Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is the least characteristic of the Friday the 13th movies; it’s also the first and most notable movie by journeyman director Adam Marcus. That’s the helmer who’s been tapped to direct I Walked With A Zombie for RKO.
The 1943 original, directed by Jacques Tourneur, was Lewton’s follow-up to his low-budget horror producing debut Cat People. Lewton and his conspirators created a story to fit the title, liberally borrowing from Jane Eyre; the result was a creepy low-key tale of slavery and voodoo set in a Caribbean sugar cane plantation.
Marcus will write the script with Debra Sullivan, with whom he worked on Conspiracy, starring Val Kilmer. Variety says they’ll focus “on a private tutor who discovers a terrifying family
secret while working at the ancient estate of a New Orleans
businessman.”
Truthfully, I expect nothing out of this slate of remakes from RKO (which also includes Lewton’s Bedlam and The Body Snatcher) but because the originals essentially came out of nowhere and were jewels created out of thrifty b-movie stock, I hope for a little something. We’ll see.