Crystal Lake review – Friday the 13th gets unnecessary expansion in gory and goofy series
Linda Cardellini tries her best but this baffling attempt to add backstory to one of horror’s thinnest franchises is IP stretching at its most pointless The unending exhaustion of IP has forced us to ask questions we never really wanted or needed to ask. How did the Pink Ladies in Grease come to be the Pink Ladies? What would happen if one of The Craft witches had a kid who was also a witch? Why is the yellow brick…
Key points
- Crystal Lake is an eight-part Peacock series expanding the Friday the 13th franchise's backstory.
- The show focuses on Pamela Voorhees, Jason's murderous mother, played by Linda Cardellini.
- The series is available now on Peacock in the US, Stan in Australia on 16 October and Now in the UK on 19 October.
Crystal Lake, a new eight-part streaming series based on the Friday the 13th franchise, has been reviewed as an unnecessary expansion that turns a simple slasher into an overstuffed backstory. The show explores the origins of Jason Voorhees and focuses mainly on the psychology of his mother, Pamela, who was the killer in the original 1980 film.
Linda Cardellini, fresh off an Emmy win, stars as Pamela, a camp cook and single mother whose disfigured son dies in the cold open. The review says she tries to bring prestige to the pulp and almost succeeds, but the show's tone is less sure than her performance.
What the series covers
The review notes that Pamela appeared in less than 15 minutes of the 46-year-old original movie and was best known as a Halloween costume or a Scream trivia answer. The series reimagines her as an ex-nightclub singer, an experimented-on Stepford Wife, a grieving mother and an avenging angel.
Creator Brad Caleb Kane includes flashbacks, a conspiracy, romance, police corruption, a plucky journalist, a seance, a nefarious life coach and a shadowy corporation. The review calls it expansion for expansion's sake and compares it to Bates Motel but for a film without the texture of Psycho.
It’s expansion for expansion’s sake in a show that isn’t as heinous as it could be
— The Guardian review
Critical verdict
The review describes the show as not as heinous as it could be, but a passable answer to a question that should never have been asked. It says horror fans might appreciate the fan service and the nasty gore, but others will find the overcomplicated and underpowered Crystal Lake not worth the stay.
The review concludes that Jason will inevitably return, with a new film reportedly in the works, but despite Cardellini's best efforts, it might be best to leave Pamela behind.
