Peacock and A24's 'Crystal Lake' Officially Changes Friday the 13th Lore — for Better and Worse | Review

Published Oct 13, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

In addition to being a die-hard fan of filmmaking, television, video gaming, and anything else with a gripping narrative, Aidan Kelley is also a passionate and detail-oriented writer and journalist at Collider.com. In addition to his work as a Senior Resource Writer, Aidan has also contributed to Collider's features and news reporting sections. He has covered major industry events, such as San Diego Comic-Con and the D23 Expo, and has had the privelege of interviewing industry stars like Bruce Campbell, Maggie Q, Chad Stahelski, and more. This sincere love for the art of storytelling began at a young age, with Aidan making video movie reviews for the news program at his local high school. That love only increased over the years, with an ongoing career in independent filmmaking and screenwriting after graduating with a degree in Film and television from DePaul University.

For the last 17 years, the Friday the 13th franchise has been as dead as Jason Voorhees was at the end of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. The last time we saw everyone's favorite hockey-masked killer, he was sprinting toward his victims in the honestly underrated 2009 remake, but even with that movie's somewhat negative reputation, it's still surprising that one of horror's premier slashers hasn't had a proper feature since. Jason is up on horror's Mount Rushmore alongside Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, so the fact that he has remained dormant for this long is curious.

It's often easy to forget that Friday the 13th didn't begin with Jason as the killer. That honor goes to the franchise's literal mother, Pamela Voorhees (played unforgettably by Betsy Palmer in the 1980 original), who, despite appearing fully in onlyone film, is just as essential as her killer son. She's truly one of Friday the 13th's best and most memorable characters, and she finally gets her time to shine in Peacock and A24's new original series, Crystal Lake. While not every revelation in the Voorhees family's origin story hits, the series is still a worthy installment in one of horror's wackiest franchises.

What Is 'Crystal Lake' About?

Long before Jason went to hell and conquered outer space, he was a normal young boy with some physical differences that made his life difficult. Thankfully, he has a loving mother in Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), who serves as a humble lunch lady at Camp Crystal Lake. One day, disaster strikes, and Jason is left unattended in the camp's titular body of water; the boy seemingly drowns, leaving a distraught Pamela to pick up the pieces. However, the grieving mother isn't fully convinced her son is really dead, and when demons from her past begin to make themselves known, it causes more than a few problems for the small town and its noble sheriff (William Catlett).

Brad Caleb Kane, who previously helped bring another horror icon to the small screen with IT: Welcome to Derry, once again understands what does and doesn't work about the horror franchise he's adapting. Crystal Lake is one big giant homage to the 1980 film, even going as far as to painstakingly recreate select sequences from that movie. Overall, the series does a great job of capturing not only the look and feel of the original movies, but also the 1970s as a whole.

Not Every Risk 'Crystal Lake' Takes With Friday the 13th Lore Works

Crystal Lake's biggest creative hurdle involved making Pamela Voorhees the central character without compromising her turn to the dark side, which results in a murderous rampage against innocent teenagers. Thankfully, the series succeeds in making Pamela sympathetic without going overboard, with victims who evolve from absolutely reprehensible to morally ambiguous. Her arc from grieving single mother into a bloodthirsty killer is surprisingly organic, with each episode a natural stepping stone into that descent. The show's commentary on its central character, and those she interacts with, almost makes Crystal Lake a perfect companion piece to Mike Flanagan's Carrie, which also offers a bold, fresh take on a horror icon.

What doesn't work quite as well are some of Crystal Lake's biggest swings with certain characters. The show takes a huge risk in explaining where one of the franchise's biggest icons came from, and the result just dips a bit too deep into wild sci-fi territory. It feels like an attempt to explain why said character is the way they are in the franchise, but it's not a necessary addition, and Crystal Lake would have been better off keeping those origins under lock and key for the sake of mystique.

Linda Cardellini Perfectly Embodies Pamela Voorhees in 'Crystal Lake'

Image via Peacock

While that new origin story may not land, Pamela's beginnings are a different story, and that's in large part thanks to Cardellini's impeccable performance. There is truly no better person who could have brought this role to life than the DTF St. Louis star. Not only does she bear an almost uncanny resemblance to the actress who originally played the role, but she perfectly embodies a mother scorned by society in what becomes one of the year's best horror performances.

Cardellini also brings a great level of physicality to the role, particularly in the numerous moments where the series gets down, dirty, and, above all else, bloody. Even if Jason may not be the center of Crystal Lake's story, the show more than makes up for his famous kill count with some gnarly, gory character deaths. They're all impressive from a spectacle standpoint, and they're silly enough to laugh along with, which is exactly what you'd want from a Friday the 13th show.

Crystal Lake, of course, doesn't only focus on Pamela, with Catlett's Sheriff Levon Brooks essentially functioning as the detective roped into this world of debauchery and murder. His story is compelling, but there are one too many side characters who eat up screen time without compelling results. The show is ultimately at its best when it focuses on Pamela's descent into evil, not when it detours into obvious red herring territory.

As a whole, Crystal Lake is a perfectly appropriate entry into this long-dormant horror franchise — campy, fun, and packed to the brim with wacky kills. It feels faithful to how ridiculous Friday the 13th can sometimes get, and while there's nothing on the level of something like Jason X, a handful of narrative choices aren't going to be to every fan's taste. Still, thanks to an absolutely sensational lead performance from Cardellini, Crystal Lake becomes a gleefully entertaining binge perfect for this Halloween season.

Crystal Lake premieres exclusively on Peacock on October 15.

• 

  Pamela Voorhees

• 

  William Catlett

  Levon Brooks

Pros & Cons

• Linda Cardellini is perfectly cast as Pamela Voorhees.
• Pamela's journey feels authentic without being overly sympathetic to the character.
• Plenty of brutal, over-the-top kills.

• One character's new origin story is a little too silly.
• One too many side characters and red herring plots.