Celebrating 25 years of horror: 'Friday the 13th'

Celebrating 25 years of horror: 'Friday the 13th'

Jason Voorhees, the central character of 'Friday the 13th, who has made all of us scream in horror with his terrorising acts (the hockey-mask wearing, the machete-wielding and mass-killings) has turned 25.

And to mark the occasion, alumni of the long-running horror-flick series gathered under one roof at the Universal Studios on Saturday- the concluding night of the ScreamFest Horror Film Festival.

As part of the silver jubilee celebrations, a book aptly titled "Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th", was released by entertainment reporter Peter M. Bracke.

An actor, present in the famous Jason costume managed to attract a lot of attention. In fact, many of those who fell victim to Jason in the movies cheered him on with a rendition of "Happy Birthday".

And "Jason” made every effort not to spoil the fun. He cut one piece of the birthday cake and then, much to the amusement of everyone, pulled out his renowned weapon and shred the cake to pieces.

As they autographed copies of Bracke's cherished work, the 50 odd alumni simultaneously shared their experiences about being part of this horror-flick series.

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Remembering the good old days, Bobbi Morgan- who had the privilege of starring in the first 'Friday the 13th' movie- recalled her unsuccessful attempts in the movie to escape from Jason's wrath, only ending up being the first of his many victims.

Diana Barrows, another actress who has been part of the horror family, (“Friday the 13th VII: The New Blood" which hit the big screens 17 years ago) revealed how she was mobbed by autograph hunters in Poland. She also pointed out the universal appeal this horror-film series derive courtesy the fan mails she receives from Australia, Japan, etc.

Speaking on behalf of ScreamFest, Rudy Scalese felt that audiences' attitude towards Jason has changed over the years. Rudy observed how everybody hated Jason in the beginning but with time, people have begun to appreciate him as a dreaded villain just like they do in James Bond flicks.

For those still wanting to see more of Jason, there might be some good news in store. Apart from planning on a fresh venture, talks are also on about remaking the original and continuing from there.

As Bracke puts it, "Why stop at 25 years?”

Well, the horror buffs are definitely waiting with bated breath to be terrified by Jason all over again.