Friday the 13th fans have been waiting for the release of 13 Fanboy, and now that moment has arrived. Directed by Deborah Voorhees, who had a very memorable death in Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, the movie serves as a big reunion for various stars of the Friday the 13th franchise. That includes Corey Feldman and frequent Jason actor Kane Hodder, though legendary scream queen Dee Wallace also leads the cast. You can watch the trailer below.
13 Fanboy comes along after a successful crowdfunding campaign. This is in part due to the Friday the 13th series languishing in development hell because of the legal battle over its rights. Horror fans have been eager to see more, and while Jason Voorhees is not the killer in 13 Fanboy, it’s a must-see film for fans of the series because of the sheer amount of familiar faces fans will recognize. This time, however, these stars will be fending for their actual lives with this mysterious killer attacking them because of a horror movie obsession gone dangerously too far.
The synopsis reads: “An obsessed fan stalks his favorite actors from the Friday the 13th films and beyond. As a child, Kelsie Voorhees witnesses the murder of her grandmother, Friday the 13th actress Deborah Voorhees, at the hands of a crazed fanboy. As an adult, she discovers her grandmother isn’t the only victim and the killer is still out there searching for his favorite Friday the 13th cast members and iconic scream queens to slaughter, mirroring his idol Jason Voorhees, as he still can’t seem to separate the characters in the movies from their real-life personas.”
The cast includes a myriad of real life actors and actresses from the Friday the 13th films as well as iconic scream queens playing fictionalized versions of themselves including fan favorites Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Jason X), Corey Feldman, (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, The Goonies, Stand By Me, The Lost Boys, Gremlins), Dee Wallace (The Howling, Cujo, Halloween (2007), Critters, ET) Tracie Savage (Friday the 13th: Part III), Ron Sloan (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning), Judie Aronson (Friday the 13th: Final Chapter), Jennifer Banko (Friday the 13th VII,Texas Chainsaw Massacre III), Vincente DiSanti (Jason Rising, Never Hike Alone), and more.
“Horror fans are the best,” says Deborah Voorhees, director, “but every once in a while, you get someone who feels scary. I’ve received texts saying, ‘He’s watching you right now,’ or ‘wouldn’t it be cool if you were killed like you died in the film?’
These experiences sparked the idea, when Voorhees met with veteran producer Joel Paul Reisig. The idea frightened her because there is that tiny unspoken fear inside her that said something like this could actually happen. Voorhees and Reisig wrote the script with the idea of having most of the actors playing themselves.
“After several sleepless nights, I realized that if it scared me this much, it would scare others too. I had been looking for a film for horror fans for a while. It just feels like it is the time for this film. Initially, I planned to only direct, but with Reisig’s encouragement I took on a role. Admittedly, I was a little nervous playing a role that feels so real.”
13 Fanboy premiered on Oct. 22, 2021. The movie is playing in limited movie theaters around the United States and can be viewed on demand.