by Chadwick Webb

The biggest misconception of the Friday the 13th franchise is that the killer in the original film from 1980 is Jason Voorhees. In reality, Pamela Voorhees preys on the inhabitants of Camp Crystal Lake on a Friday night to avenge the death of her son, the aforementioned Jason. As iconic as Betsy Palmer is in that role, she’s not a layered character, created by Brad Kane (It: Welcome to Derry, 2025). Crystal Lake (2026) sets out to flesh out the time before the Friday killings when Jason is taken from Pam and her journey to cope with this loss and the only way she knows how.

Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, 1999-2000) gives an incredibly multi-layered performance as Pamela Voorhees. As she tries to raise a child with obvious physical deformities and health issues as a single mother, almost everyone around her seems uncaring and cruel. Although I would’ve liked to see more from her, newcomer Gwendolyn Sunstrom brilliantly portrays Grace, Jason‘s best friend in the world. Despite not having the same troubles as Jason, her own issues at home and self perception as an outcast make her the perfect grooming target as she seeks acceptance from almost anyone who will have her.

A tense relationship develops between Levron “Lee” Brooks (William Catlett), Officer Dorf (Cameron Scoggins), and the town of Crystal Lake – its people don’t seem to trust Lee as the new, mysterious black police chief. Catlett (Abigail, 2024) crushes this role as a flawed but strong black law-enforcer trying to figure out who is behind some grizzly murders in this racist town. His complicated relationship with his subordinate, Dorf, is one of my favorite aspects of the series. As I said, these murders are not for the faint of heart. Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, 2013-2015) might not have been able to see his Crystal Lake vision come to fruition, but rest assured this series has its gore and doesn’t shy away from making it brutal and unforgiving.

As cool as the gore effects are, though, for me, the most unnerving parts involve psychological and physical trauma involving children. As a dad, I’ve become very sensitive to this kind of subject matter. Except for the original Friday the 13th talking about Jason drowning as a kid, the whole franchise was never really about putting kids in peril. Although most of the franchise was focused on the kills, so it’s nice to see a Friday property that has great ones but focuses on the psychological horror more. Much like the original Friday, Crystal Lake features a lot of good tension and mystery but takes it a step further. The audience might know some of Pam’s secrets, but there’s a lot more that gets revealed as the show goes on. The suspense Kane creates in Crystal Lake might have made even Alfred Hitchcock race his eyebrows.

The love of the Friday the 13th franchise Crystal Lake displays is in abundance. The freeze-frame shots coupled with the score put a smile on my face. It made me want to watch the entire franchise all over again. Even though it’s clear Crystal Lake holds the franchise in high esteem, it is focused more on telling character stories rather than repeating beats or making shameless references to the franchise. Though it’s also not a loose adaptation. It does feature some recreations from the franchise as well as faithfully enriches the backstory and emotional residence of familiar characters. Even the most hard-core Friday fans will probably not be able to see the franchise the same again, which I think could be a good thing.

Retelling the story with more context at what came before was a brilliant idea. It’s honestly wild that it hasn’t been done before. It’s poetic that the franchise began over 45 years ago with a mother expressing her love for her boy, and now we continue it by feeling this love even deeper. As a parent, I found the story of Crystal Lake to be empowering, but I  also found it to be profoundly sad, troubling, anger-inducing, and fun as hell. If you’re a big fan of the franchise, you’ll probably love how well this fits into the canon. If you’re not, Crystal Lake will probably make you want to be. As much as I wanted to see Fuller’s Crystal Lake, Kane is becoming a master of horror television. I’m very excited to see where Crystal Lake goes next.

All Episodes of Crystal Lake Can Be Seen On The Peacock Streaming Service Starting October 15th, 2026 8/8 Episodes Reviewed

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 1/2 stars