An early version of Friday the 13th Part III featured Jason Voorhees stalking Friday the 13th Part 2 survivor Ginny Field. The character of Ginny (played by Amy Steel) is one of the franchise's most popular heroines and stands out for her resourcefulness and use of child psychology against Jason during Part 2's finale. This saw her donning Pamela Voorhees's sweater and posing as his mother to outsmart him - which worked surprisingly well until Jason saw Pamela's severed head. Ginny's sincere sympathy for the slasher along with her intelligence set her apart, but a return appearance was not meant to be.

Instead, Friday the 13th Part III saw Chris (Dana Kimmell), a traumatized teenage girl, head off to the lake where Jason is hiding out to party with friends. The carnage commences in true slasher fashion and the threequel is notable for Jason appearing in his iconic hockey mask for the very first time. Whereas the likes of Freddy or Michael don't change much in appearance from movie to movie, Jason's look took some time to evolve since he wasn't the villain in the 1980 original and wore a burlap sack in the second entry. For many, the third movie is where the formula of the series really solidified - plus the 3D gimmick is still kind of charming.

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An early idea for Friday The 13 Part III would have looked much different since instead of a new cast and final girl, the movie would have been set after the events of Friday the 13th Part II with Ginny in a mental institution. While she struggles to recover from the trauma of the previous movie, Jason would come to find her and exact his revenge. In the 2013 documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th actress Amy Steel described the unmade sequel as "Friday the 13th meets Cuckoo's Nest." Unfortunately, she decided to pass on the offer to pursue other roles, but in hindsight, regrets not returning.

Ginny Field in Friday The 13th

Friday The 13th Part III's unused concept of Jason stalking one of his iconic final girls in a mental institution had potential. It would have changed things up in terms of location and presented a unique challenge for both Jason and Ginny. For Jason, there is a huge difference between sneaking around an isolated campsite and a busy mental institution populated with doctors and guards. He isn't exactly an average-looking dude so the staff would be bound to notice a hulking, blood-covered man with a machete. For Ginny, the challenge is being believed or being brushed off as paranoid when the body count started to rise.

At the same time, the beat of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. In this case, this alternate Friday The 13th Part III might've been cool, but Jason's iconic mask might not have made an appearance either. The decision to give Jason a hockey mask was largely improvised, since the producers weren't happy with his burlap sack look in Friday The 13 Part 2, but wanted to keep him masked to conceal his prosthetics. During a lighting test the 3-D supervisor and massive hockey fan, Martin Sadoff, supplied one of his Detroit Red Wings masks and director Steve Miner loved the look. They later added holes and red triangles to make it more distinct and thus Jason's look was complete.

Had it not been for the hockey mask look used in every subsequent sequel, Jason likely would not be nearly as iconic as he is now. It's possible they would have eventually found something just as cool or ended up with the hockey mask in another way, but Jason as he's known and loved would not be the same. Friday the 13th Part III's original, psychological thriller approach and bringing back Ginny could have made for a great sequel, but the version that was made changed the course of horror history.

Next: Friday The 13th: How Jason Voorhees Inspired A Real Serial Killer