As kids, my friends and I were obsessed with slasher films. We’d pick up a camera, run around pretending to be Jason, Freddy, or Michael, and just lose ourselves in that world. We were just being kids — and we loved every second of it.

Years passed, and I drifted away from those films. But in my late 20s, something pulled me back. One night (okay, I was very stoned), I watched Crystal Lake Memories, and something clicked. I thought, “I could totally make one of those.”

Not just to relive the magic — but to bring together my old friends, and welcome new ones too. I wanted us to have that same kind of experience the original Friday the 13th cast and crew had — stuck in a camp, making something wild, something fun, something we’d never forget.

What struck me most watching those behind-the-scenes stories was how much they felt like family. For better or worse, you were in it together. And now, having made this film — I get it. We really lived that.

I see so many parallels between those early films and ours — not just in what’s on screen, but in the chaos, the laughter, and the love behind the camera. It’s been an insane ride, and I wouldn’t trade a second of it.

This is our love letter to a camp horror series that refuses to die.

— Peter Day