“all we were trying to do was make a small movie for a small audience”

floor of Crystal Lake by a suddenly not- deadat- all Jason Voorhees…

“We nearly ran out of money and when I was doing that scene in the lake at the end we did not even have enough cash for a wetsuit,” sighs the actress. “It was absolutely freezing [ laughs]. We were on an absolute minimum budget and everyone was surprised that Sean even managed to finish the movie. I have never been so cold in my life!” the studios,” recalls King. “I remember that was how my mum saw it for the first time. It was at the Paramount lot and when the ending, with Jason, came out of nowhere she jumped right out of her seat [ laughs]. I turned around and saw Sean shaking hands with someone. It turned out it was Frank Mancuso, one of the top guys at Paramount Pictures, and the rest – as they say – is history…”

After Friday The 13th proved to be a phenomenon, Cunningham was handed the keys to the Hollywood castle. However, perhaps in tune with his rebellious independent beginnings, the director opted out of taking the reins of the sequels. Instead, selling away his property rights to Camp Crystal Lake, Cunningham wanted nothing to do with Paramount’s plans to make Friday The 13th into a fright franchise. “It was sort of like this little cash cow that kept coming around every year or two but which they were kind of embarrassed by,” he admits. “But, no, I don’t regret not doing the sequels. There are financial reasons why I should have made them but I just thought, ‘ I don’t want to do the same film all over again.’ I did Friday The 13th and that’s fine, but I didn’t want to keep doing it, and I wasn’t driven to do it.”

Nevertheless, the shadow of Jason would not leave Cunningham’s life. In the early 1990s his hit property was brought back into his possession and, just like Baron Frankenstein trying to murder his own monstrous creation, he attempted to kill it once for all. However, since Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday ( 1993’ s ninth instalment), Cunningham has been tempted back to produce Jason X ( 2002), Freddy Vs Jason ( 2003) and the inevitable remake ( in 2009). Despite his earlier attempt to walk away, the director- turned- producer just can’t seem to give up the Voorhees ghost…

“All we were trying to do with that first film was make a small movie that might find a small audience,” laughs the director in retrospect. “If you had told me Friday The 13th would somehow lead to merchandising, hockey masks and a television show I would never have believed you. It just goes to show, though, that 13 isn’t always an unlucky number!”