A trailer has been released by Womp Stomp Films for this fall's Never Hike in the Snow, the prequel to the popular Friday the 13th fan film Never Hike Alone. Originally released in 2017, Never Hike Alone was written and directed by filmmaker Vincente DiSanti. It starred Andrew Leighty as a lone hiker who winds up coming face to face with Jason Voorhees while exploring the abandoned campgrounds of Crystal Lake. It has since gotten over 1.6 million views since first going online, and follow-up projects had also been announced by DiSanti.
Now, we have a look at the first trailer for Never Hike in the Snow, which is set three months before the events of Never Hike Alone. This time, the story will follow the strange disappearance of Crystal Lake resident Mark Hill (Courtlan Gordon), who "went for a hike in the dead of winter and never came home." The local law, Sheriff Rick Cologne (Vinny Guastaferro) and Deputy Allen Mabry (Bryan Forrest), simultaneously investigate the disappearance while longtime resident Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) "believes that his old nemesis Jason Voorhees is to blame. Will Diana Hill (Anna Campbell) ever see her son again, or will her son become another lost victim of the cursed camp?"
Thom Mathews is popular with Friday the 13th fans for playing Tommy Jarvis in Jason Lives, and it was an exciting moment when the actor reprised the role in 2017's Never Hike Alone. Along with Mathews, another character from Jason Lives will also be featured in Never Hike in the Snow, as Vinny Guastaferro had also played a police officer in the 1986 movie. Involving these actors goes a long way towards making these kinds of fan films feel much more legitimate, and the Never Hike Alone movies can also serve as sequels to Jason Lives.
Most fans of the franchise will know that the rights to the Friday the 13th movie series are still being sorted out in court as part of a legal battle that seems to have no end. Still, there are plenty of fan films coming out in the meantime to keep Jason fresh in the minds of horror fans. After the 30-minute movie Never Hike in the Snow is released, DiSanti has plans to continue the fan film's story in three additional shorts. Dubbed These three will move the story back forward past the events of Never Hike Alone, and the titles of these fan films include Never Hike Again, Jason Takes Crystal Lake, and The Final Hike.
Running at 30 minutes long, Never Hike in the Snow will be free to watch on the Womp Stomp Films YouTube channel starting on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. In the meantime, if you've never seen the first installment, or if you'd like to give it a revisit, you can watch Never Hike Alone in its entirety below. You can also find out more about the other upcoming Friday the 13th fan films, along with other original horror projects, by visiting the official website for Womp Stomp Films.