Crystal Lake (2026) Review: A Fresh Catch for the Friday the 13th Saga
Crystal Lake Review
We swam through Crystal Lake in hopes of retrieving a prized test subject. Along the way, we found worthy candidates for our program, but no sign of our primary human specimen.
Oh, and we’ve also watched the show, Crystal Lake. BLOOP!
Show: Crystal Lake
Release Date: October 15, 2026
Episodes: 8
Studio: A24
Channel: Peacock
Showrunner: Brad Caleb Kane
Directors: Michael Lennox, Celine Held, Logan George, and Quyen Tran
Cast: Linda Cardellini, William Catlett, Gwendolyn Sundstrom, Cameron Scoggins, Devin Kessler, and Callum Vinson
BLOOP!
Before we spoil these waters, here are the positives:
Pros
- Story.
- Writing.
- World Building.
- Characters.
- Performances.
- Cinematography.
- Makeup – top tier.
- VFX.
- Horror Gore.
- Wardrobe.
- Episode titles.
- Title card.
Besides the largemouth bass, we found a whole school of unexpected delights swimming throughout Crystal Lake.
Note: Prime test subject not found. Deploy human reinforcements. Search the woods.
WARNING! ENTERING SPOILER-INFESTED WATERS!
(We’ll let you know when it’s safe to swim back to the surface.)
Was a bear served a platter of fish and honey? Disgusting. Find this human immediately.
Not going to dissect every episode individually, but we fish do have a couple of nitpicks.
First, Pamela Voorhees brutally murders Valerie Snell, leaving Grace, an orphan. What’s the protocol here? Because in Cunningham County, when a child is left orphaned they’re able to wander the woods and go down acid trip lane with a band of tie-dyed camp counselors.
Swimming back to episode 1 when Jason got caught in our trap—err, was drowning in the lake—we see the camp owner jump in to rescue him, followed quickly by Pamela. Pamela swims to the area where Jason sank, but the camp owner must’ve gotten caught in one of our other traps, because he was nowhere to be seen on screen again. A continuity error one of our esteemed fish pointed out.
One fish ridiculed Bellflower Chemical, claiming they should have been curing cancer instead of injecting their human test subjects with cockroach serum.
Disclaimer: We fish believe a company should be allowed to perform any test necessary when acting on behalf of the fish’s best… err, Human’s best interests.
Another nitpick comes with the standoff between Chief Levon Brooks and Bellflower Chemical. Overall, it was fine… but! We understand Bellflower is ruthless, so what stopped them from walking in, pulling the trigger, grabbing Pamela, and leaving? Something that could’ve been executed with a bit more finesse.
CRYSTAL LAKE ENDING EXPLAINED:
“We’ve located the test subject! Wait… What’s that on his head? Is he covering his face with a rice bag?”
BLOOP!
“He just popped his biological father’s eyeballs out of his head! Now’s your chance. Don’t run, net the test subject, and the mother! You fools, they got away!”
BLOOP!
That’s basically it. Our prized test subject is on the loose. We fish will stop at nothing to secure this two-legged murder roach. What’s next for Jason and his mother? Yeah yeah yeah… we know where he’s been already throughout the Friday the 13th saga. But this is a fresh take. A chance for our prized specimen to trade his traumatic memories of Manhattan and space travel for some good old-fashioned camp counselor hunting. Maybe, he’ll move permanently to one of our “research” facilities. What do we know? We’re just fish!
BLOOP!
SPOILER FREE ZONE: SWIM BACK
Crystal Lake is easily the best thing to happen to this franchise since… who knows? Impressive makeup, strong writing, and a surprisingly deep dive into Pamela Voorhees’s psyche make Crystal Lake a location we fish can set up a new research facility at a series we fish will gladly swim back to.
FISHY FUN FACT:
Did You Know?
During early pre-production, Charlize Theron was considered for the role of Pamela Voorhees before Linda Cardellini was officially cast.
Article by Dee Jay Fish
CHECK OUT THE TRAILER TO CRYSTAL LAKE HERE:
