Almost every horror movie has what one might call the ‘final girl’ – that is to say, the last girl standing who faces off and (usually) defeats the mad killer who has been picking off people for the entire duration of the film. The Friday the 13th franchise is certainly right at the top when it comes to the horror/slasher genre, and I had the distinct pleasure to meet and greet three of these final girls when they and I attended the Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention on Sunday, August 12, 2012. Although I greeted them in reverse order, we’ll move along the Friday the 13th time line, and start where it all began…
I don’t think I’m revealing anything you don’t already know by now to remind you that the killer in the first installment of the Friday the 13th series was not Jason, but his mother Pamela Voorhees, played by Betsy Palmer. Below is an autographed photo of her that I acquired sometime in the late 1990’s. Thus far, I have not had the chance to meet this ‘Killer Mommy’ in person.
But back to the topic at hand… the final girl! In the first film, she was Alice Hardy (seen at the top of the posting), a charming girl-next-door type who was able to rise to the occasion and finally take out that pesky Mrs. Voorhees. This lovely girl was played by Adrienne King, who survived the first film and reprised her role at the beginning of the sequel, only to be unjustly and immediately picked off. She had traveled in for the event from her home in Oregon, and I spent a good fifteen minutes chatting with her about her life in this great state. She was so proud of it that she even offered to map out a route for me when the day comes that I tour the area.
She also told me a bit about her new business working with the Valley View Winery to distribute her wine known as Crystal Lake Wines. Yep, you heard me. Crystal Lake Wine – which features a self-painting of Alice in the canoe on Crystal Lake at the end of film. Autographed bottles can be purchased on her website.
Most importantly, Adrienne King was extremely sweet and exceptionally friendly to her fans. She even had a photographer taking pictures of us with her for her website. And she gave me a free autographed photo featuring the winery that I was supposed to share with Dean, but am not going to.
Moving on to Friday the 13th Part 2, which begins with the death of Alice and then moves on to a new batch of unsuspecting teeny-boppers who converge on the scene of the crime at Camp Crystal Lake (not to be confused with Crystal Lake Wines!). Once this crew is slaughtered and butchered – this time by Jason himself – there is one gal left standing: Ginny Field, portrayed by Amy Steel. Amy was hot then and continues to be hot now – and I told her so. It most certainly does not look like she’s aged the 30 years that have passed since the film came out. Not only that, but she has a very impressive filmography that includes the Summer 0f ’82 episode of Family Ties, April Fool’s Day, Quantum Leap, and Home Improvement.
She too has a sense of humor about her role and had with her a reproduction of Mrs. Vorhees mutilated sweater similar to the what she is wearing at the end of the film as she disguises herself as Jason’s Mom. It looked so convincing that I thought it might be original, but it was in fact made by a friend of hers who might be looking to market them. In any case, she was sweet enough to let me ‘wear’ it in one of our photos together.
We now jump to Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, which is in actuality Part 4, and anything but the final chapter in the saga. (Incidentally, Dana Kimmell, who had been the final girl in Part 3, was in fact present at the show on Saturday, but not Sunday when I attended). Kimberly Beck portrayed Trish Jarvis, who arguably was the ‘final girl’ in this installment. I say it is arguable, because in this case she shares the honor with her younger brother Tommy Jarvis (played by Corey Feldman), the guy who went on to be the main character in the next Friday film (hence the title: A New Beginning).
Kimberly had the most impressive film résumé of them all, and I was stunned to hear some of her credits, which included: Yours, Mine, and Ours, The Munsters, I Dream of Jeanie, My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch (as Laura in Getting Davy Jones), and – get this – Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie as the little girl Jessie, whom Marnie’s mom babysits.
Like the other two, she was incredibly sweet as well, and even gave me a two-fer deal on the photos when I decided that I couldn’t pass up the shot of her from Yours, Mine, and Ours. It is ironic that the show in Hollywood that I had just attended the weekend before had two of the other kids (Eric Shea and Morgan Brittany) as guests who could have signed it as well. So hopefully you’ll be seeing this photo again.
As someone who grew up watching the Friday the 13th franchise, it was great fun to get to meet and chat with these three ‘final girls’, all of whom were extremely cordial and kind with the fans. In a room filled with Jasons and Michael Myers’, I was glad that these three were there to add some sweetness to this crowd!
Celebrities of the 2012 Flashback Weekend will continue…
Leave a Reply