Jason Voorhees has returned in the new Friday the 13th fan film Voorhees. Made by fans for fans, the feature-length movie has no official affiliation with the Friday the 13th franchise. In the works for years following successful crowdfunding campaigns, Voorhees comes at a time when fans are dying to see more of Jason amid the ongoing legal battle for the rights to the series. The new fan film was uploaded by Wet Paint Pictures on Halloween, and in just over a week's time, it has already drawn nearly 150,000 views on YouTube.

In Voorhees, Jason emerges from the lake to take on a more dangerous group of potential victims. It begins with a gang of violent thieves fleeing to the seclusion of the woods near Crystal Lake, taking along two hostages for leverage as they hide out in the forest. Unfortunately for them, Jason doesn't like it when strangers enter his territory, so he's rather quick to get back to doing what he does best. Both the hostages and the criminals are in danger as our favorite hockey mask-wearing killer indiscriminately starts butchering his way through them all, one by one.

Voorhees was written by Cody Faulk and Chris Plaushin, with Faulk also directing and Plaushin producing. Its cast includes Eileen Sugameli, Danielle Sandler, Erica Jones, William Bishop, Alice Bozga, Dan Young, James Masten, Emilio Truitt, and Christopher Scott Gordon. Also featured is Christopher Inlow as Chief Knox, the local law in Crystal Lake that just might be crazier than the criminals... and Jason.

Horror fans looking for a massacre should be pretty pleased with Voorhees, as it's a particularly brutal fan film. Better yet, the visual effects were created practically as opposed to cheap CGI, throwing back to the way horror movies were regularly made in the '80s. The movie's excellent cinematography also helps to add high production value to the fan film, and along with the well-done death scenes, Voorhees serves as a fantastic homage to the Friday the 13th series.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear when exactly we could be seeing Friday the 13th returning to theaters. The rights to the series are still held up in a years-long legal battle between the original movie's director and screenwriter, and there's no word yet on when the case will finally be resolved. Previously, a judge had ruled in favor of screenwriter Victor Miller, but an appeal from director Sean Cunningham and fellow rights-holders Horror Inc. has kept Jason Voorhees locked up in the legal system. Fans continue to keep their fingers crossed that a ruling will be made sooner than later.

For now, Jason's spirit will stay alive by way of fan films like Voorhees. Just as entertaining as it is bloody, Voorhees is tons of fun for Friday the 13th fans. If you're a Jason fan and you haven't yet watched the movie, checking it out could be a great way to celebrate the real Friday the 13th this week. You can watch the fan film for free on YouTube, courtesy of Wet Paint Pictures.