My Special Boy

With their latest effort, writers/directors James Grim (Halloween: The Devil's Autumn) and Braden Timmons (The Haddonfield Nightmare), offer a feature-length Friday the 13th story akin to a reboot; it neither changes nor expands upon established arcs from previous entries - it's very much a simplistic picture, married to the complexities of striving to move forward whilst grappling with the ostensibly indelible stains of the past.

Just as the aforementioned directors work to rebuild the legacy of Friday the 13th, (going back to the initial premise of a grieving mother and, for all intents and purposes, a 'Special Boy'), the protagonist (portrayed by Timmons) works to rebuild he and his family's reputation, feeling to blame for the tragic and terrifying events of the past.

The story, thought up by Grim and Chad Sumner (Elias Voorhees/Jason Voorhees), takes nothing away from the original film and its sequels. In fact, My Special Boy fits decently within its legacy, with subtle references throughout. Something I'm personally appreciative of is the fact there's an actual story. Fan features are so prevalent and ubiquitous that it's admittedly difficult to tell one from the other at times, but My Special Boy is one which certainly stands out. It feels more like a character study, as opposed to a masturbatory gore gag reel.

Jason and Pamela (Gia Rose) sharing scenes is a neat idea; to Jason's mind, he could be the protagonist, avenging both he and his mother's untimely demises. Crystal Lake (now Camp Trinity Pointe) has since become Jason's home. The counselors are trespassers, people seeking to do harm to Jason. Maybe Jason believes himself to be the good guy, not some evil serial killer seeking revenge.

The acting isn't bad. I've certainly seen worse (I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, Terror Train (2022), UHF). If anything, there's scenes here and there in which some of the talent seem unsure of themselves, but there's admirable effort in performing and putting themselves into their roles.

Pacing isn't an issue as My Special Boy is edited remarkably well, and it's complimented by a good score composition and some terrific camera work. The script is pretty decent, with merely a few snags.

Overall, My Special Boy gets 10 out of 10 stars for the genuine care and effort put into every single facet of Motion Picture guerilla film making. This isn't shot like a TikTok video outside of a Spirit Halloween with some kid's dad's hockey mask; this is pure dedication to the craft. Thought has gone into location, direction, storytelling, acting, cinematography, camera movements and angles - and even costume designs. The death scenes are done well, with good makeup FX. There are moments in which Jason is portrayed similarly to what's come before, but the performance has unique moments that make it its own, which is perfect for a reboot.

Its backers should be proud of the commitment and delivery of My Special Boy. Each department truly displays effort, passion, talent, and drive, and it's precisely what mainstream Motion Picture studios ought to take into consideration whilst scoping for new talent.

While some fan films have risen to the the top, we unfortunately are getting more and more that are absolutely atrocious. My Special Boy being one of them. The red flags should have flown with 5 embarrassing failed campaigns. But pushed on they did. You can tell this was shot on a low budget camera with horrible sound and worse editing. The Jason in this movie is BY FAR the worst in any fund raised fan film. His costume, his size, the cartoon hood were all such an insult to the series. With films such as NHA, Jason Rising and Vengeance having their Jason looks be spot on, this just shows the lack of passion and commitment to the project. He ran like a goofy idiot who just crapped his pants. This all makes sense coming from a director who paints his nails black, wears a mask in his car alone and loves posting feminine shots of himself daily. Get over yourself and work more on your craft. Possibly the worst fan film ever. Done there with Voorhees and His Name Was Jason.

This is the most passionate Jason fan film I've seen, the makers of it clearly are fans of the franchise and it shows.

The story and characters feel right out of the movies with some updates, (Why did Levi take off his shirt suddenly when he wanted to fight?) Chad Sumner's portrayal of Jason was very intense and some of you are complaining he's too small and skinny to play him..Yeah..remember sack headed Jason from Part 2?

He was a normal sized guy and he still was imposing and Chad did a fantastic job playing him.

Everyone else did a wonderful job as well and its a solid addition to the series.

For fans, made by fans. If you're delving into the world of little-to-no budget, independent horror fan films, then you've come to the right place!

This was truly a phenomenal movie that gives you everything you'd want out of a Friday the 13th film while not overstating it's welcome with the relatively short runtime. And the kills are gruesome and look extremely good with the limitations at hand. The practical effects look very real, and most important of all, Jason Voorhees is just...incredible. His design is just awesome, especially with how good the mask looks in this movie. This is a movie made by devoted fans to the franchise, and boy does it pay off!

The title says it all! I had an absolute BLAST with "My Special Boy". The film had a good story, solid characters and a dialogue, and one of the greatest Jasons I've ever seen on screen! My only complaint is that I wish it was 10 minutes longer, but I digress. If you still haven't this film, it's for FREE on YouTube! Make sure to see "My Special Boy" at your earliest convenience! Also, make sure to keep an eye out for whatever this team is working on next. If this film is any indication of what they were capable of with such a small budget, thenni guarantee they will blow you out of the water with whatever comes next!