Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday mask while digging in the dirt. Freddy Krueger's gloved hand bursts out of the dirt and pulls Jason's mask into the ground. John D. LeMay is one of only two actors from the TV series to appear in the film series; the other is John Shepherd, who played Tommy Jarvis in "". Producer Sean S. Cunningham originally conceived an action-horror film in which Jason Voorhees would battle Freddy Krueger of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. Paramount Pictures, who had released the previous eight "Friday the 13th" films, negotiated with New Line Cinema over the rights to the series,
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday conceived by co-writer and director Marcus under Cunningham, producer/director of the first film. After low box-office sales for "Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan", Paramount Pictures sold the character rights of Jason Voorhees to New Line Cinema, who distributed "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday." Cunningham approved of the story co-written by first-time writer-director Marcus, who was hired to direct the project. "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday" premiered in the United States on August 13, 1993, and grossed $15.9 million at the box office. Several film critics denounced Marcus's script and direction, and the film polarized fans of