English
More than four decades after his horror film debut, Jason Voorhees is stepping into animation for the first time. Independent production company Womp Stomp Films has released “Never Hike Alone: Ghosts in the Fog,” a 10-minute animated short film featuring the iconic hockey-masked killer.
A Free Premiere on YouTube
The short premiered on Friday, November 13, at 5 p.m. PT on the Womp Stomp Films YouTube channel, available to watch for free. The story follows three friends whose camping weekend turns deadly after they become lost in the fog surrounding Camp Crystal Lake.
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Filmmaker Vincente DiSanti founded Womp Stomp Films in 2016. Since then, the company has built a loyal audience through an ambitious series of “Friday the 13th” fan films. DiSanti launched the series with the 2017 short “Never Hike Alone,” followed by the winter-set prequel “Never Hike in the Snow” in 2020. The feature-length “Never Hike Alone 2” arrived in 2023, with actors Thom Mathews and Vincent Guastaferro reprising their roles from “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.”
Fan-Funded Filmmaking
Womp Stomp Films relies on crowdfunding to finance its productions. This approach allows DiSanti and his team to keep all finished films free to watch online. The company operates independently of the studios that own the Jason Voorhees property.
To avoid copyright disputes, Womp Stomp Films follows a strict set of self-imposed rules. These include making all films freely available, using crowdfunding only for production costs, and generating no profit. Each film also carries an on-screen disclaimer noting that rights holders may challenge the production. So far, franchise owners have not taken action against the films.
Animation Marks a New Direction
“Ghosts in the Fog” is the fourth installment in the series and its first animated project. Womp Stomp Films produced it in collaboration with Mako Animation Studio, a Mexico-based company that specializes in 2D animation. Juan Rivera, who founded Mako in 2015, co-directed the short alongside DiSanti. The studio previously produced the animated YouTube series “John Death.”
The animated short arrives during a broader resurgence of interest in the “Friday the 13th” franchise. In October, Peacock debuted “Crystal Lake,” an A24-produced prequel series starring Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees. Meanwhile, director Steve Miner announced plans to return to the franchise. Miner directed “Friday the 13th Part 2” in 1981 and “Friday the 13th Part III” in 1982. He will now helm the franchise’s 13th feature film, scheduled for theatrical release in 2027. That film will mark Jason Voorhees’ first big-screen appearance since the 2009 reboot.
Together, these projects signal renewed momentum for one of horror’s most enduring franchises. For Womp Stomp Films, “Ghosts in the Fog” represents both a creative milestone and a testament to what dedicated fan filmmakers can achieve independently.
