Jason Takes Manhattan Remake Would Be The Perfect Friday The 13th Reboot

The Friday the 13th franchise needs to be rebooted and a new version of the maligned 1989 sequel Jason Takes Manhattan could be the best approach. It’s been over a decade since the most recent Friday the 13th movie. That was Platinum Dunes’ Friday the 13th remake from 2009, which was actually more of a blending of the first few movies in the original series.

The prologue revisited Pamela Voorhees’ Camp Crystal Lake killing spree, while the story then moved on to something resembling a merging of parts 2, 3 and 4. The remake also featured Jason sporting his burlap sack look before switching to his iconic hockey mask. While some feel the Friday the 13th remake is underrated and it did well financially, that wasn’t enough to spawn a direct follow-up. In the years that followed several scripts came close to production, only for New Line to back out at the last minute. More recently, Friday the 13th‘s movie rights were reacquired by Paramount, who also failed to craft another film.

The last few years have seen the Friday the 13th franchise in stasis, thanks to a legal battle between original writer Victor Miller and longtime producer Sean S. Cunningham. Miller eventually won out, but it’s yet to be revealed what that means for the prospect of a thirteenth Friday the 13th happening anytime soon. What many have little doubt of is that Friday the 13th isn’t killed off for good, as the franchise is too bankable to stay down. When it does, staging a redo of Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan – but doing it properly this time – would be a great way to reboot the franchise.

Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan‘s central concept was great, as the series had spent seven movies prowling around or near Camp Crystal Lake and was due for some new locales. Attesting to the coolness of Jason going to New York, all of Jason Takes Manhattan‘s best scenes are the ones where Jason actually got to stalk through Times Square. Unfortunately, Paramount saddled it with a low budget, which led most of Jason Takes Manhattan to be set on a cruise ship instead. Additionally, most of the Jason Takes Manhattan scenes ostensibly filmed in NYC were shot in generic urban sections of Vancouver.

While the Friday the 13th franchise has never been one for high budgets – hence the big return on investment had by the studios involved – there’s no reason the $20 million budget of Friday the 13th 2009 couldn’t allow for a better version of Jason Takes Manhattan to be produced. Jason Takes Manhattan‘s budget in 1989 was only $5 million so even when adjusted for inflation, that would give the filmmakers Paramount could hire for a new take considerably more money to work with. If they were willing to go as high as the $30 million Freddy vs. Jason – which Wes Craven passed on directing – cost, that would make things even easier. The eventual return of Friday The 13th will be a major event anyway, so the next sequel needs to do something special to mark the occasion. Returning to Jason Takes Manhattan – which is often considered one of the biggest missed opportunities of the series – and doing it properly, would only make Jason’s comeback all the sweeter.

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