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Kevin Bacon Reflects on His Horror Legacy and Physical Challenges in Film

Kevin Bacon, widely recognized for his roles in films such as Stir of Echoes, Mystic River, and A Few Good Men, initially gained fame for his role in the iconic horror movie Friday the 13th. Recently, he opened up about his experience in this 1980 film, an origin point for the slasher genre, revealing that while he holds a sense of pride regarding his early work, there are aspects of it he finds less than appealing. A significant part of this discomfort revolves around the type of memorabilia he is often asked to sign, especially related to his character’s fate in the movie.

In a candid discussion with Variety, Bacon participated in a quiz where he was asked to identify lines from his various films. When it came to the dialogue from Friday the 13th, he hesitated, signifying how long it has been since he last revisited the film. Upon seeing the line, “It’s gonna tear down that valley like a son of a gun,” he finally identified it as part of the classic slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham.

Reflecting on the impact of Friday the 13th, Bacon noted that the film played a pivotal role in defining the rules for future slasher movies. He recalled the morality themes prevalent in the genre during that era, stating, “The thing is, back then, a lot of these teen slasher movies were morality tales. If you had sex or did drugs, you were destined for a violent end. I happened to do both in quick succession, thus sealing my fate.” His character, Jack, suffers a particularly memorable demise after a night of intimate encounters, meeting the film’s killer under dramatic circumstances. In a chilling scene, he is killed by a metal arrow through his neck, indelibly marking that moment as one of the franchise’s most iconic deaths.

Kevin Bacon on ‘Hollow Man’: “One of the Most Physically Challenging Movies I Ever Did”

In the same interview, Bacon revisited some of his famous lines from films such as Footloose, Tremors, National Lampoon’s Animal House, and Sleepers. However, he notably focused on two films that left a strong impression on him: Wild Things and Hollow Man. He recounted an unexpected experience while filming Hollow Man, which he described as one of the most demanding physical roles he has undertaken. Bacon explained the unique challenges of portraying an invisible character, saying, “At first, the idea of playing an invisible part seemed appealing. You think you can just record your lines and enjoy a laid-back schedule. Instead, I had to serve as the green screen. This meant that for much of the shoot, I was essentially a blank canvas for the visual effects team.” He concluded that working on Hollow Man turned out to be incredibly taxing in ways he hadn’t anticipated.

Bacon’s current project is the TV series The Bondsman, which is available for streaming on Prime Video.

For more on his insights and experiences, you can check out the full interview on Variety (YouTube).

Source
movieweb.com