What if Jason Voorhees wasn’t a machete-wielding, hockey mask-wearing freak, but instead just a local resident of Camp Crystal Lake whose serenity was being disturbed by camp counselors? Director John Fucile and co-writer Simon Fraser bring audiences Jacked, a thriller about two lovers at a lake who run into the wrong set of circumstances.
It’s 1987, and Lindsay (Marla Robison) and Jay (Tom Koch) head out for some sort of adventure in an old-school station wagon of the era. Lindsay has her Polaroid and takes pictures to document the trip. Along the way, they stop at a local convenience store for the essentials: snacks and, of course, alcohol. After they leave, a menacing man, aka “The Creep” (Anthony Cipriani) enters to pick up his own supplies just think a leaner Stone Cold Steve Austin type with a shaved head, goatee, tattoos, and all. As he leaves, a report about a missing 14-year-old girl can be heard over the radio.
Lindsay and Jay arrive at their destination, a secluded lake. They drink, bond, and have fun in the water. Nearby is The Creep’s trailer. He unlocks a padlock from the outside, and inside is a young girl. She appears to be unharmed, and as he settles in, lights a cigarette, and has a drink, the noise from the young couple horsing around in the water seems to really irritate him. As night falls, the couple packs up to head home and returns to their station wagon, only to discover a flat tire. But that’s not the only thing they run into; they also encounter The Creep. The young couple is now in for the night of their lives, or the fight of their lives.
“Jacked, a thriller about two lovers at a lake who run into the wrong set of circumstances.”
Jacked has everything that I like about an independent film of this caliber: a small cast, one setting, and a simple storyline. As I watched the film, I couldn’t help but think there had to have been some inspiration from Friday the 13th and, for me, hints of The Hitcher. The decision to set the story in the 1980s is genius. It was simply a different time, and a lake is an isolated setting where so many things can happen, like a drowning. I even found myself thinking about the production and how many takes Marla Robison and Tom Koch had to do while constantly getting in and out of the water, drying off, and maintaining continuity with their hair and makeup.
The time period also brings us our fourth character: the station wagon. Cars were just built differently then: pure metal, super heavy, and notorious for breaking down. The seats were like couches, and if you watch, there’s a definite reason for the roomy back. So although the station wagon doesn’t speak, it does a lot of talking of its own for our characters. The simple fact that it gets a flat tire begins Lindsay and Jay’s troubles because they can’t escape, yet it also provides them with protection and shelter. At one point, Fucile wisely uses the car’s dome light in several scenes as a workaround to illuminate our characters. I have no idea where Fucile found it, but I was happy with how he used it.
"…The time period also brings us our fourth character: the station wagon."
