It's too late. No time to protest. They're rolling and he's out. CineSchlocker fave Kane Hodder, who's been the man behind the hockey mask since 1988's Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, won't reprise his signature role in New Line's long-awaited Freddy vs. Jason. A film he spent a decade fostering fan support for.
Word is they want someone with a smaller frame and hound-dog eyes. Well, that ain't Kane. But whatever wimp'd-out Jason Voorhees they sashay in front of the camera, there's no doubt Hodder could act circles around 'em with ONE EYE!!! That's right, when Kane's piercing right peeper slowly narrows in your direction -- it's your ass! Friday fans know it and that's part of why he's been so embraced by them. More than that, though, it's because he loves Jason as much, probably MORE, than they do. He IS Jason!
And Kane's the nicest homicidal maniac you'd ever want to meet, because the guy never ONCE snapped the spine of yours truly for bugging him about his role as a steel-skinned CIA werewolf in the criminally underappreciated Project: Metalbeast. Hopefully those "We wanna new Jason" boneheads won't fair so well. For now, let's savor the long-delayed Jason X (2000, 91 minutes) that sat finished while the studio's new management first ignored it, then played musical release dates before finally allowing the flick to hit U.S. multiplexes last spring.
The movie: In 2008, Jason's remanded to the Crystal Lake Research facility where oddball auteur David Cronenberg plays a money-hungry weasel who thinks it'd be really neato to harness machete boy's regenerative powers, but finds such research difficult, especially when Jason bursts from his restraints and hurls a long hunk of metal through Davey's chest. After this typically testy display, Mr. Cranky manages to get himself deep frozen into a value-sized fish stick only to be thawed by woefully ill-prepared space cadets in 2455. Turns out they're more interested in the chick found with him who they strip nekkid and let a bunch of tiny robot ants wriggle all over til she gasps back to life.
Naturally, the first thing outta Lexa Doig's mouth is how "Jason f@#%in' Voorhees" is gonna kill everyone. They just giggle and assure her he's exceedingly dead. In fact, a smokin' hot blonde (Kristi Angus) is over in the next lab busily plucking one of his eyeballs out with salad tongs. For scientific purposes -- not merely for fun.
