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Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99Subscribe now Best Netflix Movies Best movies on Disney Plus Movie Release Dates Best Netflix Shows Recommended reading Horror Shows They'll do anything but make a new Friday the 13th movie: the first new image of a live-action Jason Voorhees in 16 years comes from a YouTube short sponsored by a cider company Horror Movies Horror icon Jason Voorhees makes officially return to screen for the first time since 2009's Friday the 13th reboot – but it's not for a movie or TV show Horror Movies 16 years after the critically panned reboot, iconic horror franchise Friday the 13th returns to the big screen with a new installment – and sequel to the hit video game Horror Shows Friday the 13th reboot series casts its 10-year-old Jason Voorhees who's just a little too cute to be a slasher killer Horror Movies I Know What You Did Last Summer director says this whole thing could have been avoided "if men went to therapy," because "if you have the right tools, that pain is maybe not then turned into a murder spree" Horror Games After 9 years of live service horror games, I can't wait for the new Hellraiser game to push back against the Dead by Daylight effect Horror Movies 50 years on, new shark horror movie Dangerous Animals puts to rights many of the mistakes Steven Spielberg confessed to making in his epic Jaws Entertainment Horror Movies After 16 years, Jason Voorhees' official comeback is either a soulless hard cider commercial or the setup for the goriest, most experimental Friday the 13th to date, and I can't decide which it is Jordan Gerblick 16 August 2025 Opinion | Sweet Revenge resurrects Friday the 13th in all but name, but I'm conflicted on whether that's a good thing When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Horror Inc.) Well, Jason Voorhees is back, dredged from the depths of Camp Crystal Lake and let loose on a new generation of victims. I've waited 16 long years for a new Friday the 13th movie, the most recent being the 2009 reboot, which I still hold up as one of the great, underrated slashers of all time. That's why, when I sat down to watch Sweet Revenge, the first official Jason Voorhees, uh, thing, since the resolution of the years-long legal battle between the original Friday the 13th's screenwriter Victor Miller and producer Sean S. Cunningham, I was beside myself with nervous excitement. There was no way the moment would ever live up to the expectations I'd built up over so many years, especially since I knew it was a 13-minute vignette sponsored by, of all things, Angry Orchard Hard Cider. What I wasn't expecting was to feel so thoroughly conflicted about it. Sweet Revenge doesn't suck, not by a long shot. The kills are creative and notably gorier than any Friday the 13th movie, the score is classic, and at the end of the day, Jason is back where he should be, mutilating stupid young people played by actors who clearly aren't that young. You may like They'll do anything but make a new Friday the 13th movie: the first new image of a live-action Jason Voorhees in 16 years comes from a YouTube short sponsored by a cider company Horror icon Jason Voorhees makes officially return to screen for the first time since 2009's Friday the 13th reboot – but it's not for a movie or TV show 16 years after the critically panned reboot, iconic horror franchise Friday the 13th returns to the big screen with a new installment – and sequel to the hit video game Better yet, Sweet Revenge seems like it meaningfully expands the Friday the 13th mythology arguably for the first time since the first movie. I won't spoil how, but stick around to the ending and you'll know what I'm talking about. A bitter aftertaste What's not so great is that Sweet Revenge is also an elaborate Angry Orchard commercial. Again, Horror Inc. hasn't been coy about Angry Orchard sponsoring this thing, but the way they integrated the company's branding all throughout the vignette is weird, distasteful, and a disservice to Friday the 13th's legacy. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Angry Orchard, but it's one thing to sponsor a film project, and another to turn the long-awaited revival of a beloved horror icon into a hard cider ad. Seriously, it takes about 90 seconds for a bottle of Angry Orchard to show up, and I spotted no less than two dozen shots with bottles and cases in clear view. (Image credit: Horror Inc.) And then there's the apple scene. Oh god, the apple scene. For the uninitiated, it's in the slasher movie playbook to have a scene early on where the dumb kids are warned by an older local that the area is dangerous, and Sweet Revenge takes that trope and, you guessed it, makes it shotgun an Angry Orchard. Not only is the main character, Eve, nursing a bottle of Angry Orchard, but both characters are loudly munching on apples the whole scene, even as the old guy warns Eve about "revenge, betrayal," and "murder, lots of murder." I don't have any evidence to back this up, but I swear they even dialed up the crunching sound of the apples being eaten. At that point, I was fully expecting the ending to be Jason thwacking open a bottle of Angry Orchard with his machete and winking at the camera as he takes a sip. Anyway, aside from alllllll that, I had a very good time watching Sweet Revenge, and I hope it's just a clumsily done teaser for a bloodier, more experimental Friday the 13th, and not a prophecy of a soulless, money-hungry "Jason Universe," a name I'm already not fond of. Jason's back, but it remains to be seen whether he's the ruthless killer we know and love or a shallow husk drunk on hard cider. See more Movies Features Jordan Gerblick Social Links Navigation After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish. 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They'll do anything but make a new Friday the 13th movie: the first new image of a live-action Jason Voorhees in 16 years comes from a YouTube short sponsored by a cider company Horror icon Jason Voorhees makes officially return to screen for the first time since 2009's Friday the 13th reboot – but it's not for a movie or TV show 16 years after the critically panned reboot, iconic horror franchise Friday the 13th returns to the big screen with a new installment – and sequel to the hit video game Friday the 13th reboot series casts its 10-year-old Jason Voorhees who's just a little too cute to be a slasher killer I Know What You Did Last Summer director says this whole thing could have been avoided "if men went to therapy," because "if you have the right tools, that pain is maybe not then turned into a murder spree" After 9 years of live service horror games, I can't wait for the new Hellraiser game to push back against the Dead by Daylight effect Latest in Horror Movies The Walking Dead star rents his basement out to Willem Dafoe and comes to seriously regret it in intense trailer for new horror movie 8 months after it was pulled from Paramount's 2025 theatrical slate, Dakota Johnson's mysterious new horror movie confirms surprise streaming release New fairy-filled horror movie with Black Mirror and Monkey Man stars looks like an outdoorsy take on The Innkeepers – and I couldn't be more in Now we understand why upcoming superhero horror movie The Toxic Avenger is rated R for "p*ss play" as new graphic image gets leaked online After Weapons' gory ending, fans are discussing the most disturbing final lines in horror movies Horror icon Jason Voorhees makes officially return to screen for the first time since 2009's Friday the 13th reboot – but it's not for a movie or TV show Latest in Features The new D&D Stranger Things crossover is all about continuing "Eddie's legacy" with max '80s "faux-stalgia" Mafia: The Old Country's divisive linearity is telling me everything I need to know about action-adventure games in 2025, and it all comes back to Indiana Jones Nearly 30 years after its release, Princess Mononoke is headed back to theaters – and it’s still a timeless, heartbreaking classic Pokemon Legends: Z-A hands-on: With overhauled battles and denser exploration, I'm shocked at how fundamentally fresh this could feel "There's got to be a game in here somewhere": How Felt That: Boxing quietly became one of the most innovative games in development Forget Elden Ring Nightreign or Expedition 33, the toughest boss fight I've faced this year is a slippery rock face on an empty stomach GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS This D&D board game could be the magic item needed to refresh your game nights, but it won't be a critical hit for everyone OFF review: "Undertale fans need to play this RPG that inspired it – I can't believe it took this stellar remake to get me to step up to the plate" Drag x Drive review: "I'm left craving Arms' sauce from Nintendo's twitchy yet shallow basketballer, which feels like a tech demo" Madden 26 review: "The finest entry in a decade by some margin" I'm convinced that this is still one of the best team board games around, and it deserves to be on your shelf Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian" The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range" Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU" Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber" M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion" Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids." 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