Ahead of ‘Crystal Lake’ opening to the public, we talk to Linda Cardellini about franchise history, Pamela, and what makes this story new.
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“I think the idea that she is important to the franchise, but relatively unknown in terms of her backstory and in their backstory. She is forever tied to Jason and the films because it’s sort of the inciting incident. And the idea that Brad created this whole world before all that happens was a fun sort of fertile ground to run around on,” Cardellini shared when asked about returning to a long-dormant franchise. Crystal Lake is her story, but Jason remains in the periphery throughout, even given, for the first time, a voice in the series pilot.
“It’s incredibly daunting because it is well-loved and has been around for so long. People have strong, real opinions about what they do and don’t want to see. So, to me, that falls a lot on Brad and he loves the franchise. So, he pitched me this idea: a person who is important to the franchise but unknown and trying to get to know her. And the only reason you know her is because of Jason.” Cardellini is honest about her trepidation. I can confidently say the gambit pays off, but Crystal Lake is Friday the 13th unlike audiences have ever seen before. Jason is the entry point, but the core—the heart—of the series is Pamela. Jason, and her love for him, is simply the axis on which this prequel story pivots.
Preparing for the role didn’t just mean accounting for decades of Friday mythos, but also accounting for Cardellini’s own storied history not just in Hollywood, but within the horror genre itself. “[Crystal Lake] is a heightened genre departure from the last few things I’ve been doing,” she shared, adding, “I just felt like it was a new exploration, a new challenge, and something I thought, ‘Ooh, how do you do this?’ And when I asked myself, ‘How do you do this?’ It scares me, but then it makes me want to do it. So that’s how I felt. And I didn’t see all of the scripts. I didn’t know how it ended, but I was excited about many aspects of it. And I think when you see this series, you’ll love the way it’s shot. I love the way it’s lit. I love the design.”
The design is key. Crystal Lake has always been synonymous with the series, but Kane expands the scope, introducing a livelier, bustling small town both before and after it’s plagued by tragedy. It’s as much a character as anyone else, and it’s imbued with the spirit of Jason as much as Pamela or the (many) counselors living with guilt over his accidental death. Pamela is the guiding force for all of it.
“The truth for her is Jason. Jason’s in everything that she does. Jason’s the most important thing to Pam. And so, everything she does is with him in mind and out of, in her mind, righteous protection of Jason… We all know Jason sticks around. So, I think she’s aware of that. And I think everything she does is an effort to bring him closer to her, bring him back to her. And so, while she cares about other people, she really truly only cares about him. And I think that single drive for her, Pam’s single drive, is Jason. I think that informs everything: the movies, the show, and the performance.” Cardellini adds, “There is no Jason without Pamela Voorhees… it is really sort of the making of the monster we all come to know and love.”
What’s most remarkable is how Cardellini makes a monster of her own. It’s a tricky balance, needing to remain sympathetic as the audience entry point, yet monstrous enough to incite a legacy of slasher violence, and Cardellini manages that exceptionally well here (probably because of her role in Strangeland, we joke). Yet, for as stirring as her performance is, she remains mindful of the key draw for series fans – the gore, the thrills, and what Friday the 13th means to genre fans.
“I think that this show just is– it’s a celebration of the franchise, the genre, the beginning of it. I think the lake and the song and the camp, all of that is very nostalgic and reminiscent, and was really created back then by these movies. And it’s something that has worked its way into our consciousness that we all feel connected with it, that it feels almost timeless. But I think we’re hearkening back to when it first began to be seen in cinema the way we know it now. And I think that’s really fun.”
We capstone our conversation with a recommendation. Linda Cardellini, one of the realest out there, really wants you to watch Flatliners. “That movie really resonated with me. The idea that you’d have these near-death experiences and then the person could follow you into your everyday life.” It’s an incidentally profound connection. In Crystal Lake, death follows everyone, intruding upon their everyday lives. And believe me, things get gnarly. There’s plenty of gore (and lore) in store for franchise acolytes and series newbies. And Cardellini is what ties it all together.
Crystal Lake opens to the public on October 15 exclusively on Peacock.
