Short - Sweet Revenge: Mike P. Nelson Brings Jason Voorhees Back in a Blood-Soaked Resurrection That Honors and Reignites the Friday the 13th Legacy

By Mulder, 26 june 2025

There’s something deliciously eerie about a campfire myth brought back to life with a chainsaw roar and a cider chaser. With Sweet Revenge, a brutal and nostalgic short-form vignette conceived for the franchise’s 45th anniversary, Mike P. Nelson doesn’t just resurrect Jason Voorhees—he gives him a stage soaked in blood, emotion, and a modern sensibility that horror fans have been craving for years. At the heart of this visceral tribute is the unmistakable spirit of the original Friday the 13th—a spirit first sparked by Victor Miller’s now-legendary 1980 screenplay and carried forward in over four decades of films, comics, merchandise, and midnight marathons. Now, under the freshly minted umbrella of Jason Universe, backed by Horror, Inc., and energized by a deliciously unexpected sponsor in Angry Orchard Hard Cider, this new chapter slices in with boldness, guts (literally), and a refreshing sense of purpose.

Mike P. Nelson, the genre-minded force behind Wrong Turn (2021), The Domestics (2018), and the highly anticipated Silent Night, Deadly Night reboot, has described this opportunity as a surreal full-circle moment—one born not of marketing mechanics, but of raw fan passion. “Thirty years ago I was trying to secretly watch these movies on VHS when no one was looking,” he confessed, and that sense of mischief and love bleeds into every frame of Sweet Revenge. This isn’t just another franchise revival—it’s a fan-made fever dream turned professional horror opera. With his company Rockford Road Pictures, which he originally founded while chasing friends around with a camera and a fake chainsaw, Mike P. Nelson has maintained a creative ethos grounded in character, heart, and an unmistakable streak of the macabre. That balance is on full display here, where blood-spattered nostalgia meets innovative storytelling.

What truly sets Sweet Revenge apart is how it serves as the beating, bleeding heart of a much wider Jason resurgence. Robbie Barsamian, Executive VP of Horror, Inc., summed it up perfectly: “Fans have been hungry for more Jason stories… Sweet Revenge brings Jason back to his brutal roots.” Indeed, this is not some sanitized celebration or perfunctory birthday bash. This is Jason the way he was always meant to be—silent, terrifying, and weirdly cathartic. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Not only does this short film drop during the franchise’s celebratory season, but it also coincides with Jason’s return to Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, a brand-new Greg Nicotero redesign of the infamous hockey mask, and the buzzed-about A24-produced Crystal Lake prequel series being helmed by Victor Miller and Marc Toberoff. If the franchise had spent the last decade in legal limbo and conceptual stasis, it’s now emerging with more momentum than ever—and Sweet Revenge is its first gleaming machete strike.

Adding an unexpected layer of flavor—quite literally—is the collaboration with Angry Orchard Hard Cider, who sponsor the vignette and tie it to a larger campaign meant to blur the lines between horror fandom and lifestyle experience. Matt Withington, Senior Marketing Director at Angry Orchard, made the connection clear: “Our fans love bold, unexpected entertainment—especially horror.” It's a savvy move, but it also plays like an organic pairing: the warmth of a spiked autumn cider beside the icy dread of a lakeside murder spree. The microsite experience hosted by Angry Orchard promises to not just showcase Sweet Revenge but immerse fans in its atmosphere, creating what could be one of the most experiential short film releases in horror fandom history.

From a technical standpoint, Sweet Revenge is the product of a deeply seasoned horror craftsman. Mike P. Nelson has honed his sharp blend of grounded terror and stylized gore across multiple projects, notably the acclaimed V/H/S/85 segments No Wake and Ambrosia, which set viewership records on Shudder and recently earned a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Streaming Release. Here, he leans into what he does best: character-driven carnage with a moral edge, filtered through a grainy, grindhouse lens that feels equal parts retro and fiercely modern. In a genre landscape often diluted by meta-commentary or humor, Sweet Revenge stands out for embracing the primal fear that made Jason a pop culture boogeyman to begin with.

Ultimately, Sweet Revenge is more than just a short film. It’s the bloody calling card for what Robert M. Barsamian and Robert P. Barsamian, the creative stewards behind Horror, Inc., envision as a rebirth of the Jason brand: new entertainment, immersive fan experiences, exclusive merchandise, and multimedia storytelling under the Jason Universe umbrella. Their plan isn’t just about quantity—it’s about honoring the mythos, modernizing the mask, and making Jason a force to be reckoned with for a new generation. And thanks to Mike P. Nelson’s clear love for the franchise and his expert directorial hand, that mission has never looked more terrifying—or more exciting.

As the horror world watches the return of Jason Voorhees unfold, Sweet Revenge stands as both a resurrection and a rebuke: a reminder that the old ways still work, and that when you hand the machete to someone who truly cares, the results can be murderously magnificent. Whether you're an old-school slasher diehard or a curious newcomer lured in by cider and YouTube algorithms, this short-form nightmare is poised to cut deep—and leave you thirsty for more.

(Source : press release)