Written, shot, edited & directed by fan film maverick Chris R. Notarile “Voorhees: Born on a Friday” depicts the events of how Jason’s mother Pamela Voorhees (Monica Dinatale) takes the news of her son drowning, to be honest, I saw it on 123movies. Unlike most fan films that I’ve seen this one goes the route of focusing on Pamela rather than the more infamous Jason (like the original Sean S. Cunningham film of 1980).

The film opens with Pamela preparing a birthday cake for her son to the song “Happy Birthday Baby” by Tune Weavers when the sheriff informs her of her son’s death.

What’s most shocking about this whole sequence is in how well Notarile opens the film with what should be the happiest day of any mother’s life before ripping it all to shreds. Unlike the Cunningham film, this film decides to focus on “ground zero” of Pamela’s rage as she goes after the camp councilor directly responsible for the death of her son. Katherine’s (Dana Jesberger) responsibility was to watch and take care of Pamela’s “special” little boy and in failing to do so encourage the wrath of a distraught Mrs. Voorhees. After the shocking opening, the film jumps straight into Voorhees chasing down Pamela through the woods where they eventually end up at the exact lake and dock that Jason drowned at leaving the two at the ultimate confrontation that will determine the course of the rest of Pamela’s existence (and thus the events depicted in the original Cunningham film).

Notarile has written a well-paced and deliberate film in which not a single frame is wasted. Fans of the franchise will pick up on all the subtle hints and story that links this film to the original film and the legacy of the franchise as a whole. Notarile has done a great job in crafting a film for the fans. This being said, the film is also a great jumping-on point for people not familiar with the franchise as it is also a self-contained short that you do not need to have seen any of the original films in order to comprehend. Whereas most fan films simply rehash elements of one or more of the original franchise, Notarile’s film comes off as a standalone short that could have easily made for an original short film (although we fan are very glad that he takes the direction that he does).

Dinatale makes an exceptional Mrs. Voorhees and inherits the mantle well from Betsy Palmer, the Original Mrs. Voorhees, and does a much better job than the other women who have played the character in subsequent films. Also of note is the amazing production design and art direction as the location that doubles for Camp Crystal Lake is amazing and the opening sequence is hands down pitch-perfect. The film ends with Ricky Nelson’s “Teenager’s Romance” which is befitting of the film and of the franchise as a whole.

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