Happy Friday the 13th 🗡️, Long Live Tommy Jarvis 🚶, 'Bark' leaves a bloody mark 🐕‍🦺, & more!

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The Ready or Not sequel, Ready or Not: Here I Come, directed by Radio Silence, has completed filming, and will walk down the aisle in April 2026. [Instagram]

Cillian Murphy will appear in the two sequels to 28 Years Later, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and the untitled third film. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will premiere exclusively in theaters on January 16, 2026.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights are up for grabs. The list of those wanting to acquire them is interesting. From Jordan Peele to Osgood Perkins. [Deadline]

We already have Evil Dead: The Musical, which is fantastic, but what about Evil Dead In Concert? The show saws its away across the U.S. beginning in mid-September. [Fangoria]

Tragedy of Tommy Jarvis -- Friday the 13th: A New Beginning Turns 40

You might be surprised to know that Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was my entry point into the franchise. I was no more than four or five, and I remember being absolutely enthralled. The blood, the guts, the scares! Of course, I was far too young to pick up the obvious clues of a copycat killer - the fact we never see Jason Voorhees resurrect, the different markings on the mask, etc. As I've grown older, I've come to appreciate what this series outlier does and how it injects the typical woodlands horror story with some emotional heft.

Years following the events of The Final Chapter, we meet a deeply troubled Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd) on his way to a half-way house after intense psychiatric care. He's been given all the drugs you can imagine but has made enough progress to warrant his transition back into society. Shepherd's performance (far superior to Thom Mathews' surface-level take in Jason Lives) shifts between softer, quieter momets and uncontrollable rage. He's not just one thing; he's so destroyed by his trauma that he struggles even simple human connection. Shepherd brings real humanity to the character. He actually feels like a human being, unlike most other characters in the franchise. When Tommy arrives at Pinehurst, greeted by the flowing blonde locks and sparkling smile of Pam Roberts (Melanie Kinnaman), assistant director, he's cold and mostly unresponsive. The experience he endured when he was just 12-years-old left irreparable wounds that may never properly heal.

Throughout the film, Tommy hallucinates that Jason has finally found him, with auditory heartbeats to underscore his panic attacks. He also hears the screams of his sister Trish (Kimberly Beck) in the final moments before killing Jason. Tommy has become a shell of the person he could have been, clearly unable to cope with real life. But his eventual and inevitable arc in confronting who he believes to be Jason gives the film some considerable weight. It's a far cry from the machismo Tommy displays in Jason Lives. He not only is hellbent on hunting Jason Voorhees down, but he causes the maniac's resurrection. The irony.

Tommy Jarvis as seen in A New Beginning remains the strongest character of the franchise, over even Ginny (Amy Steel) in Part II. Shepherd's performance rivals Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later. In fact, he might actually outpace her exploration of trauma and recovery. There are layers to his performance we just don't get in any of the other Friday the 13th films, much less most other slashers. And it deserves far more praise and attention than it gets. Just because it doesn't have Jason in it, it's often cited as among the worst. Everything else about the film - the horny youths, pouring rain, and the Final Boy Reggie (Shavar Ross) - screams your classic slasher. The deaths are right in line with the series, with kill tools like an axe and machette; Junior's (Ron Sloan) decapitation is a particular highlight. It has everything you could possibly want!

The franchise might have retconned the film's events, but it shall remain one of the Friday the 13th highlights.

Long Live John Shepherd's Tommy Jarvis!

[Special shout-out goes to Violet (Tiffany Helm) and her dance moves - she deserved better]

The Friday the 13th films produced so many amazing kills (150+ according to this Reddit post and infographic) that it's difficult to choose just one favorite (so we chose as many as our bloody hearts desire). Check out our detailed list on Letterboxd.

We can't have a Friday the 13th-themed issue without our Recommended If You Like (RIYL) being Friday the 13th (1980). Check out our list of film on Letterboxd here.

The Chattanooga Film Festival makes its triumphant return to the Chattanooga Theatre Center for the 12th edition of what MovieMaker Magazine calls one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World! It all goes down in-person June 20-22 with the virtual side of the festival continuing through the 28th.