12 Movies & Shows Like Crystal Lake to Binge Ahead of the Friday the 13th Prequel
If you're seeking more frights after streaming Linda Cardellini's Friday the 13th prequel, these will hit the spot.
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Key Takeaways
- Crystal Lake, the upcoming Friday the 13th prequel series premiering October 15 on Peacock, centers on Pam Voorhees and revisits the origins of the iconic horror franchise.
- Recommended series with similar themes include Chucky and Hysteria!, all featuring small-town secrets, supernatural mysteries, satire, or classic horror elements.
- Suggested movies for fans of slasher and lakeside horror include Sleepaway Camp, Sick, and Hush, each highlighting masked killers or horror genre callbacks.
It's been 46 years since Friday the 13th kicked off a franchise beloved by horror fans around the globe. Crystal Lake, Peacock and A4's prequel series premiering October 15, takes us on a wild, gory ride back to the camp site where it all started. Even if you haven't seen the original film, you'll have no trouble diving right into the story of Pam Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), a single mother dealing with a tragic loss.
The eight-episode series from Brad Caleb Kane is one gripping watch, and the selections below are the perfect chaser if you're craving still more spooky scenes. There's no shortage of spine-tingling horror options streaming on Peacock.
Here are 12 movies and TV shows that hit the Crystal Lake sweet spot. Think small towns with secrets, lakeside locations, and very, very sharp blades.
RELATED: The Cast of Crystal Lake: See Who's Playing Classic Friday the 13th Characters
What should I watch after Crystal Lake?
- Chucky
- Haven
- 13 Nights of Elvira
- Sleepaway Camp
- Sick
- Hush
- Final Girl
- Funhouse Massacre
- Prom Night
- Friday the 13th
- Camp Pleasant Lake
- Halloween
Shows like Crystal Lake that are streaming on Peacock
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Chucky
Genre: Black comedy horror series
Number of seasons: 3
Stars: Zackary Arthur, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Devon Sawa, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly
When teenager Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) buys a Chucky doll (Dourif) at a yard sale, he has no idea it's possessed by wisecracking serial killer Charles Lee Ray. Deadly hijinks ensue, as they always do when Chucky is involved.
How it's like Crystal Lake: This Peacock Original slasher series based on the Child's Play movies is also set in a small New Jersey town with secrets bubbling under the surface.
RELATED: Everything to Know About Crystal Lake - Premiere Date, Cast & More
Haven
Genre: Supernatural drama
Number of seasons: 5
Stars: Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour
Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) is an FBI agent who heads to the town of Haven, Maine, for a case and finds that certain residents seem to be under a mysterious curse. The monster-of-the-week format and the continuing mystery of "The Troubles" will feel cozily familiar to fans of The X-Files, too.
How it's like Crystal Lake: Given the unfortunate events that happen in and around Crystal Lake, we could see why Haven residents think they're under a curse,
13 Nights of Elvira
Genre: Hosted horror series
Number of seasons: 1
Star: Cassandra Peters, aka Elvira
Performer Cassandra Peters has been presenting so-bad-they're-good scary movies — and roasting them with her unique brand of wry, pun-heavy humor — as her character Elvira for decades. In this 2014 series, the raven-haired mistress of the dark made her grand return, with each installment highlighting B-movie classics like Night of the Living Dead, Dollman, and the amazingly-titled Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death.
How it's like Crystal Lake: Like Pam and Jason Voorhees, Elvira is an iconic character beloved by horror fans since the 1980s.
Related: 25 Bingeworthy Shows to Stream on Peacock Right Now
Movies like Crystal Lake to stream on Peacock
Sleepaway Camp
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Release date: 1983
Stars: Felissa Rose, John Tiersten
Angela Baker (Felissa Rose) is sent to camp in the wake of a terrible accident that befell her family on a lake. But Angela and her fellow campers' summer is ruined by a series of bloody murders at the hand of an unknown slasher. This classic is known for one of the most oddly-depicted final reveals in horror movie history — and features a mom that Pam Voorhees would run screaming from.
How it's like Crystal Lake: Released just three years after Friday the 13th, the film was clearly riding the wave of the "who's stabbin' at summer camp?" trend.
Sick
Genre: Horror movie
Director: John Hyams
Release date: 2022
Stars: Gideon Adlon, Beth Million, Dylan Sprayberry, Joel Courtney, Marc Menchaca, Jane Adams
Scream creator Kevin Williamson co-wrote this horror film that takes place at the start of the pandemic. Friends Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Miri (Beth Million) have lucked into a giant lake house to quarantine in, but some uninvited guests show up and one has murderous intentions.
How it's like Crystal Lake: Like the upcoming show, it's a Peacock Original about a slasher stalking a lake site. Plus, two characters are literally named Jason and Pam.
Hush
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Mike Flanagan
Release date: 2016
Stars: Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Samantha Sloyan
In this terrifying serial killer movie, a deaf author named Maddie (Kate Seigel) has holed up in a cabin to finish her latest novel. Her plans are derailed by a masked madman, who engages her in a riveting cat-and-mouse game. Fans of horror master Mike Flanagan's movies and TV shows such as The Haunting of Hill House will recognize the cast as frequent collaborators; Siegel also happens to be his wife. In a fun easter egg, Maddie's famous novel is Midnight Mass, serving as the catalyst for Flanagan's 2021 miniseries of the same name.
How it's like Crystal Lake: A man in a white mask emerges from the woods with a knife? Check.
Final Girl
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Tyler Shields
Release date: 2015
Stars: Abigail Breslin, Wes Bentley
A young woman named Veronica (Abigail Breslin) is targeted by a gang of serial-killer young men. What they don't know is that Veronica has been highly trained to end their spree, courtesy of a man named William (Wes Bentley).
How it's like Crystal Lake: Veronica's on an axe-driven vigilante justice mission that Jason would relate to.
The Funhouse Massacre
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Andy Palmer
Release date: 2015
Stars: Jere Burns, Scottie Thompson, Matt Angel
This Halloween funhouse attraction is super convincing — in part because six asylum escapees have infiltrated the spooky mazes to commit mass murder.
How it's like Crystal Lake: This one's full of easter eggs for horror fans, from the Tobe Hooper-inspired title (he directed Funhouse and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) to an appearance from Freddy Krueger actor Robert England.
Prom Night
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Paul Lynch
Release date: 1980
Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis
Released the same year as Friday the 13th, Prom Night is a revenge/slasher starring Jamie Lee Curtis as Kim Hammond, a high school student whose sibling was killed years before by Leonard Murch. He escapes the mental institute the night of prom, and it gets gnarly.
How it's like Crystal Lake: Prom Night was released during a surge of 1980s slasher films. The story shares plenty of tropes including terrorized young adults running from a psychopath and plenty of bloody kills.
Friday the 13th
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Release date: 1980
Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson
The film that birthed a horror icon, Friday the 13th introduced the world to the tragic lore of Jason Voorhees. Today, it's considered a horror classic and ignited a franchise that’s still going.
How it's like Crystal Lake: This is the movie that inspired the Crystal Lake series. Watching this one before you jump into the Peacock series will help you catch the Easter eggs in the show, and refresh your memory about the Voorhees family.
Camp Pleasant Lake
Genre: Horror movie
Director: Thomas Walton
Release date: 2024
Stars: Jonathan Lipnicki, Bonnie Aarons, Michael Paré, Andrew Divoff
A modern homage to the camp slasher tropes synonymous with the Friday the 13th franchise. A couple renovates an old campsite where they discover a 20-year-old mystery about a missing girl.
How it's like Crystal Lake: Creepy camp? Check. Slasher violence? Check. A 20-year-old mystery? Check. It’s got the same bones as Friday the 13th but modernizes, and maybe, subverts expectations.
Halloween
Genre: Horror movie
Director: David Gordon Green
Release date: 2018
Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Haluk Bilginer, Virginia Gardner
How it's like Crystal Lake: Much like the Crystal Lake series, the recent Halloween film trilogy continuation takes the existing lore and mythology and moves the character forward in new and unexpected ways. Plus, it brings back a classic horror slasher character into the present.
