By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
While Friday the Thirteenth isn’t a national holiday, it’s celebrated by everyone in the horror community. The Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline takes the pseudo-holiday pretty seriously and teamed up with the Rocky Woods Reservation for the 10th year to bring Jason Vorhees to Medfield through their “Jason in the Woods” programming. This program featured a presentation on space travel, presented by a local to Needham.
The grass was packed with horror fanatics for the campy double feature. Coolidge Corner showed two of the iconic franchise films, “Friday the Thirteenth: The Final Chapter” and “Jason X”. While these might not be the most polished entries, the audience had so much fun cheering and yelling at the screen.
This year was a little different as the event was co-presented by NASA. The second film of the night was “Jason X” which is set 400 years in the future, which is where NASA comes into play. Needham resident and MIT laboratory fellow Don Boroson presented on space travel and communication, which was not present in the film. Borosons’ presentation added a layer of education to the night, which many were not expecting. It was a nice pairing to the horribly unrealistic “Jason X”.
The crowd that gathered had sold out the nights showings. The grass was packed with blankets and chairs from the tree line to the pond. The scenery mirrored the setting from the first few films, making this the perfect spot for showings. This tradition brings in countless regulars, including the fan favorite Jason Vorhees cosplayer. A silent staff member stalked the tree line and posed for photos with people adding a creepy element to the woods.
Horror fanatics and casual fans all enjoyed the late-night screening and the support it brought in for local communities. Rocky Woods is kept up by the Trustees who look after over 100 locations throughout Massachusetts and Coolidge Corner Theater is a nonprofit independent theater. Events like “Jason in the Woods” help bring in funding for both groups.
This Friday the Thirteenth in Rocky Woods was a massive success. The co-presentation with NASA made the night that much more special. Rocky Woods and the Coolidge Corner are now awaiting the next fated Friday to showcase even more of the franchises hits.
