Friday the 13th remains in legal limbo as the appeals process rumbles on with no apparent end in sight. The years-long battle between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham means it’s now over a decade since we saw a new movie in the iconic horror franchise, but fortunately, some extremely talented fans have stepped up to the plate to deliver a series of incredible movies that bring Jason Voorhees back to life.
At the front of the pack is Womp Stomp Films, who released the impressive Never Hike Alone in 2017, a cool-as-hell 54-minute fan effort that saw series star Thom Matthews return to the role of Tommy Jarvis. Now, the sequel to it has just landed in the form of Never Hike in the Snow. It’s available for free, is 30 minutes long and well worth checking out.
Once again, Womp Stomp Films have elevated what a fan-made production can be, turning out something with great cinematography, writing and acting. To be quite honest, it’s a damn sight better than most of the official Friday the 13th movies. I won’t spoil too much, but there’s a particularly awesome (and weirdly touching) scene in which Jason reunites with his mother and she removes his hockey mask.
For more, here’s the synopsis:
“Set three months prior to ‘Never Hike Alone,’ ‘Never Hike in the Snow’ follows the strange disappearance of Mark Hill (Courtlan Gordon), a Crystal Lake resident who went for a hike in the dead of winter and never came home.
As Local Wessex County Sheriff Rick Cologne (Vinny Guastaferro) and Deputy Allen Mabry (Bryan Forrest) search for answers, town local Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) believes that his old nemesis Jason Voorhees (Vincente DiSanti) is to blame. Will Diana Hill (Anna Campbell) ever see her son again, or will her son become another lost victim of the cursed camp?”
This fan effort is set to be followed up in style, as Womp Stomp Films have already announced Never Hike Alone II: Never Hike Again, Never Hike Alone III: Jason Takes Crystal Lake and Never Hike Alone IV: The Final Hike. If fans can turn out work of this quality, then I say let the legal battle rumble on indefinitely.
Be sure to let us know what you think of Never Hike In The Snow in the comments section after you watch it. I’m hosting a virtual Halloween party in a few weeks and I’m definitely going to screen this one for my friends.
