Earlier this week, horror fans got some exciting news when it was announced thatJohn Carpenteris teaming up with Blumhouse for a remake of the filmmaker’s horror classicHalloween.John Carpenterwill serve as executive producer alongsideJason Blum, although a director or screenwriter hasn’t come aboard quite yet. While we wait to see what this new version of Michael Myers will look like, the filmmaker recently made some disparaging remarks about theFriday the 13thfranchise.
Paramount has been developing aFriday the 13th remakefor quite some time, with the studio continually pushing the release date back. The movie is currently set for release on June 26, 2025, but since no director or cast members have been attached, it’s possible this remake may move yet again.John Carpenterrecently appeared on theBrett Easton Ellis Podcast, where he was asked to chime in on other horror franchises, likeTexas Chainsaw MassacreandFriday the 13th. WhileJohn Carpenterhad nothing but praise forTexas Chainsaw Massacre, he calledFriday the 13thmovies “cynical” and “cheap.”
“One springs from an organic idea and has a truly artist’s eye working. AndFriday the 13th, I feel, affects me as very cynical. It’s very cynical moviemaking. It just doesn’t rise above its cheapness. I think the reason that all these slasher movies came in the ’80s was a lot of folks said ‘look at thatHalloweenmovie. It was made for peanuts, and look at the money it’s made! We can make money like that. That’s what the teenagers want to see.’ So they just started making them, cranking them out…most of them were awful.”
TheFriday the 13thfranchise debuted in 1980, just two years afterJohn Carpenter’s classicHalloweenwas released. The original movie spawned nine sequels, most of which debuted throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, along with the 2003 spinoffFreddy vs Jasonand the 2009Friday the 13thremake. Paramount has been developing anew Friday the 13thfor a number of years, with the project said to be found footage at one point, but that idea has been scrapped. The movie is now said to take place in the 80s, and will feature franchise icon Jason as the main slasher.
As forJohn Carpenter’s Halloween, that franchise was just as lucrative, spawning several sequels until it was rebooted in 2007 withRob Zombie’sHalloween. The 2009 sequelHalloween IIfollowed, but for the last few years, the follow-up was in limbo. We reported in late 2015 that Dimension had lost the franchise rights, which allowed Blumhouse to pick them up. We’ll have to wait and see what they do with the franchise, so stay tuned. In the meantime, you can listen toJohn Carpenter’s podcast appearance withBrett Easton Ellisin the player below.
