Cold Heart of Crystal Lake

By Jamie Lisk • Apr 24th, 2004 • Category: Experimental, Horror

Cold Heart of Crystal Lake is a short film based on the long-running Friday the 13th series, about a hockey mask-wearing serial killer named Jason Voorhees, stalking the woods surrounding the Crystal Lake campsite looking for victims. The original film Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller, spawned ten sequels, and a cottage industry of merchandise for fans who obsessed over the series. It is also inspired numerous people to go out and make their own films based on the franchise. These filmmakers sought no profit. Their only desire was to entertain. They simply wanted to share their unique re-envisioning of their ideas for the series, the characters within, and, of course, Jason Voorhees.

This is possibly the best of Friday the 13th fan films. Shot in two days, the film ranked Top Five in Cinescape’s Friday the 13th Fan Film Contest in 2003, something the producers are very proud of telling fans.

Set against the cold, snow-draped, landscape of ‘off season’ Camp Crystal Lake, three hunters are being stalked by Jason Voorhees, played by the massive Timothy Whitfield (Dark Woods). While one of the hunters finds himself (and his forehead) on the business end of Jason’s knife, the other two rush to get away—heading deeper into the woods. One of the hunters, Ray (Ron Brosh), heads back to rescue his friend. Of course, he is the only one of these three hunters who actually make it into the second act.

Later, after the credits (with Drowning Pool’s song ‘When the Bodies Hit the Floor’ blaring overtop), we discover that our surviving hunter hasn’t faired well. Too far from his truck and all alone in the woods, Ray decides to set up a makeshift campsite, hoping to wait out the night. At the same time, three twenty-something students, Kelly (Jillian Swanson), David (Chris Cipalone) and Kelly’s boyfriend, Lance (Eric Floyd), on a weekend jaunt to the woods, have some unexpected car troubles. Like Ray, they are stranded and alone. The only communication, a cell phone, is broken. Leaving the safety of their vehicle, the three decide to head down the deserted country road looking for help. Ray plays gracious host after the three kids accidentally stumble upon his campsite. He offers to let them stay with him for the night, even plying them with food and alcohol.

“Can’t we just hike back to your truck?” Kelly asks. “That’s not a good idea. These woods are dangerous after nightfall,” Ray tells her. This leads into the customary Jason Voorhees discussion, something his guests don’t readily want to believe. When David heads outside to go relieve himself, he is followed by Ray, who decides they would be safer in twos. Lance and Kelly, both on their way to complete inebriation, decide to have some quickie sex inside Ray’s cramped tent. With all the pieces in place, the inevitable third act—everybody getting killed, plays out and is actually quite enjoyable. The murders are inventive and plenty gory. Swanson’s death, which involves her entrails being methodically ripped out of her belly, is easily the most gruesome. The last shot, mindful of the tranquil final moment of the original Friday The 13th, features an angry Jason, clad in a camo jacket, stumbling upon his last intended victim, only to discover that mother nature herself has already taken care of him. Interesting.

Cliches abound, as Whitfield and Patnaud stay firm to the standard conventions of slasher-films, as well as the franchise that inspired them. Fans of the Friday the 13th series will find much to enjoy about the film, from the gore to the laughable cardboard characters/victims to the requisite moments of absurdity ramping up to Jason’s final hack and slash campaign. Swanson’s near naked sex scene with Eric Floyd while Jason cruises their tent, the height of the film’s absurdity, will have fans of the series emoting with great joy, knowing full well the consequences that follow such interactions. Conversely, many others, I’m sure, will deem Patnaud’s film a flimsy, ultra-gory, one-note slasher movie homage, and a waste of time.

Technically, the film is very well made, minus some choppy editing here and there. Patnaud and his crew, which include up and coming make-up artist, Jeremy O’Neail, as well as Jason Zyla and Mike DeFrancesco, proved they now how to make a very professional movie, even if the budget is non-existent. Jeremy O’Neail, who did some early special effects make-up work on the film, is quickly becoming a name in the mainstream world, working on Zombie Town and Disappearances, with legendary actress Geneviève Bujold. Another member of the crew, Mike DeFrancesco (Detour Into Madness Vol 1) wore numerous hats on this project including producer, lighting and still photographer. Also, Jason Zyla, who has dabbled in film, working on Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble, also provided some work on the script. Director Joe Patnaud surely owes these guys a debt of gratitude for helping him produce such a professional-looking film.

The acting on the other hand, is merely mediocre, with only two real stand-outs—Ron Brosh and the beautiful Jillian Swanson. Since appearing in Cold Heart of Crystal Lake, Swanson began carving out a career for herself in the low-budget horror film arena, appearing in Killer Campout, Camp Daze and Killer Pickton, a film based on real-life Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton. In late 2005, she re-teamed with Timothy Whitfield and Timberwolf Entertainment to appear in Detour Into Madness Vol 2. Ron Brosh, who plays Ray, is also working hard to carve out a career in television and mainstream films. In 2005 he appeared in Karla, the controversial film about real-life Canadian serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.

When it comes to Friday the 13th fan films, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Three and a half stars.

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