JASON'S ALIVE... AGAIN!

FRIDAY THE 13TH'S KILLER FINALLY RETURNS AS PART OF JASON UNIVERSE

- DANIEL KRUPA

IT'S HARD TO KILL MONSTERS. STAB them, burn them, hack them to mush, and they come back. Throw them into a lake, shackled to rocks, and even then they might still return. Heck, even decapitation isn't a reliable method nowadays.

Jason Voorhees knows this better than most. In fact, the only thing that has kept this beloved revenant from the big screen in the last 16 years has been that most effective of hexes: legal issues.

For almost two decades, the character has been mired in a series of legal disputes that have prevented major new instalments from breaking ground. But under the new stewardship of Horror, Inc, and the ambitious banner of Jason Universe, the beloved hockey-masked killer is returning with the serious intent to make up for lost time.

Robbie Barsamian and Sheri Conn, the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Horror, Inc - the house where Jason now resides - spoke to SFX about their extensive plans for Jason's return across a wide variety of media.

"Jason is the most iconic horror villain of all time," believes Barsamian. "He set a standard for the type of fear and kills audiences have come to expect of the last 45 years."

It's a big claim, and while fans of other masked killers might disagree, Jason is certainly in the conversation. Since launching Jason Universe, Barsamian and the Horror, Inc team have spent considerable time surveying his various incarnations, sifting out what is essential to the character, and trying to divine what made the Friday The 13th series so popular.

"The franchise is a terrifying, yet fun, thrill ride," says Barsamian. "Jason wasn't born evil. He has a backstory that sets the stage for the deep-rooted anger and blood-soaked reactions we see on screen, making him the antihero all of us are anxiously rooting for."