Vincente DiSanti Talks ‘Never Hike Alone 2’

Vincente, “Never Hike Alone 2” delivers an electrifying showdown between Tommy Jarvis and Jason Voorhees. How did you approach building the tension leading up to this iconic face-off?

What is nice about having Thom Mathews in the film is that the tension is already sort of built in from the previous entries both in the franchise and Never Hike films we’ve completed to date. I think fans have been aching to see Tommy and Jason face off again ever since Thom opened up those ambulance doors in Never Hike Alone. Never Hike in the Snow only gave them a tease as what was to come and the added delay from the pandemic only built that tension up further.

Within the film, we knew we would have several moments where Jason and Tommy would cross paths, trading blows back and forth. The structure of Never Hike Alone 2 is a lot like a Kaiju Monster Battle film, including several small battles leading up to a grand finale. Overall, we wanted each fight to get bigger as the film went on, leading up to that final showdown.

The Never Hike series features a rich tapestry of characters and storylines. Could you share your favorite character development arc in this final installment?

All of the characters have a special place in my heart. I have lived with them in my head for the past 6 years, fighting to get their stories to the screen for fans to see.

It would be hard for me to choose just one, so I will say my favorite arc is how Tommy, Anna, Kyle, Rick, and even Jason’s stories all flow into one another.

Although each character has their own unique story, the way they are all intertwined was a challenging venture, but very satisfying to bring together in the end.

“Never Hike Alone 2” seamlessly blends classic Friday the 13th horror with action elements. How did you find the balance between these two genres while staying true to the franchise’s roots?

The action element was something we learned a lot about on the first Never Hike Alone. With only one character taking up the majority of screen time in the first film, with no deaths, we used action scenes as a replacement for traditional kill scenes. Doing this was way more effective that I had originally anticipated, so it’s something we continued to develop in the other installments.

Formulaically, the building blocks leading up to the action scenes were very similar to the way we approach a kill. Instead of the scene ending with a kill, we’d have a fight break out and fill it with as much exciting action and near misses for our heroes as possible.

The Crystal Lake set in the film is breathtaking. Can you tell us about the challenges and creative decisions that went into bringing this iconic location to life?

Never Hike Alone 1 benefited greatly from the abandoned camp we found in Big Bear, CA, so we knew that was an element we had to carry forward with each new installment.

The pursuit of finding the right camp and lake locations took us from Big Bear, CA, to Flagstaff, AZ, and even Carson, WA.

We were also able to shoot at a working hospital in Lake Arrowhead, CA for all of our exterior shots.

For our interiors, we found a great Hospital and Sheriff Station set in Anaheim, CA.

The extra cost of travel had a big impact on our budget, but the results speak for themselves and our sets were worth every penny.

Anna Campbell’s portrayal of Dr. Diana Hill is emotionally resonant. How did you work with her to bring out the depth of her character’s grief and determination?

Anna is an amazing actress so there was not much I really had to do but give her the script pages.

Everything that Dr. Hill goes through emotionally was on the page and Anna was the perfect person to bring those emotions to life on screen.

When building her character, I took a lot of inspiration from Pamela Voorhees and what she must have been going through when she lost Jason in 1956.

Dr. Hill’s story is meant to be a reflection of Pamela’s, only her story ends with answers as to what actually happened to Mark.

To me, that felt like a great way to remind fans what the franchise was all about in the first place.

The film is a true fan’s dream with Easter eggs and cameos. Could you reveal some of your favorite nods to the Friday the 13th franchise in “Never Hike Alone 2”?

Being able to have Jason walk into the hospital holding Doug Taits head in similar fashion to Doug’s scene in Freddy vs Jason was pretty special.

There are lots of little things, but that easter egg is a pretty big one considering the cameo and FX work that went into it.

Jason’s menacing presence is central to the Friday the 13th legacy. What inspired the chilling hospital entrance and other iconic moments featuring Jason in this installment?

I am a big fan of Halloween II and there is a lot of inspiration from that film in Never Hike Alone 2.

The other film that had an influence was Matt Reeve’s The Batman. There were a few shots in the film where he follows Batman with a rear tracking shot that made him look very imposing.

We used that angle a few times in order to put the audience in Jason’s perspective like they never have before.

As a filmmaker and fan of the horror genre, which directors or films have most influenced your work on the Never Hike series?

Never Hike Alone was inspired by Ridley Scott and Danny Boyle’s mixed media approach in “The Martian” and “127 Hours.”

Never Hike in the Snow was inspired by Cary Joji Fukunaga’s season 1 episodes of “True Detective”

Never Hike Alone 2 was inspired by old Kaiju Battle Films and Tom McGloughlin’s “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives”

“Never Hike Alone 2” appears to offer a fitting conclusion while hinting at more to come. Can you share any insights into the future of the Never Hike universe?

The future of the Never Hike Alone universe is actually set in the past.

For me, Never Hike Alone 2 is the bookend to the Paramount Era Jason that the studios failed to deliver.

Jason is truly at rest at the end of the film and he has no desire to return.

That said, there are lots of gaps we could fill that lead up to the Never Hike Alone story.

For that, we have several animated films we’d like to produce with our partners at Mako Animation.

That includes “Ghosts in the Fog,” “The Ghost of Crystal Lake,” and “Pamela’s Story.”

Vincente, what has been the most memorable or rewarding part of your journey in revitalizing the Friday the 13th franchise, and what do you hope fans take away from your films?

I will never forget the premiere of Never Hike Alone at the Telluride Horror Show in 2017.

We had not clue what kind of impact the film would have with fans. The outpouring of support after the release of the first film was something I could have never anticipated.

Seeing fans accept Never Hike Alone as a part of the franchise is the most humbling compliment hat our team could receive for all this hard work.

In the end, my only goal was to put a smile on the faces of Friday fans. As long as we are able to do that, it’s mission accomplished for us.

Vincente, your work in the Friday the 13th universe has been stellar. If given the opportunity, would you consider taking a stab at the Halloween franchise, and do you have any initial ideas on what you’d
bring to the Halloween universe?

Halloween is not necessarily my bread and butter when it comes to a full understanding of the source material, but I do enjoying working in that space when given the opportunity.

I think if anything, I would bring my own views and twists to the series based on the things I enjoyed as a fan over the years.

A good friend of mine, Stephen Wolfe, has a great idea called “The Face of Michael Myers” that I think fans should look up and get behind.

I play Michael in that film so if anything, that’s where I get my joy from participating in Halloween related projects. Michael is a very fun character to play, very different from Jason. the costume is much easier to slip in and out of as well!

With the exciting conclusion of “Never Hike Alone 2,” fans are undoubtedly curious about your future projects. Can you provide a glimpse into what’s next on your creative horizon after the Never Hike
series?

Womp Stomp Films is currently in development on several different projects, both Live Action and Animated, that are going to take some time to get off the ground now that NHA is completed.

We’ll have more announcements in early 2024 so fans should certainly make sure to check back in with us on our social media accounts for updates.