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Fright Site: Blairstown, NJ. “Friday the 13th”

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The next calendar day on which a Friday the 13th will fall will be in March 2015, so this week’s Fright Site is dedicated to Blairstown New Jersey, the original shooting location for the 1980 horror film Friday the 13th. Blairstown, NJ, is located in the north-western part of the state off of route 94. Here you can walk in Mrs. Voorhees footsteps, even eating at the local diner that appeared in the film.

In the movie, the camp’s owner runs in to town for materials and stops for a cup of coffee and a bite to eat at The Blairstown Diner. Meanwhile a sinister maniac dispatches his employees one-by-one back at the camp site.

The night of the murders

The night of the murders

The diner today. (www.remax-nj.com)

The diner today. (www.remax-nj.com)

Menu

Blairstown Diner is an actual place in New Jersey and you can visit it at 186 State Route 94 Blairstown, NJ 07825. With a selection of burgers and desserts, the Diner’s most popular dish is the cheesesteaks. It’s easy to imagine Pamela Voorhees having sat in one of the stools at the bar while planning the demise of the counselors invading her camp.

But your tour doesn’t need to end at the diner. Blairstown is the original shooting location for the original Friday the 13th. Why not walk around the small New Jersey town and try to find the many different shooting locations? This website is a great field guide for all things in the original Friday the 13th filming location.

Blairstown's famous arches. (https://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com)

Blairstown’s famous arches. (https://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com)

Annie are you okay?

Annie are you okay?

And guess what horror fan, your tour of cinema’s most famous campgrounds does not need to end there. If you are lucky enough to have booked a tour at the real Camp Crystal Lake (in reality, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco), you can see the original cabins as well as the lake where a very young Jason pulls Alice down with him into the depths of the water. These tours are generally done around Friday the 13th’s in the calender year; this year one falls in March and the other in November. Unfortunately, the campground is not open to the public unless you were lucky enough to secure a tour.

If you join the Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco mailing list, they will inform you as to when a tour will come available. These tours sell out quickly as you can imagine so it is wise to sign up for alerts. You can also get souvenirs, such as pieces from the original dock and framed log slices from the original cabins on the Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco website. While shopping, check out the “Angry Mother” line of products in honor of Mrs. Voorhees herself.

bridge

(www.nobebosco.org/tour/tour-event)

 

(www.nobebosco.org/tour/tour-event)

(www.nobebosco.org/tour/tour-event)

Sometimes horror movie locations are restricted to just one house or location, but this Fright Site contains a whole town! If you’re in need of a vacation, why not head to New Jersey and re-live the nightmare that is Friday the 13th. As always horror fans, if you plan to visit this Fright Site, be respectful and courteous to those around you to ensure that many other fans will have a great experience when they visit Camp Blood in the future.

Ch-Ch-Ch, Kih-Kih-Kih...

Ch-Ch-Ch, Kih-Kih-Kih…

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‘Violent Night’ Director’s Next Project is a Shark Movie

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Sony Pictures is getting in the water with director Tommy Wirkola for his next project; a shark movie. Although no plot details have been revealed, Variety confirms that the movie will start filming in Australia this summer.

Also confirmed is that actress Phoebe Dynevor is circling the project and is in talks to star. She is probably best known for her role as Daphne in the popular Netflix soap Bridgerton.

Dead Snow (2009)

Duo Adam McKay and Kevin Messick (Don’t Look Up, Succession) will produce the new film.

Wirkola is from Norway and utilizes a lot of action in his horror films. One of his first films, Dead Snow (2009), about zombie Nazis, is a cult favorite, and his 2013 action-heavy Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is an entertaining distraction.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

But 2022’s Christmas blood fest Violent Night starring David Harbour made wider audiences familiar with Wirkola. Coupled with favorable reviews and a great CinemaScore, the film became a Yuletide hit.

Insneider first reported this new shark project.

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Why You May NOT Want To Go In Blind Before Watching ‘The Coffee Table’

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You might want to prepare yourself for some things if you plan to watch The Coffee Table now rentable on Prime. We aren’t going to go into any spoilers, but research is your best friend if you are sensitive to intense subject matter.

If you don’t believe us, maybe horror writer Stephen King might convince you. In a tweet he published on May 10, the author says, “There’s a Spanish movie called THE COFFEE TABLE on Amazon Prime and Apple+. My guess is you have never, not once in your whole life, seen a movie as black as this one. It’s horrible and also horribly funny. Think the Coen Brothers’ darkest dream.”

It is hard to talk about the film without giving anything away. Let’s just say there are certain things in horror movies that are generally off the, ahem, table and this film crosses that line in a big way.

The Coffee Table

The very ambiguous synopsis says:

“Jesus (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefanía de los Santos) are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.”

But there is more to it than that, and the fact that this might be the darkest of all comedies is also a little unsettling. Although it is heavy on the dramatic side too, the core issue is very taboo and might leave certain people sick and disturbed.

What’s worse is that it is an excellent movie. The acting is phenomenal and the suspense, masterclass. Compounding that it’s a Spanish film with subtitles so you have to look at your screen; it’s just evil.

The good news is The Coffee Table isn’t really that gory. Yes, there is blood, but it’s used more as just a reference than a gratuitous opportunity. Still, the mere thought of what this family has to go through is unnerving and I can guess many people will turn it off within the first half-hour.

Director Caye Casas has made a great film that might go down in history as one of the most disturbing ever made. You have been warned.

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Trailer For Shudder’s Latest ‘The Demon Disorder’ Showcases SFX

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It’s always interesting when award-winning special effects artists become directors of horror films. That is the case with The Demon Disorder coming from Steven Boyle who has done work on The Matrix movies, The Hobbit trilogy, and King Kong (2005).

The Demon Disorder is the latest Shudder acquisition as it continues adding high-quality and interesting content to its catalog. The film is the directorial debut of Boyle and he says he is happy that it will become a part of the horror streamer’s library coming fall 2024.

“We are thrilled that The Demon Disorder has reached its final resting place with our friends at Shudder,” said Boyle.  “It’s a community and fanbase that we hold in the highest esteem and we couldn’t be happier to be on this journey with them!”

Shudder echoes Boyle’s thoughts about the film, emphasizing his skill.

“After years of a creating a range of elaborate visual experiences through his work as a special effects designer on iconic films, we’re thrilled to give Steven Boyle a platform for his feature length directorial debut with The Demon Disorder,” said Samuel Zimmerman, Head of Programming for Shudder.  “Full of impressive body horror that fans have come to expect from this master of effects, Boyle’s film is an engrossing story about breaking generational curses that viewers will find both unsettling and amusing.”

The movie is being described as an “Australian family drama” that centers on, “Graham, a man haunted by his past since the death of his father and the estrangement from his two brothers. Jake, the middle brother, contacts Graham claiming that something is horribly wrong: their youngest brother Phillip is possessed by their deceased father. Graham reluctantly agrees to go and see for himself. With the three brothers back together, they soon realize they are unprepared for the forces against them and learn that the sins of their past will not stay hidden. But how do you defeat a presence that knows you inside and out? An anger so powerful it refuses to stay dead?”

The movie stars, John Noble (The Lord of the Rings), Charles CottierChristian Willis, and Dirk Hunter.

Take a look at the trailer below and let us know what you think. The Demon Disorder will begin streaming on Shudder this fall.

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