Friday the 13th enthusiasts who believed the franchise had reached its lowest point with 1989’s Jason Takes Manhattan were in for a shock when they encountered even more dismal territory in the 1993 release, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. This film marked a significant departure from the series’ roots, leading to a perplexing experience for fans who craved the familiar thrills associated with Jason Voorhees.

In a daring yet misguided decision, first-time director Adam Marcus set out to create a Friday the 13th movie that largely excluded the iconic figure of Jason Voorhees. Remarkably, within the first seven minutes, Jason, the infamous hockey mask-wearing killer, is explosively dispatched by a SWAT team, disappearing from the narrative until just moments before the credits roll. This unusual twist left audiences baffled and yearning for the classic slasher elements they had come to love.

As the plot unfolds, Jason’s malevolent spirit takes possession of various unsuspecting individuals, using their bodies to commit a string of gruesome murders while on a quest to locate a member of the Voorhees family for his rebirth. This premise, which echoed themes from the earlier film The Hidden, falters significantly here due to an overwhelming barrage of jarring tone shifts, over-the-top performances, and a convoluted storyline centered around bloodlines and mystical daggers, ultimately detracting from the horror experience.

The movie’s promotional trailer prominently features Sean S. Cunningham, the producer behind the original 1980 Friday the 13th: “The creator of the first Friday… returns to bring you the last.” However, Cunningham’s role was primarily to facilitate the transfer of Jason Voorhees’ character rights from Paramount to New Line Cinema, which was home to the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. His ultimate vision included a crossover where Jason would face off against Freddy Krueger.

Watch the ‘Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday” Trailer

However, the anticipated crossover was postponed when Wes Craven, the original architect of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, opted to revive that franchise with 1994’s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. In the meantime, Cunningham attempted to reignite Jason’s cinematic presence while awaiting his dream project, but he soon regretted granting Marcus too much creative freedom in the process.

“It was a disaster. …For me, it is way past an embarrassment,” Cunningham reflected in the book Crystal Lake Memories. “The body-morphing plot – it was a dismal idea. …Adam came to me and said, ‘the last thing fans want to see is Jason going through Camp Crystal Lake chopping up teenagers again.’ Of course, it was the only thing they wanted to see, and Adam delivered this movie that was so not good.”

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Following an initial test screening that revealed audiences craved the franchise’s signature elements—specifically, the combination of youthful characters engaging in romantic escapades followed by their inevitable demise—a new scene was hastily filmed to incorporate these aspects. “We were given our marching orders,” Marcus admitted. “Personally, I think the girl split up the middle is the best death in any Friday the 13th, and it wasn’t even originally in the movie.”

Conversely, editor David Handman expressed dissatisfaction with the final product: “Frankly, I don’t think I succeeded in editing that sequence. It still looks like a porno movie to me.” This remark underscores the challenges faced in trying to recapture the essence of earlier films while navigating the film’s unconventional narrative.

“I’m very proud of my Jason, I really am,” Marcus asserts in Crystal Lake Memories. “We did something different. I know we got hammered by many of the critics, but we actually got some nice notices too. And we did stuff in our movie that was self-referential, that was cheeky. We did it years before (1996’s) Scream but we never get any credit for that.” This defense highlights the creative risks taken, even if the outcome was met with mixed reactions.

While Cunningham was unable to realize his vision of a Jason vs. Freddy showdown in this installment, the closing moments of Jason Goes to Hell tantalizingly tease the possibility, as Freddy Krueger’s iconic razor-gloved hand is seen dragging Jason’s hockey mask down to the depths of hell.

Unfortunately for the filmmakers, Jason Goes to Hell performed poorly at the box office, grossing just $16 million, barely surpassing the dismal performance of Jason Takes Manhattan. It would take another decade—and a rather corny venture into space for Jason—before Cunningham finally brought his long-desired Jason vs. Freddy project to fruition in 2004.

Watch ‘Jason Goes to Hell”s Surprise Ending