Friday the 13th - Part 1

Introduction

Whenever you think of "slasher" films or horror movies, the guy in the hockey mask always pops into your head. Jason Voorhees, the dude in the mask, has become one of the most popular horror icons of our time besides Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, and even Dracula. Why? Probably because of how many damn sequels were pumped out after the original's release in 1980, just two years after Halloween came out. What made Friday The 13th so awesome was that it was unlike anything you had seen on the horror scene recently. Sure, you had a stalker/killer, but the way that the teenagers were killed in the film was unlike anything seen before and you actually didn't know who the killer was.

The story was also good, and that's something you never see in the horror genre…well, it isn't common. Okay, so there's this camp—Camp Crystal Lake—and in 1958 murders start happening and no one knows whose doing them. The place from that point gets called "Camp Blood" (original, ain't it?). Fast forward to present day (cough, 1980, cough). A group of teens get hired to renovate and run a camp for little kiddies and that same camp is Camp Crystal Lake (duh), but revamped. Everyone has high expectations that it's going to be good…until murders start happening. In Slasher fashion, necks get cut, guts get gutted, and arrows go a flying into people. Who's doing this? Does it have anything to do with the drowning of a young man by the name of Jason Voorhees ten some years before the massacre of '58? I guess you have to watch Friday The 13th to find out, huh?

Now most of the stars in Friday The 13th are mostly no-namers, but there are some exceptions. A young Kevin Bacon (Animal House, Hollow Man) gets a semi-leading role in the movie in the fact that he last until the middle of the movie…oops, I said too much. Another big star is none other than Betsy Palmer (starred in so many good movies that I can't name them all), whom plays Mrs. Voorhees, Jason's mother. She comes into the picture near the end of the movie, but ends up having a lot to do with the whole movie anyways…oops, I said too much. Oh, come on! You already know who the killer is if you've seen the beginning scenes of Scream! Sean S. Cunningham (I don't know any other films that he has made) did a good job as director (and producer for that matter). He disguised the films villain/stalker/killer with interesting camera work like going into a first-person mode where you see what the killer is seeing and then switching back to the victim's point of view so that you know where the killer is, but they don't. He gave hints like that the whole movie and he also disguised the bad person by showing maybe the person's feet or hands, but not the face until the very end. He did a good job with his camera angles and no one could have done it better…well, except for Wes Craven or John Carpenter.

I just have to quote Pablo Francisco (one of my favorite comedians). In his Comedy Central stand up show a couple years back, he said something that really made me laugh. He said how easy it was to kill people in F13 movies and how predictable they were especially with these lines:

(Imitating A F13 victim)"Hello, is anyone here? Billy?!" (The victim flicks the light switch but the light doesn't go on) "Hello? All right, I'm gonna get naked and take a shower!"

I find this funny because the movies are so like that and Friday The 13th, the original and certainly the best of them all, is no different. There were times when watching this movie for the first time that I thought, "Oh, this is too easy! If you go into an area that's deserted then of course you're gonna get killed" and sure enough it happens. That happens way too much in this movie where you know that someone is going to die right then and there without even thinking about it. There really aren't any jump moments or parts where you get truly frightened at all. Sure, you become alert when things get silent and eerie, but when something jumps out or someone gets killed, it's no biggy. As for the gore and effects, it was done by none other than the dude who did Dawn Of The Dead (or one of the zombie movies, I don't remember which one). I forgot the guy's name, but he did a really good job with the aftermath of the kills. A lot of the time in Friday The 13th it shows the person killing one of the camp staff, but only for a split second. When you see what remains of the person afterwards then it's cooler.

In Closing

Friday The 13th is a great film and perfect for Halloween. The ultra low budget is a reason why this movie is a real gem and has good quality because you can tell that the people who made it put a lot of time and energy into it. The final recommendation I can give you is that you should try this movie because it's one of the best Slasher movies out there even if it doesn't math Halloween or Nightmare On Elm Street. Try it!



? Jason Haskins, October 2003




"Friday The 13th"

Starring Kevin Bacon, Adrienne King, and Betsy Palmer

Produced and Directed by Sean S. Cunningham

Written by Victor Miller

1980

93 Minutes

Rated R for: Violence, Gruesome Images, Nudity, and Gore


This has been an entry in my Ten Days Of Halloween Write Off from today until the 31st and look forward to all of the other peeps' reviews

Reviewers In My Write Off:

Grandpa_Riot
Jeremy1456
Thevoid99
Artemis8
Rock_On
Skbreese
Titan45
Punkrawka
Head-Driller
Lambchops
Mike_Bracken
JiggyJay (Hey, that's me!)

And anyone else who wants to write a horror/Halloween related review and put my "TDOH Write Off" in their title!