Crystal Lake Sets a Friday the 13th Franchise Record With 46 Year High Rotten Tomatoes Score

Despite a non-stop barrage of sequels in its heyday, the Friday the 13th franchise has been on ice for years, though it will finally return this week with the all-new prequel TV series, Crystal Lake. It’s been seventeen years since the last entry in the beloved horror franchise, and though the series has special place in the hearts of horror fans, it’s never been one to earn much critical appraisal in mainstream circles. That has officially changed, though, as the Rotten Tomatoes score for Crystal Lake has arrived and not only set a franchise record with its score, but given the series its only entry with a fresh rating.

As of this writing, with 34 total reviews, Crystal Lake not only has that shiny red tomato next to its name, but the “Certified Fresh” distinction, boasting a score of 82%. The critical consensus for the show indicates that critics love Linda Cardellini’s performance as Pamela Voorhees in the new series and the overall campy tone of the series that harkens back to the slasher film’s golden era. That said, they also note that the series hits the high and low points for the franchise overall. Despite some criticisms, the Rotten Tomatoes score for Crystal Lake officially makes it the highest-rated piece of media in the entire Friday the 13th franchise.

Crystal Lake Reviews Deliver Friday the 13th Franchise Record

Friday the 13th has long been a franchise that was held up by the devotion of fans and their love for that special boy, Jason. To an extent, the films were also somewhat critic-proof, with few negative scores scaring away fans from checking out the next piece of the larger saga. To that end, it’s worth looking at where Crystal Lake lands in comparison to all the other movies that have followed, and just how impressive it is that the new series actually has good reviews.

Though the rotten reviews for Crystal Lake are few and far between (only six of the 34 reviews have the green splat), they have something in common, largely that the show’s attempt to revitalize the mythology of the film franchise falls prey to some of the same trappings that other horror movie series turned TV shows have done: overexplaining things, delivering an uninteresting mystery, but also turning into a slog to watch. All that to say, a lot of the glowing reviews make the same criticism, but are so quick to note that the series can overcome these issues because of Linda Cardellini in the lead role.

All eight episodes of Crystal Lake will premiere this Friday, October 15, on Peacock. Are you planning to check it out? Are you shocked this is the first entry in the Friday the 13th series to earn a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes? Sound off in the comments below and let us know.