Review: Crystal Lake Season 1 Is The Ultimate Friday The 13th Nostalgia Trip And Perfect New Beginning For The Franchise

It has been an excruciating seventeen years for fans since the last major Friday The 13th project was released. The 2009 film was released in theaters in February during a period of time where there was a huge reboot boom in the horror genre that saw most every horror heavyweight character and franchise remade, even one character and franchise that what was once thought untouchable in Michael Myers and Halloween. What transpired immediately after the remake boom slowed were studios grasping at what to do next with their money-making IP's. 

In 2010, fans were supposed to get a direct sequel to the Mark Swift and Damian Shannon written 2009 film, but for reasons still unknown to many, New Line Cinema scrapped the idea before it even got into production. Shortly after the sequel died, there were numerous attempts at resurrecting the franchise with such ideas like a new film in 3-D, found footage, and even a really off the rails prequel film in 2017 that would have had Elias (Jason's dad), Pamela, and Jason Voorhees all killers (or maybe not too crazy?). That film was weeks away from production when Paramount shut it down, with the thought that low horror box office numbers at the time were a sign of bad things to come. It also didn't help that Victor Miller had filed his Termination of Copyright by this point and would more than likely have stalled any sequels that may have been ready to succeed that ill-fated 2017 film.

Without getting too much into the weeds, and definitely without attempting to analyze everything that took place for nearly six years, original Friday The 13th film writer Victor Miller filed a Notice of Termination with the copyright office in order to claim certain Friday The 13th rights that he felt belonged to him per his script for Friday The 13th 1980. After a prolonged legal battle, Victor was afforded his rights, which brings us to present day and this review.

On Halloween 2022, it was announced that A24 would be developing a new Friday The 13th television series called Crystal Lake that would stream on Peacock. However, the franchise seemed cursed still as once again a project was delayed and years passed by after that announcement due to a writer's strike as well as a change in showrunner for the series. Thankfully, Crystal Lake began filming on June 20th, 2025 where the focus would be a prequel to Friday The 13th 1980 and Pamela Voorhees would be the central figure for the story. This plot point rattled some already skeptical fans as calls for Jason, and just Jason, were seen in the online community. The question was asked, "Why do I care about Jason's mother?"

Before reviewing the show, it must be mentioned that this first season of Crystal Lake is an absolute love letter to the original 1980 film. If you are a fan of Sean Cunningham's first trip to Crystal Lake, you will be smiling ear to ear for the majority of the episodes.

For a series tone setter, Episode 1 of Crystal Lake begins with a bloodied Pamela Voorhees questioning her horrific actions. It is a tense and anxiety fueled moment that is designed to show the audience that this story is serious and about to take you on a murderous journey back to Crystal Lake. Before we find out what Pamela has done, we are transported back nine months prior to a time when Camp Crystal Lake is opened for business during the summer of 1971. We are introduced to a young and kindhearted Jason Voorhees who is sympathetically portrayed by actor Callum Vinson. Jason's innocence is all the more tragic due to his physical deformity which causes bullying, and he also endures epileptic episodes with intense seizures. This causes his mother Pamela to go into maternal overdrive to care for and reassure him that he deserves to live a normal life.

Linda Cardellini is everything as advertised in the numerous trailers released the last several months as her portrayal as Pamela Voorhees experiences so many different levels of emotions and physical encounters, that I genuinely wonder how she made it out of this production with some semblance of sanity. It is a testament to her skills on how she brought the Pamela character to life in such a believable and tragic way.

The work of Calum and Linda together in their scenes as Jason and Pamela are so genuine and loving, that I found myself emotional watching their scenes. I never expected to ever feel that way watching a Friday The 13th story, but it is very real and that much more heartbreaking when Pamela loses her son.

After the introductions to Jason and Pamela, we're off to camp with a stylistically vintage Camp Crystal Lake. The audience is presented with all sorts of characters, such as returning franchise residents from Friday The 13th 1980 like Crazy Ralph, Barry, and Claudette. We also meet new characters such as Grace (a pivotal character in Jason's arc), who is Jason's only friend, as well as John and Kay Christy who own and operate the camp. Yes, their son Steve Christy is nearby as well and appears in spots throughout the different episodes in the first season of the show.

The prologue for Episode 1 concludes with the expertly expanded scenario of Jason drowning in Crystal Lake. This important scene is the entire basis for the Crystal Lake series as well as all of the films in the franchise and thankfully it is handled with the utmost care. If you have seen the original film, you know the story as Jason is left unattended in Crystal Lake while counselors Barry and Claudette have sex. Of course, there is much more to it than just that, but you will soon find out everything that takes place.

The opening credits are a banger with new and original music from franchise composer stalwart Harry Manfredini, complete with recreated title block lettering pulled directly from the original film. 

It's nine months later and Pamela is lamenting the loss of her son Jason. She is befriended by Sheriff Levon Brooks who shows the utmost concern for her throughout the season and definitely wants more than friendship as Pamela navigates the loss of Jason. William Catlett is a stabilizing force in the series as Levon whereas his character is not from Crystal Lake and normalizes the burgeoning situations in town compared to the cartoonish residents of Crystal Lake. Characters have made the films enjoyable in the past, and although some of the townies are cartoonish, that is ok in my book as it makes the story all the more entertaining.

Speaking of entertaining characters, Cameron Scoggins portrays Officer Dorfman (Dorf to all of you) with so much energy and naive gleefulness that I couldn't help but smile every time he is in a scene. Although Dorf can be idiotic in places, he is definitely humanized more later in the season and is a perfect foil to Sheriff Brooks. Enos is also another returning character from the 1980 film, and actor Daniel Stewart Sherman is having a blast playing the lovable Elston Oil Supply employee. Although Enos is not really expanded upon too much in this season, hopefully we get more from him in Season 2.

Actor Nick Cordeleone is perfection as Crazy Ralph. He embodies all of the quirks of the character and even nails "that voice" made famous by the late Walt Gorney. Ralph is a war veteran that lives in the woods and in classic fashion knows there's something terribly wrong in Crystal Lake as something is lurking in those woods.

Crystral Lake Season 1 happens because Jason "drowns" and his subsequent disappearance appears in the major newspapers which triggers a chain of events that bring shadowy figures from Pamela's past to Crystal Lake, cause Pamela's psyche to fracture, and many deaths to take place. Once Pamela finds out that Camp Crystal Lake is reopening again, we all know it will not end well, and that is part of the fun of the show. It is hard to give a proper review without revealing the major spoilers of the first season, but it has to be said that this is an extremely well-made show. Brad Caleb Kane is a true fan at heart, and it shows in the extraordinary story threads for sure.

Composer Giosuè Greco offers a great score for the series which blends elements of sounds heard in the films with new music that better reflects this new story and the characters found within. Don't worry, we get the classic Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma sound in the precise and exact moments we all expect to hear it during certain scenes and that made me cheer out loud in jubilation.

Fans want to know...is Jason in the show? Yes, he's in every episode! Something definitely is lurking in the woods of Crystal Lake! There is also the mystery surrounding Pamela's past and how she ends up in Crystal Lake with Jason. That is the most top secret of storylines that I cannot divulge now, but needless to say, it does offer an explanation for why Jason has an indestructible nature about him.

Some lasting thoughts.

- Barry and Claudette's demise has a twist that may leave fans a little upset, but it leads into more fun moments and carnage for Pamela.

- Jason's backstory will be very much divisive. There is no doubt about it as there are some truths to the rumors floating about online the last several weeks. 

- The practical effects are awesome throughout the series with some absolutely shocking and gnarly kills, but there is one death with an egregious use of CGI in the last episode that looks terrible and it is unfathomable that it was kept in the final cut. 

- I see why Peacock is placing all episodes online at once as there is a lot of character development in the first few episodes that might lose some of the audience releasing them once a week. Having the episodes available all at once will keep people invested to watch them all the way through to the season's conclusion.

As mentioned before, this is a love letter to fans of the original film, with amazing shot for shot remade scenes from Friday The 13th 1980 interwoven into a new story that elevates the history of Pamela, Jason and Crystal Lake to a whole new level. This series is a new beginning for the franchise, that in a way could be viewed as a reboot. Friday The 13th fans will truly enjoy Episodes 4-6 as a lot of the classic elements of the films take place within those installments. The last ten minutes or so of Episode 8 will make the series worth the wait and clamoring for Season 2. Overall, Season 1 is an excellent episodic take on Friday The 13th and is essential viewing for any fan of the original films of the franchise.