This is kinda a first impressions post but I also won't bother writing a final review on it as I feel I'll write about everything I want to here anyway. But, Crystal Lake has been a great surprise. I watched through all of Carrie yesterday and immediately jumped into this today, though I wasn't expected much of it as I've just never really been a fan of slashers or the whole Jason Voorhees character and franchise. Though to much of my surprise, instead of this being about a young Jason, it's more about his insane mother that is on the run with her son, of which is presumed dead in the forest. The show mostly following Pamela (the mother) as she refuses to believe Jason is dead while also trying to protect their name from a group of people trying to find them.
The insanity mostly coming from Pamela, who is played by the live action Scooby Doo's Velma (Linda Cardellini). It's great to see her acting in something like this, quite a difference from anything else I've seen her in. And she really works this character of a mother that's traumatised from loss, hiding things, and also has quite a dark past (and present) herself. Watching her snap and go all-out on people throughout the season is an absolute blast. As her patience runs out, as people push and push around her, the show mostly follows her growth into madness and it's really engaging. Especially once the violence really kicks in. Though what I have enjoyed is that the show isn't all gore and violence, a lot of it spans across the town itself and how other characters are connected to Pamela's life in one way or another.
This pacing has really made it a bit more appealing to me given I mentioned I'm not all that interested in the slasher genre within horror and thrillers. And not all of the action in it is exactly slashing. There's a sense of mystery to the narrative as strange happenings occur around the camp of Crystal Lake, conspiracy theories of a bear lurking the woods and hunting tourists, pieces of flesh being found as police struggle to literally connect the pieces with little bits of evidence appearing that a bear might not exactly be the culprit after all. Of course this all connects to the disappearance of Jason after all, we know that, we see it, but for the characters such a possibility of a poor disabled child that drowned in a lake couldn't possibly be linked to a potential survival. Nor could he be the culprit instead. The town is full of 'lovable idiots' as I'd call them. Oblivious folk. People with their own secrets and agendas. But not necessarily out for harm.
I've quite liked that the show has hardly even touched on the character of Jason so far. Things are certainly linked to him, but the show is pacing things out enough to show the broader narrative of who the family is and how reserved they are. There's a sense of humanity there that gives us a reason to care for Pamela and Jason rather than seeing them directly as the monsters here, more the rest of society in how they treated Jason as a child with his disabilities, and how others assume they have all things figured out while pushing others around. I'm curious as to where this is all heading, but for now it's pretty engaging. Especially with the way the show is shot. It clearly had quite a high budget to it, and it's nice to see a franchise try something a bit different again. I've never really cared for the films, but this I'd say I could recommend to others that may be like me and are searching for something fun this October leading to Halloween.