Friday The 13th Part VII director John Carl Buechler has passed away at the age of 66.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Buechler died after a battle with stage 4 prostate cancer.
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In addition to Friday The 13th Part VII, Buechler also directed Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College, The Dungeonmaster, and 1986’s Troll, which later was inadvertently connected to the iconic and completely unrelated Troll 2.
The sequel is considered by many to be one of the worst movies ever made, and even spawned a documentary titled Best Worst Movie.
Buechler was not just a film director, as he spent most of his years in the horror genre as a Special Effects specialist. He worked on films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and The Garbage Pail Kids Movie.
He also worked on TV shows such as TerrorVision and Tarzan: The Epic Adventures. In the early 2006, Buechler stepped in front of the camera to play Jack Cracker in the Hatchet films.
In the wake of Buechler’s passing, many of his fans and peers have come out to share messages of sympathy over his loss.
Absolutely gutted to hear the news of John Carl Buechler’s passing. A kind, humble genius who made two films I was in soar with his mastery. Gone way too soon. We will all miss you, love you for what you gave us…RIP gently, your suffering is over xx pic.twitter.com/Au2oW8VWiQ
— Barbara Crampton (@barbaracrampton) March 18, 2019
“Absolutely gutted to hear the news of John Carl Buechler’s passing. A kind, humble genius who made two films I was in soar with his mastery. Gone way too soon. We will all miss you, love you for what you gave us…RIP gently, your suffering is over,” horror legend Barbara Crampton tweeted out.
“Sad to hear that FX Master/ Director John Carl Buechler has lost his fight to cancer. To say that his creations are a staple of my childhood would be an understatement. His Jason Voorhees design in part 7 wows me to this day. RIP sir and thank you for the laughs & the scares,” writer/director John Fallon added.
So very sad about John Carl Buechler. I had reached out to him 3 years ago when I started all my interviews & we just never got to connect because of his health. He did a lot of great work but also, his influence on the special effects industry goes even deeper than that. pic.twitter.com/tpR5ioHCCr
— Heather Wixson (@thehorrorchick) March 18, 2019
In a statement on his death, Buechler’s family said, “John passed away Monday March 18th at 1:00am. His family is absolutely devastated as are many of his fans and friends.”
“To all of you who sent good wishes and love please know that your communication really lifted his spirits,” the statement added.
A memorial GoFundMe has been set up to help his family through this difficult time.
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