So if there’s anyone yet to figure it, I’m an AITH greenhorn. A newbie. A bright-eyed AITH rookie. And as thrilled as I am to be a part of the team, to be on the other side of the (media) looking glass, no level of enjoyment or amount of surreal bliss can match how I felt when I recently sat down at an exclusive Paramount luncheon with Mr. Voorhees himself, Kane Hodder – as well as writer/director John Carl Buechler, Vincent Craig (VC) Dupree, and DVD producer Dan Farrands.
All of which were kind enough to sit, eat, laugh, shoot the shit – all an anecdotal press gathering in the lead up to the new Deluxe Edition DVDs of
FRIDAY THE 13TH VII: THE NEW BLOOD
& FRIDAY THE 13TH VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (which hit shelves today). The following is an account what went down, what was discussed, who drew blood and who made it out alive. Continue at your own peril!
Kane, myself and VC
When I arrived at the requisite Dining Hall, I was immediately met by Ms. Staci Layne of
Horror.com. I could tell she was a true vet, and she was kind enough to put up with my no doubt pestering neophyte queries. Together, in what would prove to be a bit of an ice-breaker, we sampled the awesome lemonade fraught with fresh berries and whatnot. To be honest, this all made me feel like a pampered blow-hard, but I’m sure no one’s interested in my feelings! In all seriousness, the lemonade was fuc*in’ awesome, a sentiment reinforced by my half-dozen refills.
But enough about the pleasantries and high-brow accoutrement! It wasn’t but a few moments more that our guests of honor, Kane Hodder and John Carl Buechler strolled in (VC Dupree shortly after). More surreal the scene couldn’t have been. Some 12 hours prior I was ogling these two men on the new DVD supplemental material, and now I’m literally 3 and 4 seats down from the dudes. I all but sprayed my fan-boy shorts, luckily I stole Mac McLean’s napkin and MacGyvered a diaper out of it (appreciate it, Mac!) As other horror writers and press peeps filed in, not to mention Paramount DVD producer Dan Farrands,
our lunch was soon to officially commence.
Kane Hodder with VC Dupree
Since the entire gathering was set-up in support of the new FRIDAY THE 13TH parts 7 & 8 DVDs, most of what was discussed revolved around these specific films. One of the first questions tossed out was whether John, Kane and VC had recently revisited the films and what they thought of them. Buechler, with dim-eyes and a self-proclaimed mien of “having a rough night,” mused that FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD was one of record-breaking assembly. John signed on to direct the film in January of 1988, the film was in theaters in May of the same year. The flick was pre-produced, cast, shot, mixed, edited, promoted, and theatrically released within 5-6 months of time. Unheard of!
As a result, Buechler laments the many issues which detracted from his ability to make a final “own” version of the film. As a man largely steeped in special effects work, Buechler never really got to exhibit the level of grime and grue that catapulted him to into feature filmmaking. His qualms over heightened MPAA butchery (The New Blood is widely known to be the most heavily excised Friday entry) was echoed by the omissions scenes when one dude gets his head squashed into a plum-pit, blood oozing – another where Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) gets disemboweled with a vicious brush-saw. Buechler’s idea was to make the violence so extreme and over the top that people would have a good time with it, and instead of being frightened to a freeze, people would find it cool, fun and visceral and not just scary.
Me alone with the myth himself, Mr. Voorhees
Buechler also confirmed that THE NEW BLOOD project was originally slated to pit Voorhees against another horror icon, Fred Krueger – and that while this notion was scrapped early in development, if you look closely, THE NEW BLOOD and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER are essentially mirrored, both having their respective villain “meet their match”, as it were. Also compromised was Buechler’s original ending of the film, one that would not only keep in line with a “final punch” each preceding film lent, would also make a nice bookend to the original film – and that is when Voorhees springs from the lake at the end, snags a fisherman and yanks the dude underwater.
Studios and test-audiences balked, and so the version we’ve all seen took the crown. All in all though, Buechler expressed how proud he is of the film. For what it is, he adds, “it’s fun. It works.” He’s especially thankful to sir Dan Farrands, who despite unearthing the smallest amount of vaulted supplemental footage of the series, has made available on the new DVD most of the gorgeous blood-work (effects) that didn’t make the final cut.
When it came to Voorhees himself, Mr. Kane Hodder – a man of imposing physicality, yet one who couldn’t dream of being nicer or more cordial – he was much more anecdotal in his recollection of the NEW BLOOD/MANHATTAN experience. Aside from being one of the most physically demanding Jason performances (Hodder did an outstanding lot of his own stunts – falling through stairs, a roof collapsing on his head, etc.), Kane also expressed his undying love for the visual look of Jason (the tattered spinal column, the demonic face).
The flick also marks some of his favorite kills in the entire Voorhees canon. In specific, Hodder is quite partial to the infamous sleeping bag scene, one made more realistic by Kane’s real-life annoyance to get the shot in the can. But of all the NEW BLOOD trivial tidbits, nothing may have been more hilarious or insightful as Hodder’s musings of a Voorhees prosthetic penis they tested and shot, but ultimately (and understandably) never saw the light of day. That’s right ladies, Voorhees’ cock is out and about, so you best be raiding the Paramount vault for that priceless, if decayed, cinematic relic. Come on, I know you want to!
Even more candid was Hodder’s remembrance of the 8th Voorhees edition, JASON TAKES MANHATTAN. He lit up when talking about shooting in NYC (briefly, as the rest was shot in Vancouver), standing in the blocked-off part of Times Square, hundreds if not thousands of adoring fans looking on, clamoring his name. It was as big a moment he ever experienced in the nearly 2-decades of brandishing the hockey mask. Kane also confided that he didn’t get the ending, at all, and that anyone who takes umbrage with the film at all, is due to the fact that, as a flick called JASON TAKES MANHATTAN, only the final reel of the picture actually takes place in the city (the rest, as you know, on an ocean-liner).
Kane also explained how the disco scene with Kelly Hu, despite not looking that difficult, was one of the most brutal things to ever shoot, particularly due to the immense heat, no ventilation and the grueling schedule it took to accomplish. For my money though (I mean, if the cock is off the market), it was Hodder reminiscing over his Arsenio Hall visits and how appeared on the show in full costume and mask, never so much as uttering a word on stage. His insight to Arsenio’s off-stage fright was pretty amusing.
So What Are They Up To Now?
John Carl Buechler was nice enough to confirm his latest project to be a remake of his own 1986 spook-filled-fantasy flick TROLL. Assuming writing and directing credit, Buechler plans to, hopefully with the original cast, use modern cinematic technology to fully bring his initial vision to the screen.
Word is, major casting announcements are on the brink. More on that when we know!
Kane, despite having a slew of upcoming projects, was most keen to share with us
a movie called FROZEN, a snow-driven thriller on which he serves as Stunt Coordinator
(a position he’s held since 1983, 5 years before donning the Patrick Roy mask). Kane also informed us all of a cool little passion project he and a few others in the horror world (in front of and behind the camera) are partaking in.
A new ghost-poaching series called Hollywood Ghost Hunters, in which Kane and his buddies inspect and monitor paranormal activity in haunted L.A. houses.
The man’s not just a horror actor, he’s genuinely dedicated to the world of the macabre, and nothing can be more evident than this new endeavor. Check it out right here.
And that brings us to Vincent Craig (VC) Dupree. As a man without an acting credit for some 15 years, Dupree is back on the acting scene and fully determined to get his name out in the ether. As pugilist Julius Gaw in JASON TAKES MANHATTAN, Dupree has the awesome distinction of not only putting up one of the lengthiest fights against Voorhees, the man literally gets his block knocked off. And making his way to a few horror conventions and other fan-gatherings, Dupree is stunned to this day how devoted and informed his fans are. The fact that people still recognize him some 20 years later speaks volumes as to the staying power of not only the film series, but his character as well. I’m proud to report, aside from being as nice a guy as can be, VC Dupree is currently filming the 4th or 5th episode of the new TV series “Eastwick” – based on the 1987 horror/comedy WITCHES OF EASTWICK. So look out for great things to come from him as well.
As far as Dan Farrands goes (who also worked on Crystal lake Memories, what Kane deems the single best book on the film series), his plans are to take a much needed sabbatical after climbing the arduous Crystal Lake mountain. He did admit to having more horror series in the works that he looks forward to sharing with us all. All in all it was an extremely fun visit, and getting to break bread with some of the folks responsible for generating my interests in (horror) movies was quite an honor. But even more thrilling than inadvertently ordering the same meal as Kane Hodder (pesto penne with chicken), it was the parting words Mr. Voorhees uttered to me as he walked off into a sun-drenched LA afternoon. After lamenting his escalating age, Hodder looked over at me and mused, “you’re just a little punk bitch.” Well, in the presence of you Kane, I sure as hell am!
The Deluxe Paramount DVDs for THE NEW BLOOD (get it here) & JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (get it here) are available now!
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