Jason Universe: Sweet Revenge (2025)

Pre-Review Disclosure: While there's not much room in the 13-minute short for spoilers, this review does disclose a significant plot reveal and the resultant twist ending. Read at your own peril.

It's hard to believe it's been 16 years since Jason Voorhees last emerged from his watery grave to wreak havoc upon sexually active teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. The last time we saw him was in the form of a technically proficient but narratively uninspired "remake" that merely recycled the most crucial elements of the original four entries in the iconic Friday the 13th franchise, stranding a horde of generic college-age students in a cabin for the sole purpose of being picked off one by one. In the intervening years, several attempts have been made to resurrect the man behind the goalie mask, with most screenplays striving to once again restart the mythology and ignore all the films that preceded them. The most inspired attempt emerged from the mind of Aaron Guzikowski, who cooked up a brilliantly creative story that not only delved into the backstory of Jason and his family, but integrated both his parents into the slaying while crafting protagonists worth rooting for and who undergo unexpected evolution, both individually and in their relationship. For reasons that remain murky -- early reports laid the blame on the underwhelming box office receipts of Rings, a belated sequel to a completely irrelevant supernatural horror franchise, later ones on the lawsuit between original writer Victor Miller and director Sean S. Cunningham as to who owns the rights to the franchise -- Guzikowski's script fell through and will spend the rest of eternity as nothing more than an incredible script that, at the very least, can be read online for free.

Many unfilmed screenplays and broken promises later, Friday the 13th is officially returning to the screen, albeit in a smaller capacity, in the form of an eight-episode TV series premiering on Peacock fittingly titled, Crystal Lake, which will serve as an "expanded prequel" to the original 1980 teen slasher revolving around the tragic life story of Pamela Voorhees, Jason's homicidal mother and the original killer of Camp Crystal Lake. At the moment, the show is still filming, so while a release date hasn't yet been set, it can be expected to fall somewhere within the 2026 season. 

To tide us hungry Friday fans over while we wait for the return of our favorite monstrous mother-son duo, writer-director Mike P. Nelson, who directed the critically successful remake of Wrong Turn in 2021, has created a 13-minute horror short, or as he'd prefer to call it, a "short-form vignette," that reintroduces us to the machete-wielding Oedipal slasher in the moderately reworked style recently released by Horror, Inc. Unfortunately, despite a tantalizingly skinny runtime and a slightly intriguing spin on the final girl trope, Sweet Revenge fails to drum up much excitement over the hulking icon's impending resurrection and reaffirms that Guzikowski's feature-length remake will likely forever remain the gold standard that will tragically never be. At best, Sweet Revenge serves as an appetizer for the prequel TV series and the big-screen sequel that's recently been confirmed to be in pre-production; at worst, it's a generic teen slasher with stereotyped characters, perfunctory mythology, and, most disturbingly of all, a reluctance to cut loose with much actual slashing. Nelson's brand of revenge isn't so sweet after all.

Forgive me if this plot summary could pertain to just about any installment in the teen slasher franchise, but take it up with Nelson. A quartet of close friends -- the newly engaged Eve (Ally Ioannides), her fiance, Kyle (Toussaint Morrison), best friend, Dana (Natassia Wakey), and Dana's boyfriend, Troy (Tim James White), rent a cabin at Crystal Lake from an elderly gentleman named Harold (Chris Carlson), who appears to know more about the lurid background of the area than he's willing to divulge. After Kyle and Troy supposedly leave to go fishing, Eve offers to wait for the former in a boat in the lake. While basking in the serenity and quietness of the empty lake, Eve is suddenly ambushed from behind and pulled beneath the water by Jason Voorhees (Schuyler White), only to emerge hours later into the nighttime, traumatized and disoriented. As she makes her way back to the cabin to warn her friends, Eve stumbles across the mutilated corpses of multiple fellow vacationers -- soon to discover something even more personally devastating. 

Nelson drops his audience directly into the bare-bones story, unwilling to waste time on such mundanities as developing his protagonists into interesting individuals. In fact, the setup is so rushed, commencing without any warning whatsoever, that it's difficult to discern whether you're watching the beginning of the vignette or just the trailer. Instead of offering a proper introduction to his four characters, Nelson relies on lazy shorthands to succinctly establish their dynamic: Eve spins her engagement ring around her finger (to signify her recent engagement, that is); Kyle turns around and smiles at Eve to signify that he's the lucky guy, then foolishly turns his attention to the sleeping Dana, a gaze which Eve nervously follows. Anyone who's ever seen a teen slasher, such as Texas Chainsaw 3D, will accurately guess where this is going. 

Because Sweet Revenge is only 13 minutes long, it can be forgiven for wanting to get to the (machete) point and pay short shrift to character development. After all, how can we get to know four characters inside and out in such a short time span, especially when we know that, by the end, most of them will be resting permanently on the chopping block? (Of course, something similar was accomplished with Drew Barrymore's character in the opening of Scream.) Even by the modest standards of a Friday the 13th film, these people are cardboard cutouts. The only one given a semblance of definition and development is Eve, who's clearly positioned as the protagonist and final girl. At the beginning of the razor-thin narrative, she's quietly elated over her engagement to Kyle, yet still feels a sliver of insecurity as to why he chose her over Dana. (According to Dana, it's because she "didn't run away," whatever that's meant to imply.) Once she resurfaces from her attack in the lake, looking vaguely zombified to visually signify her transformation, Eve becomes vengeful at the realization that the two people she thought she could count on the most have shamelessly betrayed her. Shortly after, she's confronted by a force much more life-threatening -- a force with whom she will go toe to toe, exhibiting an almost superhuman level of endurance and a fierce determination to survive that even Jason could never have seen coming. Ioannides throws herself into this role with full-bodied conviction, effectively portraying Eve's awkwardness around Harold's borderline ominous personality, wide-eyed shock at the inhuman horror around her, and the stone-faced betrayal that ultimately consumes her, making her the ideal adversary for someone as unstoppable and incensed as Jason. 

Apart from Eve, however, these are nonentities deployed to increase the body count. Harold is your stereotypically creepy and perverted old man who dishes out cryptic tidbits about the violent history of Crystal Lake to a visibly discomfited Eve, then lecherously gazes at her through a telescope while she sits on the dock, clad only in her bra and jean shorts. Kyle and Dana perform an identical function to Ryan and Nikki from Texas Chainsaw: the romantic companion and so-called best friend who pay the penalty for betraying the protagonist. Most destitute of purpose is Troy, who exists as nothing more than a fourth wheel in the love triangle, unaware he's being cuckolded by his girlfriend. In all honesty, I didn't even know the names of Kyle and Dana until I looked them up on IMDB because they're not even mentioned once in the script. As for the minimal dialogue they're saddled with, it isn't minimal enough. Laconic as this short is, relying more on mood-building and energetic carnage, Nelson manages to make one wish it were entirely silent, stuffing his characters' mouths with lines so hackneyed as to provoke cringing. "Some people find the one," says Dana regarding Eve's engagement, "and sometimes, the one finds you." Aw. Pardon me while I retch. In response to his fiance being tossed through a glass door, Kyle exclaims, "Holy shit! What the... !" Apparently he's too flabbergasted to complete the four-lettered exclamation. Upon laying his eyes on the hockey-masked madman, Troy says, "Fuck this!" before making a run for the door in a botched attempt at comic relief amid the mayhem. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't make it far.)

Of course, as with any installment in this 44-year-old franchise, the character we're all gathered here for is none other than the great Jason Voorhees. The last time we saw him was in 2009, his final shot finding him crashing through a dock after supposedly dying and grabbing onto a screaming Amanda Righetti. Sweet Revenge marks the legendary campground killer's official return, played by the shorter than expected stuntman, Schuyler White, making him the first actor to don the hockey mask and tattered uniform since Derek Mears. It is with great regret that I inform you Sweet Revenge doesn't even deliver on that front. Makeup effects legend Greg Nicotero worked alongside Horror, Inc. to craft the revised design for Jason, altering the mask while maintaining the essence of the costume. Sweet Revenge marks the debut of this new look, one that has been met with disapproval from many Jason purists, but not I. Basically, the central changes are 13 holes in the mask (for obvious reasons), a red chevron on the forehead that, to some, resembles a unibrow, and most strikingly of all, square-shaped eye holes. I personally love the design, but it's clear Nelson doesn't share that sentiment because he does everything in his directorial power to obscure it, filming White in momentary, dimly lit close-ups that make it difficult to savor the details of his appearance. For his climactic showdown with his final girl, Nelson captures Jason in a static wide shot, silhouetted against the blackness of the sky and shrouded in an atmospheric coating of mist, unflatteringly accentuating White's unintimidating, childlike height.

One thing that's always been a constant with Jason is his remarkable ability to transform everyday objects into weapons of bodily destruction, and Nelson stays true to that talent, making creative use of a fishing boat motor and apple peeler, the latter of which is the most original addition to Jason's arsenal. Innovative as the weapons themselves are, Nelson demonstrates a detrimental reluctance to capitalize on their devastating potential, choosing to cut away from the money shot as though he's desperately aiming for a PG-13 rating as watery and soft as Jason's grave. When Jason brings the motor down on the cheating fiance's head, for example, editor Benjamin Pawlik displays a bloody cut on his cheek before cutting to the horrified reactions of the three remaining protagonists. Apart from those of the two main male vacationers, all of Jason's executions occur off-camera, with Nelson letting us in on the action only in the aftermath. Alongside cinematographer Nick Junkersfeld, Nelson trains the camera on the corpses of characterless extras, lying in chairs with their throats slashed, sprawled on the ground bisected with their entrails exposed. Unfortunately, they resemble wax sculptures you'd expect to see in a Halloween store more than actual human bodies. The most darkly amusing image is of the sexually starved coot sitting in a chair with a blade protruding from his right eye and an apple wedged into his mouth. 

Since a legitimate movie director helmed this project, it's no surprise that the best asset of Sweet Revenge is the cinematography by Nick Junkersfeld. This doesn't have the visually incoherent, cellphone-shot aesthetic of your average fan-made short film. The production values are very much in line with what you'd expect from a professionally mounted, reasonably budgeted motion picture. Nelson elects to introduce his vignette using an overhead shot of the protagonists' car driving down a lonely, narrow road. To emphasize the austere grandeur of the lakeside scenery, Junkersfeld transitions to aerial shots of an endless row of green trees and the baby blue sky full of fluffy white clouds, sweeping his camera across the tranquil expanse of the lake. The daytime scenes are visually stunning in a manner that befits a big-screen experience. On the flip side, the score composed by Matthew Compton and Michelangelo Rodriguez has an adverse effect on the horror. Their screechy violin theme faithfully evokes Harry Manfredini's iconic score from the original Friday the 13th, one of my all-time genre favorites, but in a way that feels incongruous with the modern time period in which Sweet Revenge clearly transpires. For a low-budget 1980s slasher flick, the strings accentuate the slashing; in 2025, it just sounds corny and old-fashioned. 

Once Jason makes his inevitable appearance, the editing by Pawlik becomes increasingly choppy. When he isn't busy obscuring his star's controversial redesign through quick cuts, Pawlik demonstrates a lack of understanding of (or interest in) spatial continuity. After Jason stabs a machete into Eve's stomach, Pawlik intercuts footage of the latter lying on the floor painfully removing the blade from her flesh with Jason tossing Dana into the kitchen like a ragdoll and preparing to stab an apple peeler into her face. In the very next shot, as if by magic, Eve appears behind Jason and impales him through his chest with his own machete. How in the hell did she summon the physical strength to pick herself up and sneak up on Jason so fast after removing a machete from her gut? Wouldn't she bleed to death, or at least take much longer to stumble into the kitchen? For that matter, how did she even survive drowning in the lake, resurfacing hours later? Did the lake transform her into an undead zombie like it did Jason? If that's the case, why isn't she on a killing rampage, instead only going after those who've personally wronged her? It makes no sense, a case of a simple premise being tarted up with half-baked, ill-defined mysticism. 

Sweet Revenge is a collaboration between Horror, Inc., the new rights holders to the intellectual property of Friday the 13th, and Angry Orchard Hard Cider. While the beer company's sponsorship is definitely felt throughout the short film, Nelson never threatens to reach an Adam Sandler level of product placement. His promotions are commendably subtle, finding organic ways to incorporate the hard cider into the story without forcing it down our -- or the characters' -- throats. Harold and Eve munch on a blood-red, crunchy apple from a freshly picked collection. Eve sips from a bottle of Angry Orchard, but the name isn't displayed in a prominent close-up. An assortment of apples are later shown spilled on the ground to portend Jason's arrival and already-started slaughter. Had I not read about Angry Orchard's involvement before watching Sweet Revenge, I wouldn't have recognized it. That is an accomplishment on its own.

The would-be twist ending is neither original nor unexpected. In an attempt to subvert the final girl trope, Nelson allows his protagonist to exact swift, cold-blooded vengeance on her fraudulent best friend for hooking up with her late fiance (who most certainly would've been killed by Eve had Jason not gotten to him first). From the moment she first catches them betraying her, Eve puts on an appropriately murderous scowl that never wavers, despite her saving Dana from Jason's attempted peeler impalement. Maybe she was planning to deliver the blow herself all along? When the predictable moment of payback occurs, it elicits the memory of the ending to The Descent, in which Sarah learns that her best friend, Juno, was having an affair with her late husband before he and their daughter died in a car accident. Consequently, Sarah stabs Juno in the leg and leaves her for dead in a cave full of emaciated, cannibalistic creatures (only to learn in the sequel she survived). Unlike Juno, one of the most badass, morally conflicted, three-dimensional supporting characters in modern horror, Dana is a shameless coward in addition to a backstabber and adulterer, lacking the nuance or underlying loyalty that would potentially engender poignancy or shock to her much-deserved fate. 

The subsequent, open-ended showdown between Jason and Eve -- which positions final girl and villain standing across from another in the nighttime street, editor Pawlik cutting between hip-level shots of both strong-minded characters gripping the handles of their bladed weapons -- recalls the nearly identical one between Charly and Doom-Head in Rob Zombie's 31, cutting abruptly to black before either opponent strikes a single blow. The intention is to stir up interest in a future follow-up. Who won? Is either still alive? Better to leave your audience hungry for more, right? Well, if done properly, then sure. Overstuffed is never the preferred feeling. But here, the ambiguity just feels cheap. As strong a character as Eve is, I'm content for this to be the last I see of her. I'm not chomping at the bit to learn of her survival in a feature-length continuation. 

And just what exactly is the title referring to? Whether you wish to call it a short film or a vignette, this is a Friday the 13th movie from top to bottom, so why rename it something so commonplace? Who is seeking "sweet revenge"? Eve on her backstabbing best friend, I suppose. Or is it Jason for the self-defensive beheading of his mother, which isn't even discussed in passing here? When asked about the trouble that's befallen Crystal Lake, Harold ominously mentions "the usual story: revenge, betrayal, murder. Lots of murder." But beyond those three buzzwords, he annoyingly refuses to elaborate on the backstory that's produced them. 

There's a certain comfort in knowing that my favorite childhood horror icon is finally resurfacing in the public consciousness. After 16 years of lying dormant at the bottom of Crystal Lake, it's well past time for this larger-than-life, pissed-off goalie to make his long-awaited comeback, especially considering the renewed interest in 80s slashers that's seen the resurgence of many of his contemporaries. If this short is just the beginning of bigger, more fleshed-out Jason projects to come, then it's arguably better than nothing. But as far as cinematic appetizers are concerned, Sweet Revenge is no basket of warm, buttery Olive Garden breadsticks.

Availability Update: While Sweet Revenge was previously available to watch for free on the Jason Universe YouTube channel, it has recently been axed from existence (along with its trailer) without warning or explanation.