Friday Fanatic

Celebrating A Special Day With A Special Film (Spoilers)

13 Fanboy follows Kelsie Voorhees (Hayley Greenbauer), who’s the granddaughter of Friday the 13th actor Deborah Voorhees. While Kelsie herself is fictional, her grandmother is not. Voorhees  (yes, her last name was a factor in getting her cast, but not the only one) played Tina in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. In addition to playing herself in 13 Fanboy, Voorhees also directed and co-wrote the script with Joel Paul Reising.

The plot for this very meta slasher movie kicks off when young Kelsie (Poppy Gillett) witnesses an obssesed Friday the 13th fan murder Deborah. Years later, that same fan returns, stalking several other actors from the franchise and Kelsie, who has become an MMA fighter and scream queen. This film has many Friday the 13th actors play fictional versions of themselves, there are two exceptions.

You’re Not Yourself Today

There’s Corey Feldman, who plays this Harvey Weinstein-esque producer named Mike Merryman. Seeing Feldman not playing himself like the other Friday actors was so odd, because it’s not like he was a nobody in those films. He played Tommy Jarvis in the fourth film and the very beginning of the fifth (which is the one that Deborah Voorhees was in).

Who is Tommy Jarvis? Introduced in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (ha), he was the one who originally killed Jason. Tommy then went on to become the main protagonist in the next two installments, making him the third most reocurring character in the series behind Jason and his mother. Tommy is to Jason who Laurie Strode is to Michael Myers.

Another Friday actor who is less recognizable is Drew Leighty, who plays Kelsie’s boyfriend Chris. He was previously in Never Hike Alone: A Friday the 13th Fan Film, which I highly recommend watching. Vincente DiSanti, the guy who co-wrote, directed, and played Jason in Never Hike Alone, appears in 13 Fanboy as well, playing himself as a total creep.

Other Cast Members

Another Friday actor appearing in the movie is Tracie Savage, who says that she covered the O.J. Simpsons trial. You may think that sounds made up, but it’s true. Savage retired from acting after playing Debbie in Friday the 13th Part III and became a journamlist. During the O.J. trial, she refuesed to name one of her confidental sources despite the threat of jail time.

Deborah’s best friend in the film world is Dee Wallace, who is also playing herself. Though she has a lot of great horror movies to her name, a Friday film was never one of them. Instead, F@ИBoy13, the killer’s internet alias, is a fan of Wallace’s as Cynthia Strode. I would have expected him to be the type of fan who hates remakes, but I guess not. 

Two Jasons Are Better Than One

If you were to ask, most Friday fans would probably tell you that the definitive Jason actor is Kane Hodder. After all, there’s a reason that he played Jason four times (the most of any actor). Naturally, Hodder appears in 13 Fanboy as well, where he gets killed by F@ИBoy13. The death scene is a little sappy, but in an endearing way. Plus, it’s nice to see Hodder in a film where you can see his face and he can actually talk.

Another Jason actor in 13 Fanboy is C.J. Graham, who played the role in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Graham also played Elias Vorrhees, Jason’s dad, in the fan film Friday the 13th Vengeance, which I would also recommend watching. There’s a sequel to that fan film as well, Friday the 13th Vengeance 2: Bloodlines, but I didn’t like that one as much.

Good or Bad

13 Fanboy is a movie that I didn’t like as much as I was hoping I would. It doesn’t quite reach the full potential of its awesome premise, though my biggest problem with it is the pacing. For instance, there’s a stretch of time after the first act where Kelsie disappears from the film for about 20 minutes. That said, 13 Fanboy is still a solid movie that I would recommend watching if you’re a fan.

And happy Friday the 13th to all those that celebrate.