Talk Horror The Mouth of Madness
Remember Summer Camp, Gun Media’s collaborative slasher-vs.-prey video game we heard about late last year? The one that was set to involve Tom Savini, Kane Hodder, and boasted a soundtrack from Harry Manfredini, all of whom were veterans of the Friday the 13th franchise?
For months, news on Summer Camp has been slim to none. Most recently, a website for the project, summercampgame.com, was empty save for a digital VCR clock in a dark room, slowly counting down the days until October the 13th.
As of now, the ticker at summercampgame.com has wound down, and the web page has revealed a big secret.
Remember the Friday the 13th game that was allegedly in planning stages back in 2014, another collaborative slasher-vs.-prey game, that had Friday the 13th producer Sean S. Cunningham on board its creative team?
It too has been silent for months. Now…
…They’re back, and the biggest surprise is, the two are one and the same.
That’s right. Amidst the woods where shirts emblazoned with “Summer Camp” lie discarded, there lurks a familiar figure wearing an unmistakable mask. And while his mother’s voice sounds a little different (rest in peace, Betsy Palmer) as it goes on a slightly extended cut of a familiar spite-corrupted lament, when she calls his name, you know it’s him. And today is his re-birth day.
Some time this year, Summer Camp’s co-developer Wes Keltner met with Sean Cunningham, hoping to bring another Friday the 13th alumnus on to the project’s team. But when Cunningham saw the spirited work Wes had put into the game (which early previews had already shown sporting a distinct “Crystal Lake” feeling), he gave his blessing and encouragement to retool the slasher homage into the full-fledged Friday the 13th experience!
“Forest Green” is now Crystal Lake, Kane Hodder’s character “Killer” is now the Jason Voorhees, and with the game’s overhaul, we at TalkHorror can only guess that maybe “your sleeping bag will be your body bag” means there’ll be a special nod or two in store for series super fans.
Talkhorror.com spoke with Wes Keltner eariler this month and got all the bloody details we could. Although we cannot reveal everything at this time, this new Friday the 13th game promises to take a machete to the memories of the 1989 NES misfire of the same name, as well as delivering the same strategic play-as-slasher and teamwork-vs.-terror mayhem that Summer Camp and the mystery Friday the 13th project were slated to introduce to the survival horror community.
However, with the aforementioned initial F13 video game concept presumably off the table, its earlier release date (originally planned for this month) has also been canceled. And due a combination of new expenses incurred from putting a big spin on the humble Summer Camp project, and certain powers-that-be who don’t want to risk too much money on a Friday the 13th game (unless it’s… *puke* …Rated T), like Jason Voorhees, this game cannot rise from the abyss by its power alone…
That’s why Gun Media has created a Kickstarter campaign, so fans can donate towards finishing the game in the way they know it deserves to be: gory, inventive and often nerve-rattling, in the spirit of the classic film series. Here, you can see several of the tricks and treats that await Friday the 13th, slasher film, and survival horror fans, and much of what is still in store should the game receive the necessary funding.
The end date for the crowd funding is in one month. That’s November 13th – the final Friday the 13th of 2015. By the time that day comes and goes, you can bet that Jason will live. With your power, the power of horror that has kept him coming back all these years, he cannot be stopped.
There will be more news to come in the very near future, but rest assured that Jason is back, and the first slasher video game event is dawning on us all. For now, check out the Kickstarter page below, and be among the first to contribute towards making the next Friday the 13th a very lucky day to be a horror fan:
http://f13game.com/kickstarter/
Also, visit Gun Media’s official page for the Friday the 13th game for more info and screenshots: http://f13game.com/
