entire review here.

8 August, 2000

The picture to the left is a production sketch made for the film. It is meant to depict Earth at the point where a "field trip" to the now dead planet finds Jason frozen in the Crystal Lake Research Facility. Friday the 13th Films got a hold of this sketch and two others.

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22 May, 2000

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that David Cronenberg will be playing the part of Dr. Wimmer. It sounds like he's enjoying the part too. "I basically play a stupid doctor who deserves to die," jokes Cronenberg.

8 May, 2000

Here's an interesting rumor for you to chew on today. AICN is reporting that the part of Dr. Wimmer, the scientist in charge of the Crystal Lake research lab, will be played by director David Cronenberg. He's done quite a bit of acting in his career as well so this shouldn't seem to odd.

28 April, 2000

Kane Hodder, the man who has played Jason in several films including this one, talked to Wicked magazine about the project. He really likes the costume he wears in this movie. "I'm far more comfortable than I've ever been as far just being hot or constricted. This is the easiest I've had it with that part, just the way the costume is designed. For once, the costumes have been designed with comfort in mind, which helps my performance. [Otherwise] you start getting really worn out by the end of the day. You don't want your performance to suffer because you're energy isn't there."

He's not just a psychotic slasher. Hodder tries to actually make Jason into a character. "Right when we roll, I usually just do a little growling stuff. I've always done that since the beginning. People are always surprised at first but then they get used to it. I do it just about every take, especially if there's something violent I'm doing. It just gets the energy to the right level. I think some of the other guys who played Jason before me didn't really take it seriously, didn't really try and add anything to the character. They figured, eh, he's just a zombie that walks around. Anybody can do that. That's not true. I just try to put more into it, there's some breathing things I'm noted for."

In case you're wondering, he wants to see Freddy vs Jason made too. "I'm sure it will happen, and I definitely want to do it because that would be something that the fans have really been waiting for. I think it would be fun to kick Freddy's ass."

26 April, 2000

For you Friday the 13th fans we've got a treat for you today, the first pictures from the set of the movie. Yes that's right you can now see Jason frozen! But wait, that's not all! You can also see a picture of part of a spaceship and as an added bonus, a picture of a hallway in a spaceship!

18 April, 2000

The folks over at iFUSE managed to sneak onto the set and learn a few things. The tagline of the movie is going to be "Evil gets an upgrade" because during the movie Jason is killed only to be resurrected using nanotechnology making even more powerful and dangerous. The movie is going to be very gory with the highest body count of any Friday the 13th movie to date. Expect over 30 people to buy the farm.

27 March, 2000

Coming Attractions is reporting some minor changes to the script, mostly involving name changes and an increased body count. The budget is apparently down to at least $13.6 million.

"The changes on Jason X is that one of the characters has been re-named. The main character Rizzo has been re-named to Rowen and the co-main character Delongpre has also been re-named to Lowe. So Canadian actress Lexa Doig is playing the lead Rowen and Johnattan Potts is playing the co-lead. The lead characters are Jason and Rowen and the co-lead characters are Lowe, Janessa and Professor Yilo.

"Also there was changes on Jason X script. Now 'Jason X' have the biggest bodycount of any horror movie!"

21 March, 2000

We have some possible casting news for you today from the folks at Diabolical Dominion. No guarantees this is 100% accurate so don't get crazy with this info just yet.

As it turns out, Melyssa Aide, who everyone assumed would be playing the lead character Rizzo, is actually playing a chick from the future named Janessa. Lexa Doig will play Rowen, Lisa Ryder will play the oversexed science droid Kay-Em, Jonathan Potts is Lowe, Peter Mensah is Brodski, and Dov Tiefenbach is Azrael. As previously noted, Kane Hodder is reprising his role as Jason Voorhees for the fourth time. Does that cast sound "un-trendy" enough for ya? We sure hope so!!! The film, which is budgeted at 14 million dollars, is directed by Jim Isaac.

13 March, 2000

Here is yet another positive script review for you. So far all the commentary on the script has been favorable. We'll see if it holds up in production or not. The following review is filled with MAJOR SPOILERS so if you don't want to know too much you might want to skip to the next bit of news. With that warning in mind I turn it over to 'Kane'.

I was able to snatch up a copy of the JASON X script written by Tod Farmer with a dialogue polish by the director Jim Issacs. Well I must say that all and all, the script isn't bad. Hopefully the movie turns out just as well. I must inform you that the following review is laden with many spoilers, including the ending, which may or may not be changed due to budget or time constraints . . .

The story opens with a narration and clip montage tying together all 9 of the previous films. Then it abrudtly cuts to the narrator,a female doctor at the Crystal Lake Research Faccility talking to a military sgt. Jason has been captured and is in containment in some kind of electric forcefield. Since the government cannot destroy Jason they have decided to cryogenically freeze him and bury the capsule beneath Crystal Lake. Any way, there is a fuck up due to a lightning storm and Jason breaks out of the forcefield and slaughters about a dozen people around the faccility before Rizzo finally tackles him into the cryo-tube and the two freeze together. Capsule is permanently cealed. PICK up 2142, the grimy future, described very much like BLADE RUNNER's settings, a college archeology class is on a trip to Earth (which is now a desolate wasteland, which if anyone has seen MISSION 2 MARS, will know scientists believe was the fate of MARS and that it actually had existence on it at 1 period). The students are on a dig for human remains for hundreds of years ago. A big earthquake causes chaos, and a group of students fall into a tunnel running beneath the planet. They are leg to the cryo-capsule which they eventually load onto their ship. Since they've got a two day journey back to whatever planet they came from (it's never mentioned), they decide to bring the capsule to the autopsy/science lab and open it. They remove the 2 frozen masses and place them in these things called "melt vats" which unfreezes them after an hour or so. They leave the bodies to unfreeze. Somewhere along the lines, Rizzo awakens. She's greeted by a friendly young guy named Delongpree. She kicks his ass, Jason comes alive, attacks them, they're on the run form this point on. The next forty pages or so are basically one killing after the next (very clever though, watch as Jason takes on a Darth Maul like persona and impales a horny android and her boyfriend while they're having sex, in a scene that pays homage to an infamous Mario Bava-ish impalement in the second film) Lots of brutal violence, cool chase scenes, and some funny revelations about Jason (we learn he actually uses the bathroom and gets erections!) lead up the climactic battle, described below . . . . ----spoilers------Jason chases Rizzo into the emergency vessel launch chamber. Delongpree meanwhile, comes around in the kitchen after being stabbed multiple times, arming himself with an arm cannon he sets fire to the ship and rushes to Rizzo's aide in the launch chamber. Jason is seconds from killing Rizzo when Delongpree arrives. FUCK! The arm cannon's out of ammo! Jason asceneds to kill him when Rizzo suddenly blows the hatch and sends Jason out into space. IN SPACE, Jason's body is immolated by the cold and the air pressure combined. Rizzo and Delongpree then get in the safety vessel and take off to where ever they're from. The ship blows up and moments later Jason's hockey mask floats passed the camera, taking us to the darkness.

7 February, 2000

Production is beginning on the movie but at this point it is just prep work. March 2nd is the official start date for filming. Producer Noel Cunningham has this to say about the script, "When I read the script I got very excited. I wanted to take Jason X to a completely new level, like nothing anyone has ever seen before with lots of unexpected twists and turns; but more importantly, I wanted to give the characters and story a real innovated jolt of creativity and depth. So when I saw what Jim Isaac and Todd Farmer had done with the material, I knew that we really had something special."

He went a little more into the plot as well. "Once the shimmering blue jewel of the galaxy, Old Earth is now a contaminated planet abandoned for centuries -- a world of violent storms, toxic landmasses and poisonous seas. Yet, humans have returned -- not to live but to study."

A group of student explorers and a "tech-droid discover ancient underground remains of the Crystal Lake Research Facility where two teens make an unexpected Archaeological find. They have discovered two frozen ancestors -- a young blond female and a large male wearing a strange mask. Only one problem, the auto-regeneration procedure has somehow been triggered. The frozen cryo-jell is melting like a block of ice on molten steel. The two bodies will soon thaw and deteriorate."

31 January, 2000

Word continues to surface that the tenth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise might actually be good. Personally I am still highly skeptical but lets hear from someone who has apparently read the script. The folks over ath Fridaythe13th.com have written up their review of the script:

Three words have struck fear in the hearts of many Friday the 13th fans: "Jason in space." Visions of Hellraiser: Bloodline and Leprechaun 4 floated through many fans' minds, prompting some to post things such as "JASON X IS GONNA SUCK" on the Message Board. Always count on your friendly, neighborhood webmaster to get to the bottom of things - and put those fears to rest. Everyone from Sean Cunningham to Michael DeLuca to Kane Hodder to Harry Manfredini has loved the script - and rightfully so. The script rocks.

If it scares you, don't just think "Jason in space." Think Final Chapter or Jason Lives in space. I don't mean that it's just a rehash of previous films in a new location. But it strikes the same balance between gore, humor and frisky teenagers best shown in 4 and VI. What, you thought there would be no pre-marital sex in 2455? No over-the-top gore to tick off the MPAA? Well there's plenty.

Now for the script - it's the best of any of the Friday the 13th films. I have no hesitation saying that. Does that mean it will be the best of the series? Well, that's the thing - Jason X will be a different kind of Friday. It contains sci-fi elements that, despite the well-written script, may turn off those with a "horror and only horror" sort of mentality. But this isn't Star Trek folks - no boring technobabble, ridiculous aliens or uplifting morals here. This isn't a sterile future - it's one that, despite 400 years of advances in technology, also bears the grit and grime of 400 more years of humankind.

I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'm not going to provide a breakdown. I know that even for fans who want to see the film cold, it's hard to stay away from that info when we've been waiting for a new Friday for SEVEN YEARS. But naturally I know I'm going to have to share a few bits to get you interested. So:

• The film opens with a montage in which we'll (hopefully) see scenes from the earlier films.
• The beginning of the film takes place in the "Crystal Lake Research Facility."
• Don't worry, the future still has very, very sharp things for Jason to play with...
• This film certainly has more action than any other Friday the 13th. Probably more than two of the previous films combined...
• The script reveals two very interesting things obsessed fans have wondered about for a while (no, I won't tell you what, but one is so frickin' funny...)
• Finally, the body count is very high - close to Part V (the champ with 22)!

Little sample from the opening sequence:

          SERGEANT MAZUR
     (glares)
I think we can handle your lab rat, Doc.
          DOCTOR WIMMER
I hope so. You can kill a lab rat, you know.

Some short descriptions of the characters (Rizzo and those who discover the cryo-chamber):
RIZZO: 20, pretty. The main character, frozen with Jason for 400 years.
DELONGPRE: 19, good-looking and smart.
KAY-EM: cybernetics science droid.
AZRAEL: 17, small and cocky.
KKINSA: 17, insecure and problematic.
JANESSA: 18, pushy and lascivious.
YLLO: 35, Professor of Archaeology.

24 January, 2000

An actual script review has popped that gives us a little more detail on the movie. The reviewer seemed to really like it but I'm going to be pretty skeptical still. Maybe if I read the script for myself...

Plot: There's no resurrection scene, which upset me. The movie opens to find him shackled Hannibal Lecter-style in a maximum-security area. Like in the 9th, the police know about Jason (but, thank God, all that spiritual stuff is out). They know he's impossible to kill. They know he can't be stopped. And so they come up with the only solution possible: make him someone else's problem. He is cryogenically frozen and not rediscovered for another 500 years. Before they get to do so, he creates some havoc, and a girl from our time is frozen with him. To sum up the rest, an archeology class does the rediscovering and loads the two popsicles onto their ship on their way back to Earth 2. They thaw, and the rest of the film plays like Alien, with Jason recast as the Alien.

This all sounds very dopey, but it actually works for me. All of the conventions of the other films are done tried and true. Cool deaths, change of weaponry, and plenty of horny college students screwing just because, "hey, I've got a few minutes free. How about you?" Similarly to the Alien deal, the film rips off a whole bunch of other movies, but it all works; it's just a hell of a lot of fun. And there are a few things that happen that I won't spoil because they truly do kick ass. Now, given that I've given the script the best damned rating it could hope for, I have one question: can they pull it off? Some of the best things in this script require a hefty budget, and, y'know, traditionally the Fridays have been bottom of the friggin' barrel. Any way you can find out what the estimated budget is?

17 January, 2000

Finally we get the official line on the tenth Friday the 13th movie. Below is a casting sheet for the movie. Jim Isaac is listed as the director but apparently Tom Savini is lobbying hard for the part. If fact you can go to his website and sign a petition to get him named director if you so choose. You'll notice that this would appear to shoot down the rumor that Jason would be a virtual reality killer. It also explains how his remains would end up in space in the first place.

TO ALL TALENT REPRESENTATIVES
CRYSTAL LAKE ENTERTAINMENT
“JASON-X” - FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 10
FEATURE FILM
DEL'D IN NY Tue., Jan. 18, 2000, Vol. 2000, #0118:
Producer: Noel Cunningham
Executive Producer: Sean Cunningham
Director: Jim Issac
Casting Director: Robin Cook
NY Casting: Kim Miscia
Start: Early 3/00
Location: Toronto

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS IMMEDIATELY TO: KIM MISCIA
ILENE STARGER CASTING
1220 BROADWAY - SUITE 801A
NYC 10001

STORYLINE: The year is 2455. Professor Yilo and his students are on a field trip to the old planet Earth where they discover a tunnel containing two frozen bodies. A girl and Jason Voorhes, the killer from the first 9 Friday the thirteenth movies. The team brings the bodies back to their spaceship in the hopes of resuscitating them and, you guessed it, Jason returns to his murderous ways in space.

NOTE: That this is a campy update on the original which constantly spoofs itself. Also note that actors will not be required to do nudity, body doubles will be used.

[RIZZO] Female. Ages 19 to 24. She is the frozen girl from earth who, when thawed by the scientific team, is as smart, courageous, pretty, curious, and concerned as she was in her prior life...LEAD

[DELONGPRE] Male. Ages 19 to 24. He is a leader among his peers. Handsome and smart, Delongpre is fascinated by Rizzo, his love interest...SUPPORTING

[KAY-EM] Female. Ages 19 to 24. She is a gorgeous science droid with a sexy, athletic build and a very human personality...SUPPORTING

13 January, 2000

Did you ever hear the rumor that there were actually going to be thirteen Friday the 13th movies made? I always thought that was a joke. Now I'm not so sure. Jason X is apparently further ahead than originally thought. Actress Melyssa Ade has apparently been cast in the movie. She plays a 'bitchy technician' aboard the space station the movie will be set on. This next part is where I get confused. I had heard that Jason would appear as a virtual reality version of himself. Now it would appear that he is actually a clone. That's right, for some reason his remains (including hockey mask) have been transported to a space station where he is cloned. Umm... WHY?!?!? This adds new meaning to the concept of people doing stupid things that get them killed in horror movies. But wait it gets better. Toward the end of the movie, Jason may actually be a cyborg. How does all this add up? It probably doesn't. This is all from various reports so some of it is likely wrong.

Additional details, of the more concrete variety, are that Jim Isaacs will direct with Noel Cunningham producing. Shooting will take place from February 28 to April 30, 2000. John Dondertman will serve as production designer.

30 November, 1999

Maybe they'll call it Jason In Space. Yes that's right, he's going to be the first slasher in space. According to Fridaythe13th.com, the script from Sean Cunningham is set on a space station and Jason is now a virtual reality killer. I'll wait while you try and absorb that. That stabbing pain you're probably feeling in your temples is intelligence struggling to accept such a staggeringly stupid idea. The best part is that the script is getting great reviews. This of course confirms the suspicion that a lot of studio execs aren't too bright.

2 November, 1999

There are currently two concepts out there for a new movie starring Friday the 13th front man Jason Voorhees. New Line Cinema has announced that they have begun development on Jason X, the latest in the Friday the 13th series. That makes you wonder what's become of the long delayed Freddy vs. Jason project. Apparently a script and budget for Jason X will be turned in this week. New Line will then decide which project it is going to work on. Freddy vs. Jason is undergoing a rewrite by Mark Verheiden. There is apparently a "phony copycat Freddy killer" element that is being removed. That script is expected at the end of the month. Either way one of these movies should be hitting screens in late 2000.