Friday the 13th - Set Visit Preview

I, through my vicarious scream queendom as the senior reporter for Horror.com, have been fortunate enough to interview almost all of the generators of my childhood nightmare-makers.

When I was a kid, suddenly finding myself waking up at 3:15 a.m. after having viewed the movie and read the book, I never dreamed I'd one day meet George Lutz of Amityville Horror fame. When my friends and I were scaring each other in the middle of the night at slumber-parties aping the "ki-ki-ki-ma-ma-ma" Friday the 13th theme, I never imagined I'd one day meet and befriend the composer, Harry Manfredini. Never thought I'd get picked up and held aloft like a ragdoll by Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder), joke around about accidental finger-knife self- circumcision with Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund), or share a bite to eat with Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen). I guess it's no secret the people behind the scenes of these classic horror films are typically just nice, easygoing guys who happen to love horror movies just as much as their fans do.

And for whatever reason, when it comes to the reboots, the folks at Platinum Dunes Productions — no doubt the crowned princes of fright flick do-overs — somehow manage find and cast the coolest actors of them all.

Horror.com has been along for the bloody slip-n-slide with producers Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Bradley Fuller since their first outing, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in 2003. There, on-set in The Lone Star State (but whose sky is home to millions of bugs and bats), Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski), took the time to share his honest feelings about stepping into such iconic, clunky shoes and even went so far as to sign personalized photos for all the genre journalists on set.

While the real George Lutz wasn't a villain, the actor who portrayed him as such, Ryan Reynolds for the Amityville Horror remake, was hilariously good-humored when we discussed his long cinematic history with doggie-dissing and indulgently went with me into speculation as to whether the beard made the Brolin, or Brolin made the beard. (Lutz, Brolin, and Reynolds all rocked the facial fur for their supernatural standoffs.)

After that, Platinum Dunes remade The Hitcher, and Horror.com again went along for the ride. That movie's baddie, played by Sean Bean, made a special trip to the hotel for interviews on a day that he wasn't even scheduled to work.

Next up was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel, where, for whatever reason, I got a big, wet kiss from Bryniarski on the red carpet for the movie's big Hollywood premiere. It was a real "Dear Diary…" moment.

Now, it's Jason's turn to walk the remake gauntlet. The new villainous Voorhees is played by 6'5" stuntman/comedian/actor Derek Mears [pictured], and I've got to honestly say, he's the most impressive of them all.

I returned yesterday from the set after witnessing an all-night shoot as the production nears completion (yes, they plan to wrap on Friday, June 13 — those geeks!). I'm restricted, for now, in revealing exactly which awesomely gory, ultra-violent kill I witnessed, but hey — I can keep telling you how nice everybody was. (Yeah, we're hardcore here at Horror.com!).

We didn't get a chance to chat with the film's director, Marcus Nispel (back with Platinum Dunes, after helming the super-successful the Texas Chainsaw Massacre for them), but producers Fuller and Form were more than accommodating, making sure that our small group got to see absolutely everything from the inside out, and candidly answering every question from the obvious ("Why are you remaking all the untouchable horror classics?" Because they genuinely love horror movies, and if it wasn't them doing the movies it would just be somebody else anyway) to the arcane ("Why is Jason wearing a bridle in the movie?" Ha, ha… I am going to make you wait for the answer to that one!).

At about 3:30 a.m., while still in the midst of shooting, Mears kindly paused and posed for pics with all his fans (yes, we make our livings covering the biz, but who can be jaded enough to say 'No, thanks' to a Kodak moment with Mr. Machete himself?).

The soft-spoken yet enthusiastic actor talked frankly about his dedication to not only making Jason his own, but how he has been hard at work on doing just that while still remaining faithful to the icon. It's really quite an interview and I am eager to share it with you as soon as the studio's embargo is lifted. I think you'll all be surprised by the tweaks and twists.

Until then, and since you can forget about the remakes stopping anyway, I leave you with the immortal words of Crazy Ralph from the first Friday movie: "Doomed! You're all doomed!"

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