THE EVENT
An Island Becomes a Camp
On the evening of 15 October, Sydney’s Cockatoo Island became Camp Crystal Lake. Stan staged an immersive launch for Crystal Lake, its new psychological thriller and a prequel to the Friday the 13th franchise. The night came a day before the series premiered on the platform, and just in time for Halloween.
Fans, media and creators arrived by private ferry, escorted by a team of camp counsellors. Guests included horror author and creator Caleb Finn, Matthew Zukowski, stunt and parkour creator Alexander Robinson, and pop culture creators Sam BT and Molly McCran. Behind them, the Sydney skyline slipped away. Ahead, nobody was told quite what to expect.
THE JOURNEY IN
Through the Tunnel
On arrival, guests walked beneath a vintage “Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake” banner and were led into the island’s 200-metre stone tunnel. The sound of summer-camp laughter echoed off the walls along the way. It was meant to be cheerful, and in that setting it was anything but.
The tunnel opened onto Turbine Hall, reworked as a woodland summer camp with canoes, tents, picnic areas and themed photo spots. Dinner was camp-inspired and casual. Underneath it ran a steady sense of dread, as though something was waiting just out of sight. That mood is what the series trades on.
As night fell, the campers sat down to an exclusive screening of the first episode, ahead of its global release.
THE SERIES
Who Is Pam Voorhees?
Crystal Lake centres on Pam Voorhees, a single mother played by Emmy nominee Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me, DTF St. Louis). After her young son Jason drowns in the town lake, her carefully buried past begins to resurface. Two strangers turn up at her door asking questions, and a disturbing chain of events follows. Soon the whole town is asking who Pam Voorhees really is, and what haunts the lake.
The ensemble around Cardellini fills out a small town with its share of quirks:
- William Catlett as police chief Levon Brooks
- Devin Kessler as Brianna, Levon’s journalist sister
- Cameron Scoggins as police officer Dorf
- Gwendolyn Sundstrom as Grace, a fellow camper and friend of Jason
- Callum Vinson as young Jason
Just who is Pam Voorhees, and what horrors haunt Crystal Lake?
BEHIND THE CAMERA
Expanding the Jason Universe
The series was created by Brad Caleb Kane, its showrunner, writer and executive producer, whose credits include IT: Welcome to Derry, Tokyo Vice and Warrior. He works alongside A24, Horror, Inc. and Victor Miller, the writer of the original Friday the 13th. Together they extend the story of one of horror’s most notorious names, and the show is built to work for longtime fans and newcomers alike.
The executive producers are Marc Toberoff, Victor Miller, Robert M. Barsamian, Robert P. Barsamian, Stuart Manashil, Tyson Bidner, Michael Lennox and Roy Lee.
Crystal Lake is streaming now, all episodes at once, only on Stan in Australia.
Credit:
Images courtesy of Stan.
Event photography by Pat Stevenson