Before Jason Voorhees became a masked killer, his mother, Pam Voorhees, also had blood on her hands. The prequel series “Crystal Lake” focuses on the matriarch’s backstory, as she kills several townsfolk in the wake of her son’s drowning incident at Camp Crystal. Although the Peacock original builds on the “Friday the 13th” legacy, it shows that it is possible to bring a fresh spin on a story we’ve known for decades.
“Crystal Lake” pleads the case for prequels and remakes by respecting the. After all, the series even offers a surprising twist to Pam’s first “Friday the 13th” victims
Many of the recommendations listed below also take inspiration from well-known horror flicks and give serial killers like Pennywise and Norman Bates even more depth. From slasher-centered reboots to modern horror TV shows based on classics, TVLine has got you covered with your next gory watch.
IT: Welcome to Derry
Before we could uncover Jason’s backstory, horror fans learned more about Pennywise’s origins in “IT: Welcome to Derry.” Set before the events of the 2017 and 2019 films about the monstrous clown (Bill Skarsgård), the prequel focuses on a family who moves to Derry right after the disappearance of a young boy. As patriarch Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) struggles to adapt, a teenager named Lilly (Clara Stack) returns to school after being admitted to an asylum. Determined to start over, she makes it her mission to help her best friend Ronnie (Amanda Christine) clear her father’s name (Stephen Ryder) after he is blamed for what happened to the boy who went missing.
Similar to “Crystal Lake,” “IT: Welcome to Derry” threads the line between scary and silly while also making room for much-needed discourse. With the Cold War as a backdrop, the series taps into relevant themes, including racism and infringement on Indigenous land. Instead of focusing only on the emergence of Pennywise, it follows children and adults facing struggles that remain timely.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” is a departure from “Pretty Little Liars,” leaning into gory kills and an anonymous slasher. The HBO series follows a group of teenage girls who bond after receiving text messages from a masked killer called “A.” Unbeknownst to them, their mothers used to be friends and were all present at a Y2K party that led to the death of Angela Waters (Gabriella Pizollo). With the body count doubling and “A” threatening to expose each of the girls’ secrets, no one is safe.
As we’ve come to know through Pam Voorhees in “Crystal Lake,” a killer always has a motive. In “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” Imogen (Bailey Madison), Tabby (Chandler Kinney), Noa (Maia Reficco), Faran (Zaria), and Mouse (Malia Pyles) are forced to confront mysteries surrounding their families and how they might be linked to a death that continues to haunt the community. The spin-off also features some elaborate kills, and the unmasking of “A” in the finale will surprise you.
Scream
The “Scream” franchise is a gift that keeps on giving. During the 11-year hiatus that followed the release of “Scream 4,” a clever MTV series called “Scream” emerged and made some bold detours from the well-established IP. Not only did it opt for a slasher who didn’t wear the infamous Ghostface mask, but it also shifted to an anthology format for its final season.
Seasons 1 and 2 of “Scream” focus on Emma Duval (Willa Fitzgerald), a girl who lives with her mother and is believed to be the next person on the town killer’s hit list. The identity behind the mask remains an enigma, but this isn’t the first time that bodies have turned up at Lakewood.
Brandon James, a deformed man who had a crush on Emma’s mother, used to prey on high school students. Could he be the person responsible for the new killings, or is one of Emma’s peers to blame? If you were receptive to some of the changes that “Crystal Lake” made to the “Friday the 13th” franchise, you’ll likely find reasons to enjoy “Scream.”
Bates Motel
Pam and Jason Voorhees have a complex mother-son bond in “Crystal Lake,” and “Bates Motel” features one of the most unhinged mother-son duos that have ever graced the small screen. The A&E prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” focuses on Norman’s (Freddie Highmore) gradual descent into madness. Instead of repurposing the fate by inspecting her abusive past and how it influences her problematic connection with her son
Much like Pam’s protective nature leads her to avenge Jason’s disappearance by killing people in the most gruesome ways, Norma’s motherly love leads her son down a dangerous path, with him often having lapses in memory and taking on a violent personality. Although “Bates Motel” isn’t a slasher but rather a twisty psychological thriller, it’s intriguing to see Norma and Norman’s relationship evolve as they are sucked into the illegal affairs happening in the coastal town of White Pine Bay.
Dead to Me
If you were drawn to the campy feel of “Crystal Lake,” then you might enjoy this dark comedy led by Linda Cardellini. According to “Crystal Lake” showrunner Brad Caleb Kane, it was Cardellini’s performance in “Dead to Me” that convinced him that she could embody Jason’s matriarch in the “Friday the 13th” prequel. In the Netflix series, she plays Judy Hale, a woman who accidentally crashes into a man with her car and runs away before the authorities arrive at the scene. To appease her guilty conscience, she decides to befriend Jen (Christina Applegate), the grieving widow of the man she killed.
Judy is the polar opposite of a person you’d expect to be involved in a hit-and-run, and her charming personality is a breath of fresh air for Jen. Cardellini’s character is still shaken by her multiple miscarriages with her ex-fiancé, Steve Wood (James Marsden). Although Judy and Jen have very different approaches to life, it’s enjoyable to see their unlikely friendship develop with every season.
