Background information
The horror film that's so scary you have to sign a scare waiver
by Dominik Bärlocher
And cut! Four centimetres have cost Kane Hodder the role of Jason Voorhees. Maybe
31.1.2019
Translation: machine translated
For years, actor Kane Hodder advertised for the "Freddy vs. Jason" crossover and hoped that he would get to play Jason again. In the end, he didn't get the part. Under nebulous circumstances.
This is Kane Hodder.
Kane Hodder is an actor, but only fans know his face. But you definitely know his mask.
Kane Hodder is Jason Voorhees. In the four films of the "Friday the 13th" series in which he plays the psychopathic serial killer, he doesn't say a word, slaughtering teenagers, adults and robots. The actor loves the role of the machete-wielding maniac in the hockey mask and work overalls. Horror film fans love Kane in the role. The 1.92 metre tall giant from California not only looks bad in make-up, but also repeatedly shows humour as Jason. He appears on presenter Arsenio Hall's talk show in 1989 and gives an interview without saying a word. As Jason. With an axe.
Between 1988 and 2001 - for 13 years - Kane played Jason at every opportunity, scaring people in the woods during breaks in filming and setting rules for Jason that shaped the character. Jason never hurts children or animals. Jason always walks slowly and under control. Others run. Jason doesn't. He makes this clear on set. He is famous for telling directors and scriptwriters to their faces that a scene isn't working. The reason: Jason would never do such a thing.
The milestone: Kane is not allowed to get involved
In 2001, "Jason X" is released. In the film, Kane Hodder is in space and slaughters the crew of a spaceship and its robots. The film is torn apart by critics and eyed with suspicion by fans. But the film with the cyborg Jason is a success, grossing more than three times the production budget. The producing studio, New Line Cinema, becomes ambitious. What if Jason were to take on another horror icon? What if Jason went up against Freddy Kruger?
Fans love the idea. Because the idea isn't new. It's been floating around in the minds of fans, producers and actors since the late 1980s. Kane Hodder, a good friend of Freddy actor Robert Englund in his private life, loves the idea. What could possibly go wrong? Even non-horror film fans in the early days of the internet in 2001 realise that this crossover is going to be great.
Kane Hodder gets a final script, dusts off his hockey mask and gets ready to go after a burnt guy murdering teenagers with a machete. With a bladed glove. In her dreams.
Then everything changes.
Ken Kirzinger, not Kane Hodder, plays Jason Voorhees in "Freddy vs Jason".
The mystery of Kane and Ken
No one informs Kane Hodder why he didn't get the role of Jason. In a franchise that he has shaped like no other. A role he acquired over 13 years. Fans on the young Internet are shocked and angry: who dares to replace a horror icon with a stuntman and occasional actor? No one is giving any definitive answers. Studio New Line Cinema remains silent, director Ronny Yu makes his film and disappears into insignificance. He only directs three more films, two of them in China. Nobody talks about Kane's original Jason anymore.
Until the book "Crystal Lake Memories" comes onto the market.
In it, author Peter M. Bracke spoke to the stars and people behind the scenes of the whole "Friday the 13th" series. Naturally, he asked why Ken, not Kane, played Jason in Freddy vs Jason.
It was New Line's decision to hire a new actor for the role.
They tried to tell me that they wanted someone with more expressive eyes and all this stuff.
Kane was physically too big. He didn't fit the image that Ronny was going for. Ronny wanted to focus on Jason's eyes. And he felt Kane was a little too cartoon-y in the last few films. It was about movement, too, at least compared to the other films, where Jason just kind of walks around like Frankenstein. There's a lot more to him in this one.
Ultimately, it wasn't my call-it was really New Line's.
The film encyclopaedia IMDB.com lists a more concrete reason in the unverified trivia items for the film:
Ronny Yu explained that while Hodder was wonderful in the role, he chose Ken Kirzinger for the part, as Kirzinger was slightly taller and broader than Hodder (thus giving more contrast with the much shorter Robert Englund as Freddy), and because he wanted a slightly different take on the character.
Following this logic paints a rather sad picture of the casting process.
- Robert Englund is 1.77 metres tall
- Kane Hodder is 1.92m tall
- Ken Kirzinger is 1.96m tall
Cult actor Kane Hodder didn't get the role because of four centimetres
.
Kane strikes back
Somehow, everyone is unhappy with "Freddy vs Jason". The cinema release goes well, but both audiences and critics are just like "meh, it's okay". The sensation that horror fans had hoped for failed to materialise.
It was the last film in which Robert Englund appeared as Freddy Kruger before he retired from the role - only for it to be reprised by Jackie Earle Haley in the 2010 remake. It was a similar story for Jason back in 2009, when Derek Mears threw on his workman's overalls and hockey mask and murdered teenagers at Crystal Lake as Jason. Even he couldn't match Hodder's charm, and the film is now forgotten.
So is Jason dead?
No. Because Kane Hodder is still active as Jason. After 16 years of playing other roles, but appearing at fan conventions as "The Man Who Is Jason" and giving countless interviews, the day came when he was allowed to dust off the hockey mask again.
Kane Hodder is Jason Voorhees in the 2017 video game "Friday the 13th".
Even if the computer Jason's gait is a little wooden, it's Hodder's heavy steps. Unmistakable. When Jason stands in a dark corner and breathes heavily, raising and lowering his shoulders, that's Kane Hodder's stylistic element.
Because Kane Hodder is Jason Voorhees.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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