Victor Miller, ‘Friday the 13th’ Screenwriter, Dies at 86

Victor Miller, the screenwriter behind the horror classic “Friday the 13th,” died on Monday in Alameda, Calif. He was 86.

Miller’s death was confirmed to Variety by his son, Ian.

Released in 1980, “Friday the 13th” is widely considered a seminal installment in the horror canon. It widely popularized the summer camp setting and themes surrounding teenage debauchery, which to this day remain essential tropes of the slasher genre. In a recent interview with a “Friday the 13th” fan site, Miller said the inspiration behind the iconic film came from, at first, an attempt to follow in the footsteps of John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” which debuted two years prior.

“First came the concept that we emulate ‘Halloween.’ The title didn’t come until the screenplay had already gone through at least one draft,” Miller recalled. “The idea for the summer camp came from my instinct that we needed a location where young adults would be cut off from all adult help, the basic idea in ‘Halloween.’ The idea that Jason had died before the film began also came from the concept in ‘Halloween’ — that there is a prior evil — Michael Myers’s murdering the babysitter, if I recall correctly. The rest of the story came as a result of the location and the idea that, one by one, the campers would be eliminated by the world’s most protective mother.”

“Friday the 13th” went on to spawn one of the most recognizable and lasting franchises in horror, although Miller was not involved with the many sequels. Outside of “Friday,” Miller also wrote for TV shows like “All My Children,” “One Life to Live,” “Another World,” “Guiding Light” and “General Hospital.” His work on “All My Children” helped the soap win three Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding drama series writing team.

Miller was born in New Orleans, La., in 1940. He is survived by his wife, Tina Thurston Miller, and his two sons, Ian and Josh.