Alice (Friday the 13th)

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Alice Hardy
Friday the 13th character
Adrienne King as Alice Hardy.jpg
Adrienne King in Friday the 13th (1980)
First appearanceFriday the 13th (1980)
Last appearanceFriday the 13th: The Game (2017)
Created byVictor Miller
Portrayed byAdrienne King
In-universe information
Full nameAlice Hardy[a]
OccupationCamp counselor
Artist
StatusDeceased

Alice Hardy is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th franchise. She first appears in Friday the 13th (1980) as an artist working as a camp counselor. Alice's creator, Victor Miller, was supposed to base her on the characteristics of Halloween's (1978) Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). However, Miller scripted Alice as a more flawed character. Despite this, budgetary constraints limited Miller's original vision for Alice in the Sean S. Cunningham film. Cunningham and casting director Barry Moss were originally wanting an established actress for the part but realized this was outside of the budget. An open casting call got put in place for Alice, and Adrienne King obtained the part, beating over a hundred actresses.

King was asked by director Steve Miner if she'd be willing to return for Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), and she unanimously agreed. Miller declined to write the sequel, and Ron Kurtz took on writing duties, deciding to kill off Alice in the opening prologue to spite King's agent of the time. Budgetary constraints again limited aspects of Alice's story arc in the finished film. King filmed her scenes for Part 2 throughout a weekend in November 1980 on a set she described as unenjoyable and was injured filming. Alice is prominently featured in literary works of the franchise, appearing in three novelizations adapted from films and two original novels. Alice first appears in Simon Hawke's novelizations Friday the 13th (1987) and Friday the 13th Part II (1988). Additionally, Alice cameos in the Friday the 13th comics, and is featured in merchandise and fan films such as Jason Rising (2021).[3]

After filming the first Friday film, King suffered an aggressive stalker and went into seclusion for several years. The confrontation between the Alice character and the villain Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) and her nightmare sequence of Jason (Ari Lehman) acts as the catalyst for the rest of the events of the series. Alice's death, in part, caused the then-popular slasher film trope of killing off the survivor of the first film in the subsequent sequel.[4] Alice is one of the original examples of the "final girl" theory by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 non-fiction book Men, Women, and Chainsaws, this inclusion has been both agreed upon and challenged, however.

Appearances[]

Films[]

Alice made her first cinematic appearance in the original Friday the 13th on May 9, 1980. Alice's depiction in this film is as an aspiring artist hired as a camp counselor. The sole survivor by chance, Alice decapitates the villain, Mrs. Voorhees, who is wanting to close the camp due to the drowning of her son, Jason. The film ends with Alice having a nightmare of Jason attacking her in a canoe. Alice's second appearance was in Steve Miner's sequel Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981). Despite Adrienne King receiving top billing, Alice is killed off in the prologue by an alive and grown Jason seeking revenge for the death of his mother. Alice's supposed disappearance causes her to become an urban legend of Crystal Lake. In the 2009 reimagining of the first four films of the franchise, Alice's analogue is portrayed by Stephanie Rhodes. The scenes of this counselor depict her beheading the crazed Pamela Voorhees (Nana Visitor). The character's demise in part caused the then-popular slasher film trope of killing off the survivor of the first film in the subsequent sequel.[4]

Literature[]

Alice appears in three of the twelve novelizations based on films in the franchise. The character made her a literary debut in Simon Hawke's 1987 novelization of the original Friday the 13th (1980). Hawke's novel greatly expands Alice's backstory, revealing a relationship with John in California (a character not referenced nor seen in the film) and mentions her strained relationship with her father before his death. Alice later appears in Hawke's 1988 novelization of Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), which has her residing in Crystal Lake as a means of facing her trauma. This novel explains how Jason manages to locate her, mentioning him memorizing her car during one of her visits to the lake. Alice's subsequent appearances are minor compared to the character's depictions in Hawke's adaptations. While not appearing in Freddy vs. Jason (2003) itself, Alice appears in the Stephen Hand novelization as a shade in Hell.[5]

Alice later appeared in two original 2006 novels. Alice appears in Christa Faust's novel Friday the 13th: The Jason Strain as a hallucination of Jason. Alice's battle with Pamela Voorhees is the prologue of Stephen Hand's Friday the 13th: Carnival of Maniacs. The protagonist, Glo, later discovers her corpse in Jason's shack.[6] Alice makes a cameo appearance in the sixth and final issue of WildStorm's Friday the 13th comic series, in a flashback depicting Jason's attack on her from the first film.[7] The second issue of the comic miniseries Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale by WildStorm also features a cameo appearance by Alice, depicting the scene from the first film when she first meets Mrs. Voorhees.[8]

Development[]

Conception[]

Writer Victor Miller was told to watch John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and base a screenplay upon it.[9] Miller was supposed to build Alice upon the characteristics set forth by virginal heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Carpenter's film, particularly a sense of "resourcefulness and intelligence" absent from other heroines in cinema at the time.[9] Miller, however, did not find it necessary for Alice to be virginal and wanted to depict her as a less sympathetic character.[10] Miller's early drafts provide Alice with a backstory, with her having an affair with a married man on the West Coast, which is why her relationship with Steve Christy is deteriorating, and she wants to leave the camp.[11] Miller's most conscious efforts with the character were to write her as an outsider, someone who didn't fit in with the rest of the counselors.[10] Once filming began, however, Cunningham did not explore Alice's story arc in-depth due to budget and time constraints.[10]

Alice was a very special character. She was the hero of the first film and indestructible in a way. So it was important that, dramatically, she be killed off because Part 2 was Jason's film—avenging the death of his mother is what motivates him.

— Miner discussing Alice's development in Part 2

Miller turned down writing the second film, and Ron Kurtz took on writing duties.[12] Kurtz's script kills Alice off in the opening of the film.[13] Director Steve Miner found Alice to be pivotal to the plot as she is the heroine of the first film and that she needed to have a dramatic death as "Part 2 was Jason's film." The script provides Alice with more backstory than the film itself and addresses how Jason found her. The original script has Alice suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, returning to Crystal Lake frequently to deal with her trauma. On one visit, the character of Jason spots Alice and memorizes her car. Due to budgetary constraints again, the film only has Alice stalked and killed by an unseen assailant all in her apartment. King interprets Alice's death scene as a "nightmare within a nightmare" and that the viewer never really saw Alice's body afterward.

Casting[]

In 1979, there was an open casting call for the role of Alice as a publicity stunt to get people interested in the production. The audition process for Alice took an entire summer. Cunningham and casting director Barry Moss were initially looking for a big-name actress. At some point, they were pushing for Sally Field to play the part. They began to look for new actresses upon realizing that they couldn't afford someone established.[14] King was a friend of a woman who worked in an office alongside Moss. After several other actresses in New York auditioned, they brought King in to audition. When she arrived, there were hundreds of people in the hallway waiting to audition for Alice. King recollects not having to even read for a scene but rather introduce herself and scream. After meeting her, Cunningham remarked, "You sneaky guys! You saved the best one for last!" Cunningham described her as embodying the "vulnerable, girl-next-door type" and having a natural appeal that he wanted for the Alice character. In late August of that year, King received a letter making her casting official.

Ron Kurtz brought Alice back for Steve Miner's sequel Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), purposefully in a smaller capacity. Kurtz believed King's agent was trying to bribe the production for more money. However, in reality, King suffered an aggressive stalker after the first film and wanted to return as Alice but in a reduced part.[15] King didn't receive a script but recalls having lunch with Miner and his assistant Denise Pinkley, and they asked if she'd be willing to return. She unanimously agreed as she felt it was something she owed the filmmakers due to the first film's success. Alice's scenes for Part 2 were shot over a weekend at the end of November 1980. Miner recalls having fun shooting Alice's sequences, being particular about King's movement as the character. Conversely, King described returning as Alice for this film to be unenjoyable due to a mundane set, "It was just me, a head in the refrigerator and someone outside, ready to throw a black cat at me through the window." Filming Alice's death with the ice pick, King was injured when the prop failed to retract.

Characterization[]

Film critic Terry Lawson describes the character's depiction in Friday the 13th (1980) as an "all-American" girl, attributing to her being "destined to be the last one alive."[16] Ted Serrill (Home News Tribune) describes Alice's placement as the heroine feeling arbitrary.[17] Mike Hughes (The Journal News) wrote that Adrienne King "projects a combination of intelligence and fragility," in Alice.[18] Both Hughes and Ron Cowan (Statesman Journal) criticize the character's trait of knocking the villain unconscious and running away without killing her, the latter describing Alice as "a rather panicky young woman."[18][19] Alice's creator, writer Victor Miller, acknowledges this characteristic of the character in an op-ed, writing "Without spoiling the ending for you, I'll say that our heroine becomes locked in a terminal struggle with the villain. Time and time again the heroine cannot bring herself to kill the villain."[20]

King states that she based her portrayal on traditional horror movie characters and described Alice as a "great scream queen heroine."[11] She also expresses regret that, due to the nature of horror movies, audiences never got to see Alice's relationship with Steve fleshed out, or what could have happened between her and fellow counselor, Bill.[11] King describes the role as an "empowering position" due to her survival in the film.[21] Because the character displayed an artistic side in the first film, production designer Virginia Field included various sketches in the character's home in the second film to humanize the character. She says, "It didn't seem like a big deal at the time we were filming, but I knew that Alice liked to draw and I wanted to show evidence of that."

Reception[]

Alice has garnered her comparisons to other genre heroines such as Laurie Strode, Ellen Ripley, Nancy Thompson, and Sidney Prescott.[22][23] Writer Jessica Robinson attributes Alice's survival to her innocence and resourcefulness.[24] Writer Adam Rockoff describes Alice as a "headstrong artist".[25] In Horror and the Horror Film, while discussing the characteristics of the final girl, Bruce F. Kawin writes that unlike other heroines of the time, Alice isn't saved by a man in the ending, thus having a more profound impact.[26] While one of the original examples of the "final girl" theory by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 non-fiction book Men, Women, and Chainsaws, Clover's inclusion of Alice has been challenged. Philip C. DiMare writes that Alice is a counterpart to the "final girl", in that she is both "tomboyish" and non-virginal.[27]

Merchandise[]

Alice's decayed corpse appears as a part of the model of Jason's shrine to his mother that NECA has released.[28] Mezco Toyz has also released a screen grab statuette of Alice, which depicts the hallucination of Jason attacking her from the ending of Friday the 13th.[29] Alice is a featured character in Great Horror Movie Villains Paper Dolls: Psychos, Slashers and Their Unlucky Victims.[30] Alice is featured on the alternate cover of the first issue for Famous Monsters Underground.[31] Alice's corpse appears next to Mrs. Voorhees' shrine in the 2017 video game Friday the 13th: The Game.[citation needed]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Adrienne King is referred to as playing Alice Hardy in the Crystal Lake Memories documentary, and this name is also used in novels.[1] The name Alice L. Hardy is used in the Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited mockumentary.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Crystal Lake Memories (Blu-Ray). Image Entertainment. 2013-09-13. ASIN B00YT9IS1G.
  2. ^ Tom McLoughlin (Director) (August 1, 1986). "The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited (extra)". Friday the 13th - Part VI: Jason Lives (Deluxe Edition) (DVD). United States: Paramount Pictures (published June 16, 2009). Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Squires, John (August 27, 2021). "Adrienne King is Back as Alice Hardy in 'Friday the 13th' Fan Film 'Jason Rising'; Watch Now!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Jowett 2018, p. 20.
  5. ^ Hand, Stephen (2003). Freddy vs. Jason. Black Flame. ISBN 1-84416-059-9.
  6. ^ Faust, Christa (2006-01-31). Friday the 13th: The Jason Strain. Black Flame. ISBN 1-84416-320-2.
  7. ^ Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti (w), Adam Archer (p), Peter Guzman (i). Friday the 13th 1-6 (2006-2007), WildStorm
  8. ^ Marc Andreyko (w), Shawn Moll (p). Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale 1-2 (2007), WildStorm
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Bracken, p. 39.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Bracken, p. 57.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Grove, Dhybridavid (February 2005). Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood. United Kingdom: FAB Press. p. 36. ISBN 1-903254-31-0.
  12. ^ Bracken, p. 109.
  13. ^ Bracken, p. 148.
  14. ^ Marc Shapiro (June 1989). "The Women of Crystal Lake Part One". Fangoria. No. 83. pp. 18–21.
  15. ^ Ashley Burns (June 1, 2015). "How 'Friday The 13th' Star Adrienne King Uses Her Terrifying Stalker Tale To Help Her Fans". uproxx.com. Adrienne King (interviewed). Uproxx. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Lawson, Terry (May 15, 1980). "In 'Friday', familiarity still breeds contempt". The Journal Herald. p. 26. Retrieved 12 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Serrill, Ted (May 17, 1980). "Horror technique lifted from better flicks". Home News Tribune. p. 23. Retrieved 12 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Hughes, Mike (May 16, 1980). "'Friday the 13th' poor ripoff of 'Halloween'". The Journal News. p. 56. Retrieved 12 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Cowan, Ron (May 30, 1980). "'Friday the 13th' bodes bad luck". Statesman Journal. p. 27. Retrieved 12 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Miller, Victor (June 29, 1980). "True confessions from the man who plotted 'Friday the 13th' murders". The Kansas City Star. p. 251. Retrieved 12 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Sean Cunningham, Victor Miller, Adrienne King and Betsy Palmer (1980). "Return to Crystal Lake: Making of Friday the 13th" Friday the 13th DVD (Special Features) (DVD (Region 2)). United States: WB.
  22. ^ Knight, Gladys (2010). Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television. ABC-CLIO. p. 99. ISBN 0313376123.
  23. ^ Vuckovic, Jovanka (2013). Vuckovic's Horror Miscellany: Stories, Facts, Tales & Trivia. Octopus Books. ISBN 1781571341.
  24. ^ Robinson, Jessica (2012). Life Lessons from Slasher Films. Scarecrow Press. pp. 26. ISBN 0810885026.
  25. ^ Rockoff, Adam (2011). Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film. McFarland. ISBN 0786491922.
  26. ^ Kawin, Bruce (2012). Horror and the Horror Film. Anthem Press. ISBN 0857284495.
  27. ^ DiMare, Philip. Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1598842978.
  28. ^ "Part 2 Jason and Mrs. Voorhees Figures from NECA". Friday the 13th: The Website. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  29. ^ "Cinema of Fear Screen Grabs". Mezco Toyz. Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  30. ^ Ellis, Erin (2013). Great Horror Movie Villains Paper Dolls: Psychos, Slashers and Their Unlucky Victims!. Courier Corporation. ISBN 0486498867.
  31. ^ Parker, Jason. "Famous Monsters Unleashes Jason And Alice Hardy On Cover". Friday the 13th The Franchise.

Works cited[]

  • Bracken, Peter (2006). Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-845-76343-5.
  • Jowett, Lorna (2018). Joss Whedon Vs. the Horror Tradition, The Production of Genre in Buffy and Beyond. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78-673541-6.
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