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13 Facts about ‘Jason Takes Manhattan’

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While the name is a bit misleading, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, did indeed take the infamous killer Jason Voorhees out of Crystal Lake and into a new killing territory.  Unfortunately we don’t get to see the hockey mask wearing, machete wielding killer stalk around the Big Apple until the last act of the film.

When we do see him in all of his glory in Times Square it is a magical shot.  To see the timeless killer taken out of the woods he hunted in for seven movies and put in 1980’s New York into a sea of neon lights, taxi cabs, and punk music is surreal.  However, the change in scenery doesn’t faze Jason for long as he gets back to killing teenagers.

Whether you loved it or hated it, haven’t seen it since 1989 or just watched it yesterday, here are 13 things you may not have known about the film.

  1. During the first take when actor Kane Hodder initially kicks the street punks boom box in Time Square his foot gets stuck on it.
  2. When Jason comes across Rennie’s dog, Toby he was supposed to kick him in the script. Kane took the director aside and said he didn’t think it was in Jason’s character to do this, to which the director agreed and removed it from the script.
  3. The film’s working script title was “Ashes to Ashes” to hide from prying eyes they were doing another Friday the 13th movie, as well as to avoid fans interfering with filming. The fake script also renamed Jason to “Ethan.”
  4. The film was shot in seven US locations, but mostly in Vancouver, Canada.
  5. The trailer for part 8 made the audience believe the majority of the action took place in the Big Apple, not on a boat. While yes, the crew did go to New York to film the Time Square scene, the budget of $4 million was very limiting and the cost to film in NYC was too high.  When push came to shove most of their other scenes were filmed in Vancouver, Canada.  So in reality Jason took Vancouver.
  6. The original script called for a lot more Jason in Manhattan. Director Rob Hedden explained “The way I envisioned it for the first third of the movie we’d be on the boat, then we’d get to New York at the end of Act I.  Everything about New York was going to be completely exploited and milked.  There was going to be a tremendous scene on the Brooklyn Bridge, a boxing match in Madison Square Garden, Jason would go through department stores, Broadway plays.  He’d even crawl onto the top of the Statue of Liberty and dive off.”
  7. The director of Part 8 initially directed two episodes of Friday the 13th: The Series. Being impressed with his work on the television series the studio brought him on to direct Jason Takes Manhattan.
  8. As they were developing the story, newly appointed director Rob Hedden wanted to take Jason out of Crystal Lake and put him into a city.  At the time he had no specific city in mind. Executive Producer Frank Mancuso Jr. followed up with “Oh, Jason Takes Manhattan.”  Hedden explained he didn’t have a destination in mind, but if the Exec. Producer suggests Manhattan, then Manhattan Jason will go.  They then reversed engineered the movie around this idea.
  9. Elizabeth Berkley, Jessie from Saved by the Bell, initially auditioned for the lead role of Rennie, but the role eventually went to Jensen Daggett.
  10. Originally the script called for Rennie to have a nude scene to debunk the theory only “bad girls” in horror films took off their clothes. To Hedden’s surprise he could not talk Jensen Daggett into it, not even removing her blouse.  In fact the character of Rennie is perhaps the most clothed character in horror movie history, barely ever removing even her coat!
  11. Of course every Friday film does have to include some nudity, but when actress Sharlene Martin’s big moment came to get into the shower naked she was suddenly struck with old feet. To show her it was no big deal director Rob Hedden removed his clothes and stepped into the shower.  Little did he know the cameras were rolling and captured every nude moment.  Boy were the producers surprised the next day when they watched the previous day’s dailies!
  12. Friday the 13th 8: Jason Takes Manhattan had a final body count of 18 by Jason Voorhees.
  13. The initial poster for Part 8 was supposed to be Jason ripping through the heart of an “I Love NY” poster. In fact there were two versions, one with blood on the knife and one without in fear of the bloody knife being too graphic.  However, the New York Tourism Committee complained about the posters and a new concept was created.
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The Pope’s Exorcist Officially Announces New Sequel

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The Pope’s Exorcist is one of those films that’s just fun to watch. It isn’t the most terrifying film around, but there’s something about Russel Crow (Gladiator) playing a wise cracking Catholic priest that just feels right.

Screen Gems seems to agree with this assessment, as they have just officially announced that The Pope’s Exorcist sequel is in the works. It makes sense that Screen Gems would want to keep this franchise going, considering the first film scared up almost $80 million with a budget of only $18 million.

The Pope's Exorcist
The Pope’s Exorcist

According to Crow, there may even be a The Pope’s Exorcist trilogy in the works. However, recent changes with the studio may have put the third film on hold. In a sit-down with The Six O’Clock Show, Crow gave the following statement about the project.

“Well that’s in discussion at the moment. The producers originally got the kick off from the studio not just for one sequel but for two. But there’s been a change of studio heads at the moment, so that’s going around in a few circles. But very definitely, man. We set that character up that you could take him out and put him into a lot of different circumstances.”

Crow has also stated that film’s source material involves twelve separate books. This would allow the studio to take the story in all kinds of directions. With that much source material, The Pope’s Exorcist could even rival The Conjuring Universe.

Only the future will tell what becomes of The Pope’s Exorcist. But as always, more horror is always a good thing.

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New ‘Faces of Death’ Remake Will Be Rated R For “Strong Bloody Violence and Gore”

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In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the Faces of Death reboot has been given an R rating from the MPA. Why has the film been given this rating? For strong bloody violence, gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use, of course.

What else would you expect from a Faces of Death reboot? It would honestly be alarming if the film received anything less than an R rating.

Faces of death
Faces of Death

For those unaware, the original Faces of Death film released in 1978 and promised viewers video evidence of real deaths. Of course, this was just a marketing gimmick. Promoting a real snuff film would be a terrible idea.

But the gimmick worked, and franchise lived on in infamy. The Faces of Death reboot is hoping to gain the same amount of viral sensation as its predecessor. Isa Mazzei (Cam) and Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) will spearhead this new addition.

The hope is that this reboot will do well enough to recreate the infamous franchise for a new audience. While we don’t know much about the film at this point, but a joint statement from Mazzei and Goldhaber gives us the following info on the plot.

“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”

“The new plot revolves around a female moderator of a YouTube-like website, whose job is to weed out offensive and violent content and who herself is recovering from a serious trauma, that stumbles across a group that is recreating the murders from the original film. But in the story primed for the digital age and age of online misinformation, the question faced is are the murders real or fake?”

The reboot will have some bloody shoes to fill. But from the looks of it, this iconic franchise is in good hands. Unfortunately, the film does not have a release date at this time.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Make sure to check back here for more news and updates.

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Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘The Ceremony Is About To Begin’

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People will look for answers and belonging in the darkest places and the darkest people. The Osiris Collective is a commune predicated upon ancient Egyptian theology and was run by the mysterious Father Osiris. The group boasted dozens of members, each forgoing their old lives for one held in the Egyptian themed land owned by Osiris in Northern California. But the good times take a turn for the worst when in 2018, an upstart member of the collective named Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds) reports Osiris disappearing while mountain climbing and declaring himself the new leader. A schism ensued with many members leaving the cult under Anubis’ unhinged leadership. A documentary is being made by a young man named Keith (John Laird) whose fixation with The Osiris Collective stems from his girlfriend Maddy leaving him for the group several years ago. When Keith gets invited to document the commune by Anubis himself, he decides to investigate, only to get wrapped up in horrors he couldn’t even imagine…

The Ceremony Is About To Begin is the latest genre twisting horror film from Red Snow‘s Sean Nichols Lynch. This time tackling cultist horror along with a mockumentary style and the Egyptian mythology theme for the cherry on top. I was a big fan of Red Snow‘s subversiveness of the vampire romance sub-genre and was excited to see what this take would bring. While the movie has some interesting ideas and a decent tension between the meek Keith and the erratic Anubis, it just doesn’t exactly thread everything together in a succinct fashion.

The story begins with a true crime documentary style interviewing former members of The Osiris Collective and sets-up what led the cult to where it is now. This aspect of the storyline, especially Keith’s own personal interest in the cult, made it an interesting plotline. But aside from some clips later on, it doesn’t play as much a factor. The focus is largely on the dynamic between Anubis and Keith, which is toxic to put it lightly. Interestingly, Chad Westbrook Hinds and John Lairds are both credited as writers on The Ceremony Is About To Begin and definitely feel like they’re putting their all into these characters. Anubis is the very definition of a cult leader. Charismatic, philosophical, whimsical, and threateningly dangerous at the drop of a hat.

Yet strangely, the commune is deserted of all cult members. Creating a ghost town that only amps up the danger as Keith documents Anubis’ alleged utopia. A lot of the back and forth between them drags at times as they struggle for control and Anubis keeps continuing to convince Keith to stick around despite the threatening situation. This does lead to a pretty fun and bloody finale that fully leans into mummy horror.

Overall, despite meandering and having a bit of a slow pace, The ceremony Is About To Begin is a fairly entertaining cult, found footage, and mummy horror hybrid. If you want mummies, it delivers on mummies!

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