The Lost Script of Friday the 13th Part 13: Three Killers, a Trident, and Chaos
As we wait what feels like an eternity for a new entry in the Friday the 13th franchise (and no, Sweet Revenge does not count), it felt appropriate to look back at the time we almost got one in the mid-2010s. Taking inspiration from the first four films, this entry would feature three different killers, an origin story, and…a trident? Okay, things are about to get weird. So let’s see what could have been with Friday the 13th Part 13.
I think after the awesome 2009 reboot, most of us expected further adventures from Jason Voorhees. Then it just never came. The franchise sat on the shelf, and we’d hear rumblings of another film. Nick Antosca was involved at one point, but that never happened. Though we did cover his script on the channel here, so check that out if you’re interested. The studio even wanted a found footage version, but thankfully, producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form pushed back on the idea.
Things were quiet for a while until suddenly it was announced: a new film written by Aaron Guzikowski and directed by Breck Eisner. Guzikowski had written the phenomenal Prisoners, and Eisner had directed the remake of The Crazies. It seemed pretty intriguing, and things were full steam ahead. Obviously, we know it never happened, but what made Platinum Dunes so excited to get this into production? Let’s take a look at the screenplay itself.
The script starts off with what seems like Baghead Jason killing a couple trying to get busy in an old ranger tower. Given that the tower is so high up and the action beats required, this feels like it’d be a CGI nightmare. Oh—and it’s not actually Jason. It’s Elias Voorhees wearing a sack on his head. Because that’s what we’ve always needed in our Friday the 13th stories: Jason’s papa. Apparently he’s a ranger near Camp Crystal Lake, and this is his fire tower. Sorry, I’ll try not to be too negative about it, but the story feels all over the place and missing the core elements that make the franchise great.
The first act takes place in 1977 and mostly sets up the counselors and Jason’s drowning. The counselors are pretty unlikable and act obnoxious—which, okay, they’re 14–17-year-olds—but it makes it hard to care about them. It is cool, though, to finally see the camp operating. Even if we only meet a few characters, there are some weird moments. Like head counselor Annie using amphetamines to swim faster. A 17-year-old in the ’70s has a bottle of amphetamines, and this is the girl we’re supposed to like as she actually stands up for Jason at one point! Also, Jason and Pamela have a strange telepathic connection, which seems like a callback to the original film. (“Kill her mommy!”)
Unfortunately, Jason’s drowning has almost no impact. Annie and the other counselors take him to a nearby island called Big Brick, then THINK they see him drown in the lake. It’s a wishy-washy moment and all just a weird misunderstanding.
Things get darker when Annie reports the drowning to her parents, the Christies, who own the camp—they cover it up. [P.28: “Annie, that boy was a burden on his parents. And if you can’t keep this quiet—well, that would be a burden on your father and I…”] Holy hell. What an insanely selfish response to a kid drowning.
It gets crazier with Elias Voorhees. He shows up at the Voorhees house in just his underwear, carrying some seriously abusive-dad vibes. Remember how he killed the two kids at the start? He slashes the throats of Annie’s accomplices—not because he knows anything about Jason’s disappearance, but just because he’s a wacko who likes to kill with a sack over his head. The script tries to blame Elias’ madness on Jason’s telepathy, but it’s all messy.
Three years later (1980, if you’re counting), Crystal Lake is an all-girls camp, with a nearby boys’ camp named Packanack—a nod to the second film. It’s the last day of camp. Annie lives in town, while her younger sister Mary has essentially taken her place swimming. Annie is traumatized from covering up Jason’s supposed drowning. Pamela is going a bit crazy over Jason’s disappearance and heads up Elias’ fire tower, finds evidence pointing to him, murders Elias with a machete, and then discovers an old film reel revealing the truth. She snaps completely and starts killing counselors.
Pamela uses Mary to lure Annie back to Camp Crystal Lake. Mary is tied with a noose, nearly choking to death, while Pamela forces Annie to watch the reel revealing her lie. There’s a tense cat-and-mouse chase that ends at Big Brick—where Jason disappeared years earlier. Pamela get’s her head chopped off and a mysterious figure screams out in the night. Jason has been on the island the entire time!
Yes, really. He’s magically survived three years, never rescued, never contacted by his mother, and suddenly emerges for vengeance. It’s absurd, and the suspension of disbelief is through the roof. The police didn’t do any kind of search of the perimeter after all these people were killed the first time? And his mother, who seemingly has a psychic connection to him and was drawn to the fire tower and the reel of film, didn’t sense him there? And it’s a small island? How the hell did he even survive that long? It doesn’t help that the man suddenly is able to make his way from the island to the mainland to seek vengeance. So let me get this straight: he was stuck on this island this whole time, seemingly trapped by the water. But the moment he sees his mother die, he suddenly gets a plus 10 upgrade to his aquatic skills?
From here, the script leans into pure carnage. Jason dons his iconic hockey mask and wields a trident instead of a machete. It’s an odd choice but I won’t lie: Jason is pretty badass here. He’s treated like someone who knows the area well and is always one step ahead of his victims. Though, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that he’s suddenly a large and in charge man at only 19-years-old. Never mind the fact that he takes arrows, knives and even a boat propeller to the body at different points. He’s very supernatural here and it’s easily the dumbest part of the script. He literally crushes a guy’s head with his own hands. Look, I like me some zombie Jason. What I don’t like is some telepathic weirdo that takes over the mind of one random victim, meanwhile never contacts his mother who he’s obsessed with. Have some consistency! This could have been told without the supernatural element and it would have been infinitely cooler.
Then there’s the fire tower finale, which topples over in what would have been a very cheesy 2017 set piece. The movie ends with Annie dying from blood loss before Jason can even get to her, Mary escaping, and Jason disappearing back to his island. The last 30–40 pages race through the conclusion with little thought to pacing or character arcs.
Overall, the script wasn’t my cup of tea. Characters could have been developed more. Mary and Annie go from hating each other to suddenly in each other’s corners just because a killer is after them. Would have meant a lot more if they had some kind of relationship. Instead, it’s established that they haven’t even spoken in ages.
The dialogue ranges from okay to bad. The adults are full of exposition in their dialogue and the kids all just want to do drugs and say ridiculous things.
The movie was slated for an October 13, 2017 release, but obviously, that never happened. Platinum Dunes lost the rights, and the prolonged legal battle between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham stalled the franchise further. Now, in 2026, we have Crystal Lake, which looks at Pamela Voorhees on Peacock—but does the franchise really need more Jason origin stories? I’m not so sure.
What do you think? Would you have liked to see Guzikowski’s Friday the 13th Part 13 come to life? What direction should the franchise take next? Here’s hoping our wait ends before we all need walkers in the nursing home.
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