- "It's going to storm. It can tear down a valley like a son of a gun."
- ―Jack Burrell
Jack Burrell was a character in the film Friday the 13th and the boyfriend of Marcie Stanler. He was one of the supporting characters in the original 1980 slasher film.
Played by actor Kevin Bacon, he was one of several helpless victims of the murderous Pamela Voorhees.
Biography
Jack was hired by Steve Christy to help renovate Camp Crystal Lake, was romantically tied to a woman named Marcie Stanler and was close friends with Ned Rubenstein.
When they first arrived at the camp, Jack helped Steve Christy uproot a rotting tree stump. Along with the others, he was present when coworker Alice Hardy discovered a snake that had gotten into one of the cabins.
Jack and the others later went swimming in Crystal Lake where Ned faked a drowning incident; an act that earned him lighthearted scorn from camp counselor Brenda.
Later that day, Jack and Marcie walked down to one of the other lodges. Storm clouds began rolling in and they reminded Marcie of a recurring dream she always had where the rain would turn to blood and wash away in little red rivers.
After hearing this tale, the two were inundated in a thunderstorm and sought shelter in the cabin. There, the two made love to one another, never realizing that Ned was lying dead in the bunk right above them.
After they were finished, Marcie left to find a restroom and Jack leaned back in the bed. He noticed blood that began dripping onto his face from the bunk above him.
Jack's death at the hands of Pamela Voorhees
From below, Pamela Voorhees, who had been hiding beneath the bed the entire time shoved an arrow through the mattress, piercing Jack's throat.
Notes & Trivia
- This character has been identified by several different names. The original film credits him only as Jack. The 1987 novelization of Friday the 13th by Simon Hawke identifies him as Jack Kendall. The Internet Movie Database lists his name as Jack Burrell, which he introduces himself as when he first meets Steve Christy.
- Along with National Lampoon's Animal House, this was one of the earliest films for actor Kevin Bacon. Beginning with his starring role in 1984 film Footloose, Bacon became a major Hollywood celebrity and the most famous of the Friday alumni.
- The technique used in Kevin Bacon's death scene would also transform effects artist Tom Savini into a horror film icon. To achieve the effect, a body cast was made of Kevin Bacon with only his head sticking up through the mattress. From under the bed, Tom Savini and his assistant Taso Stavrakis attached a blood bag to a tube and pushed the arrowhead upward through the prosthetic neck. Savini worked the arrow while Taso held onto the blood bag. Still photographer Richard Feury doubled as the hand model for Mrs. Voorhees, grabbing onto Bacon's head to keep him still. While filming the scene, the blood bag came loose from the tube, spraying Taso Stavrakis with fake blood. Despite this minor hiccup however, the effect turned out beautifully and is considered a hallmark in the history of special effects gore.
- Jack was the third victim of Mrs. Voorhees in the 1979 massacre and the fifth murder victim overall.
- Kevin Bacon (the actor who portrayed Jack) is also known for his other films, including Footloose, Apollo 13, A Few Good Men etc.
- The character Chewie from the reboot of Friday the 13th (2009) is partially based on Jack.
- Kevin Bacon reprises his role as Jack in EE television commercials.
- His death won the Golden Chainsaw Award in Dead Meat's "Friday the 13th (1980)" kill count.
Films
- Friday the 13th (1980)
Novels
- Friday the 13th (1987)