Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 23 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
It’s been close to 20 years since Jason Voorhees sunk back to the depths of Crystal Lake, after 2009’s Friday the 13th failed to resuscitate the smash ’80s slasher franchise.
asserted
13th → sink → franchise
Now, cult studio A24 (Backrooms, Euphoria) has entered the waters for a prequel series focused on Jason’s mother Pamela – the original film’s serial killer – driven to murder to prevent the lakeside Crystal Lake camp from reopening, decades after her young son drowned.
asserted
son → enter → camp
Given that Pam’s decapitation in the first film is what awakens Jason into being a supernatural killing machine, Friday the 13th is essentially a prequel already.
asserted
13th → give → Jason
Set in the immediate months after Jason’s death (albeit now in the ’70s rather than the ’50s), Crystal Lake fills a gap that only superfans really care about.
asserted
superfans → Set → that
But being an inessential prequel doesn’t really matter if the miniseries captures what made Friday the 13th a hit.
asserted
Friday → matter → ?
Across its eight episodes Crystal Lake does deliver many of its franchise’s bloody highs.
asserted
Lake → deliver → highs
Expect campy chase sequences with creepy killer POV camera shots and unnerving dolly zooms; an atonal score from Giosue Greco; ever-creative kills pulled off with old-school physical effects, grosser in their gory unreality; and, of course, a relentless antagonist who abides by the genre’s No.1 rule that sex is a sin punishable by death.
asserted
sex → expect → death
It’s also led by an incredible performance from Linda Cardellini, fresh off her Emmy win for DTF St Louis.
asserted
It → lead → Louis
As Pam, Cardellini continually adjusts a slipping mask of sanity.
asserted
Cardellini → adjust → sanity
Her grief-fuelled rage goes beyond the bloodied, manic scenes involving deep-fryers and machetes; she’s just as radiant in an aggressive mid-argument adjustment of her bangs, or dropping a smile as soon as she’s not being watched.
asserted
she → fuel → smile
Crystal Lake also has two fantastic, tragic turns from child actors Callum Vinson (Chucky), who plays Jason, and newcomer Gwendolyn Sundstrom, who is put through hell as Jason’s only friend.
asserted
who → have → friend
Despite that, the series is guilty of the same mistake made by so many Voorhees victims: looking over its shoulder rather than ahead, it continually trips up.
asserted
it → make → shoulder
To align with the first film, Crystal Lake’s murder spree must be lesser-than, with showrunner Brad Caleb Kane (It: Welcome To Derry) repeatedly pausing the action mid-splatter, occasionally for multiple episodes.
asserted
Kane → align → episodes
Many of contemporary TV’s most irritating tropes are present as a result, including an unnecessary backstory oddly reminiscent of Stranger Things.
asserted
Many → include → Things
And the halting action is often used to establish what’s already baked into Friday the 13th – that the Voorhees are victims, too.
asserted
Voorhees → halt → 13th
These faults were pre-empted earlier this year with A24’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – a surreal story of a director trying to reboot an ’80s slasher franchise, at first too caught up in lore before embracing horror’s carnal pleasures.
asserted
faults → pre → pleasures
That lesson wasn’t passed on.
asserted
lesson → pass → ?
Crystal Lake is streaming on Stan from October 16.
asserted
Lake → stream → October
We’ve got you.
asserted
We → get → you
Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
asserted
Watchlist → get → ?
- Last Seen is only the latest: The TV shows taking Australia to the world.
asserted
Seen → see → world
- 70 Up: Why TV’s greatest experiment is coming to an end.
asserted
experiment → come → end
- Watch (below): Deputy TV editor Meg Watson recommends Dustfall, the incredible new ABC drama you should be watching.
asserted
you → watch → Dustfall
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