The Friday the 13th saga in the courtroom is quickly becoming even scarier than the one onscreen. Currently, the original film’s writer Victor Miller is engaged in a legal fight with Sean Cunningham and Horror Inc. A judge ruled last year that the original screenplay belongs to the man who penned it. This, however, does not apply to the character of adult Jason Voorhees, who didn’t appear until the feature’s many sequels.
Cunningham and Horror Inc., that same film’s director and the franchise’s producer, recently filed an appeal in an attempt to get the rights back. They’re arguing that the court’s decision does not just negatively impact them, but could potentially have extremely damaging ramifications for the entire industry.
In layman’s terms, this means any expected early settlement is out the window and the legendary supernatural slasher won’t be donning his signature hockey mask any time soon. Regardless of where fans stand on the whole matter, it’s depressing for all to watch such a cultural cornerstone be dragged through a mess like this. All audiences want is to enjoy an invulnerable psychopath slaughter foolish teens. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask, right?
While horror enthusiasts impatiently wait for this to sort itself out, they can at least still enjoy other aspects of the franchise. For example, an impressive fan-made film that pits Jason against fellow serial killer Michael Myers is making its rounds on the Internet. Additionally, the set of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives will be open for fans to enjoy in August.
It might not be as good as a reboot, but it’ll have to make due until all of this blows over. Judging by how things are going though, that might be a while.
