A Star Trek legend plays horror’s most iconic mother

By Chris Snellgrove | Published 1 second ago

One of the topics I have written passionately about is the unexpected joys you can discover when you go back and rewatch a “bad” movie. For example, when I recently watched the infamous remake of a horror classic, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Nana Visitor played Pamela Voorhees in the 2009 film. friday the 13th. If you don’t know, she’s best known for playing a Bajoran terrorist-turned-boss on the seminal series. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

If you’ve already seen the movie and don’t remember seeing Nana Visitor in the most recent Friday the 13th movie, it’s because she has a very abbreviated cameo. The movie attempts to put together several pieces of the iconic Jason Voorhees story into a single story, which means we get a brief flashback at the beginning that basically recreates the ending of the first one. friday the 13th. Consequently, our favorite Star Trek icon played Pamela Voorhees, the surprise assassin from the original franchise who has the head cut off by a potential victim who becomes our first Final Girl.

Another reason it’s so easy to forget that Nana Visitor appeared on friday the 13th is that this film follows its flashback sequence with an extended cold open. Basically, we’re introduced to a completely different cast of young characters who are obsessed with sex and marijuana, and systematically murdered by Jason (who at first sports an updated look from his bag-head look from the first sequel film). When we’re introduced to the actual cast of characters, it’s easy to forget that the film began with a Star Trek legend playing one of horror’s most iconic roles.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Nana Visitor show off her significant acting chops after the flashback sequence of friday the 13th. After all, having his head cut off as soon as the movie starts doesn’t leave him room to do much else. However, as a huge Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Fan, I wish this movie was a proper remake of the original, until Pamela Voorhees was revealed as the killer. Very few people could match the performance of Pam’s original actress, Betsy Palmer, but Visitor is just as good in Deep space nine which I’m sure could have carried the entire movie.

If you just want to see more Nana Visitor on friday the 13thyou’re in luck (sort of). As with previous entries in the franchise, Jason keeps his severed head with a strange sense of sentimentality. The Star Trek actor’s head first appears with a bit of fear, but then takes on surprising narrative importance. This is because this film’s Final Girl realizes that she bears a superficial resemblance to Pamela Voorhees and uses it to temporarily trick Jason in his attempt to escape her clutches.

If you want to watch Nana Visitor’s memorable foray into horror, you can stream friday the 13th (2009) on Max. Admittedly, the film isn’t for everyone, which is why it has a dismal 26 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But for those who want to see a Star Trek legend embody a horror legend, this surprisingly great remake (suck it, haters!) is more than worth the price of admission.