The Ministry of The Heavenly Vessel - Documentaries

Documentaries

There have been two documentary books released chronicling the making of the Friday the 13th films. In February 2005, FAB Press published their book containing interviews with the cast and crew of the Friday the 13th series of films. David Grove, a film journalist who has written for Fangoria, Cinefantastique, and various other British magazines detailing the creation of the Friday the 13th films, wrote the comprehensive book, Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood. Grove interviewed over 100 "key personnel involved in making the films" to collect "detailed production histories of each of the 11 films", not including interviews with other film professionals like Wes Craven. Grove's book also includes previously unseen production photos which were acquired from private collections.

Eight months after the release of Grove's book, Titan Books, in association with Sparkplug Press, released a detailed history on the Friday the 13th series. Peter M. Bracke released Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th on October 24, 2005. The book chronicles the creation of the series up to the release of Freddy vs. Jason. Bracke spent three years researching the series and collecting more than 200 interviews from the cast and crew of each of the films. Bracke's extensive work for the book prompted Sean S. Cunningham to provide a foreword. Crystal Lake Memories also includes images, storyboards, concept art, and publicity material that had not been released to the public. A private party was held on October 22, 2005 at Universal Studios CityWalk Hollywood for the book's premiere.

A documentary film, titled His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th, was released in February 2009. The film was directed by Daniel Farrands, who wrote the film Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and a documentary on The Amityville Horror. The film was broadcast on the Starz television channel during the first week of February, and afterwards it was released on DVD on February 3, 2009. The documentary is hosted by special make‑up effects artist Tom Savini, who interviews the cast and crew members of each of the Friday the 13th films, asking them questions on the choices they made during filming. It also features interviews with journalists and other filmmakers who offer their opinion of the series.