Pamela Voorhees gets turn in slasher spotlight

Friday the 13th prequel series focuses on Jason's murderous mother

Linda Cardellini is Pamela Voorhees, mother to Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th prequel.

LOS ANGELES — Jason Voorhees has always been the face of Friday the 13th, the hockey-masked mass murderer likely most responsible for all of his franchise giving her mother.

Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) was the original killer in the 1980 film, which was set at a camp at Crystal Lake where Jason drowned as a boy.

Working as a cook at the camp in the years before counselors, who were off having sex instead of watching her son, launched her murderous rampage that would be repeated 22 years after the accident.

Pamela was decapitated during a showdown with Alice Hardy (Adrienne King), the film's final girl survivor. Jason, who supposedly witnessed his mother's killing, took up the blade, slaughtering his way through several sequels and reboots.

And although Pamela has less than 15 minutes of screen time in the film, she is the catalyst for nearly all the legions of Friday the 13th fans.

As the 50th anniversary of the first film approaches, Pamela is finally getting her due with Crystal Lake: The prequel — streaming now on Canada's Crave — stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela, tracing her journey from a grieving mother to a serial killer. The opening episode depicts her deep bond with young Jason (Levi Miller), who has autism and has significant health issues and is bullied by other kids.

"It's a real role the veteran actress is more than ready to play.

"When you're playing an iconic character in a franchise loved by so many people, it's a lot of responsibility,