Any viewer’s
search for the best Friday the 13th fan
film needn’t go much further than The Hunt for Jason. The
film grips its viewer by the throat from the get-go and holds steady
at full throttle until its finish. There is little if any dialogue.
If the characters do speak, it’s not memorable. Rather, The Hunt
for Jason is all about meticulously choreographed action
sequences. In fact, its brisk runtime plays out more like a fight
scene, or perhaps a particularly well-conceived pro wrestling match
or even a brutal ballet. Jason and his Special Ops pursuer trade
various blows and grapples while countering one another’s attacks.
This film’s Jason is styled after Richard Brooker’s performance
in Part 3, and the actor portraying him achieves the shambling gait,
the hanging arms, and the knuckle-dragging impeccably. The actor
playing the Spec Ops guy isn’t so bad either. They complement each
other so compellingly, you almost forget they are both teenagers.
Together, they’ve come up with some truly virtuoso stuff and
culminate in a few undeniably cinematic moments. All people involved
should end up working in films or gaming. Of course, The Hunt for
Jason is a fan film so, as could be expected, it’s not perfect.
Sure, it’s mostly set in a desiccated Southern California
backyard, but the departure from the lake setting is not to its
disadvantage. The Hunt for Jason is about claustrophobic,
non-stop action, and it delivers that. Any description provided here
will do little justice to the kinesthetic brilliance the players in
Hunt for Jason embody. So with that said, I urge you to fire
it up on YouTube, and to be awed.
Watch it here.