My Special Boy

It looks visually pretty good and the music is suprisingly impressive. I know it's a fan film but I've seen a lot of other fan films that just do it better. I didn't really care for Grim's other work The Devil's Autumn so I didn't have high expectations for this one. This film lacks anything that allows it to stand out from the rest and the acting is bad.

I also CAN'T STAND this portrayal of Jason! The actor doesn't have the Jason look and it feels insulting. Look around Youtube and you will see there are better versions of Jason.

You can do better James! But you need better people around you.

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.

For a fan film it's executed superbly, the production team has done a great job making this and everyone behind the scenes has done great to make this seem like a genuine movie, all but two of the actors did pretty decent jobs. The two not greats where the first victim, but the second is whomever plays Jason. His mask is a mask, but the rest of his costume looks as bad as his portrayel of Jason. Either they tried to be original, or the guys never seen a F13th film in his life.

Where this movie goes compleyly wrong is that it's not a fan made sequel, it's a remake. A retelling of the 2009 version pretty much by combining part 1 as flash backs and jumping straight into the character of Jason wearing a hockey mask.

No one wanted a F13th remake then, and this movie is certainly no exception.

I'd have given it 4 stars, but the YouTube channel it's featured on is full of fake comments praising every detail of the film, which is just an insult to peoples intelligence if they think doing that is going to trick anyone into liking the movie. I haven't checked yet, but I'm sure they got the same fake reviewers to post a few here too. With that kind of low deceitful promoting scam, I will not be recommending anyone bother checking this film out. Even without the deceit, it contains bad blood FX and no entertaining kills anyway that people love about slasher films. They might have done a decent job of making it, but it's still honestly nothing you'll kick yourself for skipping.

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!

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.