Fans of the long-running Friday the 13th franchise have been waiting a long time to learn what direction the new spin-off series, Crystal Lake, will take. The franchise has survived for decades, and people still talk about it with the same excitement they had years ago.Even after many rights issues and long gaps between projects, the world around Jason Voorhees continues to grow. Now, with the new Jason Universe being formed, the prequel series from showrunner Brad Caleb Kane is one of the most talked-about upcoming projects. And recently, Kane shared a major detail about what viewers should expect from the tone and theme of the show.Kane spoke to Entertainment Weekly and explained that Crystal Lake will not be a typical slasher story. Many fans expected a classic slasher tone since the franchise is famous for that style. But according to Kane, Crystal Lake will follow a very different path. He described the series as "a psychological thriller," and even compared it to paranoid films from the 1970s. That is a surprising direction, but it shows that the new team wants to bring something deeper and more character-driven to the world of Friday the 13th.Even though Kane says Crystal Lake is not exactly a slasher story, he also made sure to remind fans that the series will still have plenty of horror elements. "There are rivers of blood in the show," he said. He also promised "ingenious kill sequences." But he added something very important: the violence will be connected to the characters and the theme, not just included for shock value. This mix of psychological storytelling and classic horror is one reason the series is already gaining attention.A different kind of story of Crystal Lake in a familiar horror worldKane's comments make it clear that Crystal Lake is not just trying to repeat the formula of the old films. Instead, it will explore the early years of Jason and his mother, Pamela. This means the story will take place before the famous murders at Camp Crystal Lake.The current information on Crystal Lake has revealed some interesting things about the upcoming freshman season. Jason will appear as a young child who will be played by Callum Vinson, who appeared in Chucky, and his mother, Pamela Voorhees, will be portrayed by Linda Cardellini. The series will primarily explore the relationship between Jason and Pamela and how much the camp looms over them.According to Kane, the 1970s greatly influenced him. During this decade, there was an extraordinary amount of paranoia in the United States. There was a general distrust of all institutions, plus the growing voice of the women's liberation movement, and so many other enormous changes were happening. Kane's goal is to present to viewers, through his vision for Crystal Lake, the essence of the paranoid feelings of the 1970s; he plans to base the storyline around these elements. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThis method works well for Crystal Lake because when the first Friday the 13th premiered, it revealed Pamela as the killer, but the sequels changed the narrative by saying that Jason did not actually die as a result of drowning. Instead, Jason somehow survived and grew into an adult who, in fact, turned into the main killer in all the subsequent sequels.Given all the various explanations of Jason's backstory from film to film, it will be interesting to see what direction this series takes. Kane has yet to divulge whether his series will explore the story presented in the first film or that of the 'new' retcon timeline, so fans are eagerly discussing the possibilities online.Crystal Lake is a new vision for the franchise, but still connected to classic horrorEven though Kane is taking a fresh direction, he keeps repeating that fans of the original series will still get what they love. The Friday the 13th franchise has always been known for its shocking deaths and creative kill scenes, and Kane made it clear that the show will not ignore that part of its identity. What seems different here is the focus on character development and emotional weight behind the violence. Instead of showing horror for the sake of horror, the series will connect it to the characters’ personal journeys.In today's world of modern horror stories, many successful television series have begun to incorporate traditional elements of horror and merge these with a strong narrative about the human condition/emotion. Kane seems to be embracing this unique combination of the two genres to appeal to both diehard fans and new viewers, many of whom want more from a horror movie than just their typical jump scare tactics.There are currently no official announcements on when the Crystal Lake series will premiere, but with Kane's recent comments about how themes of mental health and emotional development could factor into the story of the film series, the Jason Universe has a lot of room to grow and expand on new ideas as it heads into its future chapters.