Pamela's Curse II

Now available! Only doing one, very limited run of these. Comment below with your contact info if you want one.

Pam comparison shot

Today, and onset back in 1980...

Recognize this?

There aren't many props that survive from Friday the 13th part 2. As far as I know the two I just bought are the only two remaining... and probably the best two pieces you could possibly want.

Back in April 2011, I came across a piece by Bob Deakin (via this post on the Fridaythe13thFranchise site), who wrote about a Connecticut man named Lloyd Albin, owner of the Pamela Voorhees head from Friday the 13th part 2. Back in 1980 Lloyd was the owner of Camp Kenmont in Kent, CT, where the filming had taken place. Following a wrap-up party, Lloyd found the crew had left Mrs. Voorhees' mummified head hanging from a tree on his property. For more than 30 years, he had kept it in a closet wrapped in a towel, taking it out occasionally to scare his campers.

I found Lloyd phone number on the web and called him to inquire about the head. At the time I was sure I couldn't afford such a thing but wanted to see it and make a lowball offer anyway. Lloyd was affable and loved talking about his experiences on the set of Friday the 13th, inviting me to come see the prop. He also had the original "Camp Crystal Lake" sign held by Marta Kober in the opening scenes, which I was able to screen match.

Lloyd didn't sell me the pieces but I mentioned his props to Daniel Farrands, who included Lloyd in his Crystal Lake Memories documentary in 2013. After the documentary came out, I wrote a blog post with a few stories and anecdotes Lloyd told me that didn't make it into the documentary. A couple of years went by and I basically forgot about it.

Then a friend of mine pointed me to a eBay auction. Lloyd's props were finally for sale! I managed to buy both pieces and OH MY GOD I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

You might have seen Tom Spina's photos... the head was in rough shape and Tom did a great job restoring it. Even in person, you can hardly tell where the damage was... and it was extensive. The thing literally lost chunks of foam latex every time you touched it.

I can't describe how exciting it is to own a piece of film history. In a way, this head is more central to the Friday the 13th story than the hockey mask: this desiccated head was the object of Jason's cultish devotion, the only thing that mattered in the world to him, and the reason he committed all his murders. The fact that the prop still exists is remarkable considering the poor treatment B movie film props got back then.

Honestly, she doesn't look like much in daylight. But once you get her properly lit, it's like being onset back in 1980...

 

One of the things I considered in buying this is screen use. I have no doubt that it was made by Carl Fullerton on set. But was it the only one, and is this the one that actually saw screen time? That would affect the value considerably. I asked Fullerton back in 2011 if more than one was made, but he couldn't remember.

Fortunately, blue ray screen shots (thanks Auz) might provide some clues.

Establishing screen-matching with a piece like this requires more than identifying sculpt features, but characteristics that could only exist on one version of the piece. The face was hastily sculpted, cast in foam latex and affixed to a plaster life cast (probably of Connie Hogan). There are tiny bubble patterns in the forehead in some of the recesses where the foam was popping during the curing process. If you look very closely at screen shots, you can see evidence of the same bubble patterns. Since it seems unlikely the bubbles would have formed in exactly the same places from casting to casting, this indicates a high probability that my head is the only one made for the film. The head also has pieces of double-sided tape used to hold the wig on still affixed, suggesting it's the screen-used piece.

So there you have it. I don't think this will be the beginning of a huge screen-used prop collection for me because honestly, I'm probably never going to top this. Sometimes you just get lucky!

So this piece is far too fragile to cast directly... but I've been thinking about doing a very limited edition re-sculpt. 20 copies at the most. Its a nebulous plan right now, but keep it in mind and comment below if you might be interested. Until then, enjoy these photos of the real deal and thank the horror gods she made it 35 years!

Fuck it. Here's my whole collection.

Top row, from left:

Part 2: Campfire Legend. Sculpt by Josh Stephenson. Finish work by Lewis Frye.
Part 3: Hideous Looking Man. Sculpt by Crash. Paint job by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 3: Hangman II. Sculpt by DBach. Paint job by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 4: His Unlucky Day. Sculpted and painted by Paredoilia Productions.
Part 6: Coffin Dummy. Recasted from movie mold bust by Horror Sanctum Studios.
Part 6: Aladdin Sane. Sculpted and Painted by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 7: New Blood. Recast from screen-used appliances by Silver Shampain Novelties. Painted by SSN, but some finish work by Jasonlivessince1980.
JGTH: HSS Hell. Recast from screen-used mask by Horror Sanctum Studios. Painted by Jasonlivessince1980.

Bottom Row:

Part 2: Pamela's Curse. Sculpted and painted by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 3: Project 82 by Crash, painted by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 4/5: Project 82 by Crash, repainted by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 6 hock. Blank by Frightstuff, reshaped and painted by Jasonlivessince1980. Straps by Auz.
Part 7 hock: Cast from screen-used mask by Beyond Disgusting Studios. Painted by Jasonlivessince1980.
Part 8 hock: Cast from screen-used mask by Beyond Disgusting Studios. Painted by Jasonlivessince1980. Straps by Auz.
Remake hock: Blank by JDF. Painted by Jasonlivessince1980.
Fibrosport Elite: Replica of the mask that started it all by Fiberglassmasks.com

Actually, this isn't my whole collection. Updates coming soon...

Crystal Lake Memories: Lloyd Albin, the untold story

Just watched a section of the outstanding Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. Congrats to Dan Farrands for making a great documentary and easily the most thorough one on the franchise.

In the section on Part 2, Lloyd Albin, who owned the summer camp in Kent, CT where the film was shot in September 1980, mentions he's had "a number of people" try to buy his props. I was one of them, having contacted Lloyd in early 2011 to visit and try to purchase his Pamela Voorhees head and the Camp Crystal Lake sign from the film. He was a really nice guy and told me a lot of the really cool stories and anecdotes he mentions in the DVD... and some that were left out. Such as:

• The crew was battling the changing seasons in Connecticut, and had to keep spray painting leaves green.

•  Neighbors complained about light pollution during the filming of the "skinny dip" sequence.

• He played tennis against Lauren Marie Taylor during downtime. (Lauren Marie Taylor later told me she was embarrasingly bad at it).

• Lloyd was paid $1,000 a day by the production company for the use of the camp and they took out a $20,000 bond against the possibility of damage. There was none so no penalties were charged.

• Lloyd said filming began in early September 1980 and lasted about one month. The weather was generally still warm but they had to get people extra blankets who were staying in the cabins when a cold snap came in.

• The “Jason shack” was built by the film crew in a flat area in the woods just west of the docks. There was also a camera track built in the same area to record Steve Dash running through the woods. When the crew was ready to leave they asked if they could leave the shack there, but Lloyd demanded they tear it down in case fans came by to check it out. Today there is no trace of it, but the growth in the area that was cleared is noticeably shorter.

•  Lloyd said Lauren Taylor and most of the other cast and crew were very pleasant people.

• Lloyd recognized Marta Kober on set and asked her if she was in a certain play he saw in New York, she confirmed it was her.

• Lloyd was presant for the double impaling scene and found it very amusing. Apparently they called it “instant birth control” on set.

• During filming, Steve Miner, whom Lloyd had gotten friendly with, presented three Jason facial designs, inquiring as to which one he thought was scariest. Lloyd said none of them were really fearsome, but that he preferred Hitchcockian horror where a person is coming up the stairs slowly and building tension and you never see the killer… he says that Miner then chose not to show Jason for most of the film.

• Lloyd also pointed out to me from his living room the approximate location of the "Jason cabin", which I have located from memory on this map.

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I told Dan Farrands about Lloyd and was really excited to see he made it out to Connecticut to film Lloyd, who despite his advanced age is still fit, healthy and loves to talk about Friday the 13th.

He also gave viewers a glimpse of his baby... the actual head of Mrs. Voorhees used in the film. I feel very lucky to have held it in real life and examined it closely. It is made of foam latex casted directly onto a wig display and painted reddish brown, blackened in some areas to give it a dried out, mummified look. It is still in very good shape aside from pieces missing from the nose and right temple.

       Congrats to Daniel Farrands for making an amazing documentary. Many thanks to Lloyd Albin for allowing me into his home to hold this piece of film history. And Lloyd: if you ever want to sell it LET ME KNOW!! THANKS!!!!

New Project: Mrs. Voorhees

 About a month into sculpting this. I've never quite been enamored with the other replicas out there, and since I actually got to touch the original, screen-used piece about a year ago I've been infatuated with it. Going for as close to 1:1 replication as I can get and very satisfied so far. Expect to have this done within the next two weeks or so, and finished copies will be painted exactly like the screen piece.

Haven't decided on a name yet: was throwing around "requiem", "the shrine", "face time", "Pamela's curse", "psycho", etc.