Friday the 13th: The Man in the Lake

The Man in the Lake stands out among Friday the 13th fan films as somewhat ambitious. It charges out of the gates with a grainy grindhouse-styled “feature presentation” intro and mostly keeps its foot on the pedal from there. The story is unravelled by way of nested narratives, starting with a campfire scene in which counsellors sing kumbaya to preteen campers and then tell the ur-myth of Jason in modified form. The campfire story then gives way to the oft-repeated arc of an earlier set of counsellors coming back to the camp and getting slaughtered despite warnings from the townsfolk. This version even has an amped-up iteration of the “Crazy Ralph” character, complete with his old-fashioned bicycle. The film draws from all parts of the franchise, thereby speaking to the timelessness of the Jason myth. That said, The Man in the Lake seems especially fixated on Part 6 and Part 2, and this turns out to be a fairly profitable pairing. The murder scenes are generally compelling, and there is one rock-to-face kill sequence that is commendably brutal. Some of the cast truly hold their own, most notably J.M. Finnel, who packs star power and winds up being the final girl, at least in some limited sense. Also praiseworthy is the non-plagiarized soundtrack. While most Friday the 13th fan films rely on Harry Manfredini’s original score—and forgivably so—The Man in the Lake by all indications contains original tunes that are eminently listenable. In true fan film form, though, The Man in the Lake is far from perfect. There are a few places where the dialogue tails off, and the settings are hit or miss (Jason’s shack, for instance, looks far too well-organized). Moreover, director Ron McLellen is too fixated on showing Jason in motion; the hockey-masked revenant is far more effective when he lurks in (and lunges out) from shadow. Finally, the film ends a bit abruptly. Nonetheless, The Man in the Lake holds its own with virtually any B-grade slasher, and therefore stands at the top of the pack among Friday the 13th fan films.

Watch it here!