Friday the 13th: Should we accept Jason Voorhees is a Deadite?
By Joey Click
Director of Jason Goes To Hell, Adam Marcus, thinks Jason Voorhees is a Deadite from the Evil Dead series. Should we accept this as fact or fan fiction?
For years, fans have been speculating what the Necronomicon is doing in Jason Goes To Hell. A fun Easter egg for Evil Dead fanatics, the inclusion of the immortal text has been a hot topic in the genre for decades.
Then, last week, things really got interesting. With our friends at HorrorGeekLife interviewing Jason Goes To Hell director, Adam Marcus, the topic came up again. Only this time, the filmmaker set the record straight.
Here’s what Marcus is saying about Jason being a Deadite:
"“She [Pamela Voorhees] makes a deal with the devil by reading from the Necronomicon to bring back her son. This is why Jason isn’t Jason. He’s Jason plus The Evil Dead, and now I can believe that he can go from a little boy that lives in a lake, to a full grown man in a couple of months, to Zombie Jason, to never being able to kill this guy. That, to me, is way more interesting as a mashup, and Raimi loved it!”"
Marcus, whose new film Secret Santa is currently playing the film festival circuit, goes on to say:
"“It’s not like I could tell New Line my plan to include The Evil Dead, because they don’t own The Evil Dead. So it had to be an Easter egg, and I did focus on it…there’s a whole scene that includes the book, and I hoped people would get it and could figure out that’s what I’m up to. So yes, in my opinion, Jason Voorhees is a Deadite. He’s one of The Evil Dead.”"
Well Mr. Marcus….let’s get into it.
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Personally, I’m leaning on thinking no, Jason’s not a Deadite. The reason being, although I love Jason Goes To Hell (yeah I said it), I’m not sure someone like Marcus should be, or attempting to, have so much reign over two franchises he ultimately has very little to do with. I love Marcus, but what he’s saying is taking a lot of liberties, especially with the Friday the 13th series.
Sure, he said he talked to Raimi, but I don’t think either have the right to assume, or change, Jason’s origins — that’s a big deal. So to say Jason’s a Deadite is a stretch.
Now, do I like the idea? HELL YEAH I DO! The logic and plot holes of the entire Friday the 13th franchise are suddenly fixed if so — or a lot more believable. If taken as fact, it explains Jason Takes Manhattan’s ending and JGTH’s opening. It explains how the ending to the original classic could be real, and yet Jason comes back for Alice in Part 2 as a grown man. It doesn’t explain, however, where Jason is during the original if Pamela has already resurrected her son….I’ll leave that one for you to figure out.
Next: Jason Goes to Hell’s Magic Dagger prop has been stolen
So, do you think Jason’s biggest enemy is actually Ash? Is the hockey-masked menace a Deadite?