Damian Shannon and Mark Swift interview

For the Writers Guild of America West, Denis Faye talks to the writers of the new version of Friday The 13th, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift.

How do you think the craft of writing horror has changed in the 30 years or so since the original Friday the 13th came out?

Mark Swift: I think it goes in cycles. I think for this new one, we wanted to cycle back to the way that it was in the ‘80s. It was a little less self-aware. Then we had the cycle with Scream where it was self-reflexive and winking at the audience a lot. After that, it seems like it went into, I think it’s been referred to as “torture porn,” like the Saw films, which are all about throwing out that self-reflexivity and really making it brutal and visceral. I think we’re trying to have this pendulum swing back to where it was a little more entertaining and fun. That was basically our goal.