‘These movies allow us to live out some dark part of our personalities…’
Obviously, nobody in their right mind is going to watch a near 7-hour documentary about the Friday the 13th franchise unless they are already big fans. In many ways, however, this is actually the best way to ‘watch’ the franchise. Crystal Lake Memories delivers all the best moments from every film in the franchise without having to sit through all the boring bits. And if we’re all being honest with ourselves, huge swathes of the Friday films are fairly dull…
Crystal Lake Memories is an exhaustive film-by-film rundown of each film in the Friday franchise (including Freddy vs Jason and the reboot) through the lens of various actors, writers and directors. As this is not affiliated with the franchise in any kind of official way, it gives the main players the freedom to give their unvarnished opinions on past events. As a fan, you want to hear how Kane Hodder was upset about being left out of Freddy vs Jason or how Betsy Palmer could barely hide her contempt for the whole project throughout filming the first movie and Crystal Lake Memories provides a unique perspective into one of the most beloved horror franchises of all time.
Director Daniel Farrands already has form in this area having also been behind the camera for the excellent A Nightmare on Elm Street documentary Never Sleep Again, and while Crystal Lake Memories film is not quite as successful as the Nightmare version, it’s still a wonderful love letter to an iconic film series and one that is narrated by franchise legend Corey Feldman, no less. Lovely stuff.
