Next ‘Friday the 13th’ Sequel To Be a Found Footage Film?

Earlier this summer, it was announced that the 'Friday the 13th' franchise would be returning to Paramount Pictures, its home throughout the original run of movies. Many classic horror fans hoped this would be a good thing as the franchise left the hands of producer Michael Bay (who released a reboot at Warner Bros.) and would return to its home.

But, it looks like the studio behind 'Paranormal Activity' has some new ideas for Jason Voorhees that classic horror fans probably won't like: found footage and the return of Michael Bay.

Shock Till You Drop is reporting that the new producers for 'Friday the 13th' are actively searching for pitches for a new movie utilizing the found footage format. And despite the fact the the franchise has switched studios, Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company are still involved.

While it's disconcerting, it should really be surprising. Paramount has made a tiny fortune of micro-budgeted films, going so far as to create an independent distributor (Insurge Pictures) that would focus on sub-$1-budgeted movies. Now, we're not saying that Paramount has plans to go micro-budget on 'Friday the 13th' but consider that 'The Purge' cost only $3 million and has made over $85 million worldwide. We wouldn't be surprised at all if that's a business model Paramount would very much like to copy.

It could certainly work from a business angle, but what about creatively? If we're being honest, the Michael Bay produced 'Friday the 13th' movie wasn't even that bad. We're not even sure how you would go about filming a 'Friday the 13th' slasher movie using found footage. Wouldn't Jason smash all the cameras? And part of the fun of the best 'Friday the 13th' movies were when they went POV. Are we thinking that at some point Jason picks up a camera and films himself chopping heads? We all remember how bad 'Halloween: Resurrection' was, right?

We're still not sure how it could work but it's seeming like it's more and more likely that if we get a 'Friday the 13th' movie in the near future, it will be using that found footage format we're seeing all too often these days. Maybe they just scrap the new movie and focus on the planned TV series, 'The Crystal Lake Chronicles'?

[via Badass Digest]