While trying to reopen a summer camp, a group of
friends are stalked and killed by an unknown assailant. HORROR
|
Friday the 13th (1980)Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Written by Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller Starring Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, Kevin Bacon, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson |
What hasn’t been said about this movie by now? It solidified the tropes that all slashers would follow like a blueprint to varying levels of success throughout the 80s. Before Footloose made him a household name, Kevin Bacon was just another notch on Mrs. Voorhees’s belt of revenge. Did it ride in the wake of John Carpenter’s Halloween? Yep, which is a method all levels of film producing does to get their piece of the pie. Does it have similarities to Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood? Yes and I would say that movies like those and other American slashers are an interpretation of Italy’s giallos but, for my money, the Italians do it with a lot more style and craft.
Where else but New Jersey would a story like this take place? What other decade but the 80s, one that thrived on excess and every attempt to make shitloads of money (I’m looking at you, Gordon Gekko) would a producer take an ad out in the trades and build a movie around it? Sean Cunningham did just that, a move right out of the Roger Corman playbook, got a script from Victor Miller and a young, hungry Tom Savini to create the kills and cinema history was made! After the opening scene, taking place in the past, where a mysterious killer murders two teens on the verge of aardvarkin’ (is there any worse way to die than almost getting laid?) the legend of Camp Blood is born. Now in the present, Steve Christie (Brouwer) and his family are reopening the camp and have some fresh bait, er counselors-in-training to help set the place back up. Someone is not happy with this and starts knocking them off one-by-one. Throats are slashed, there’s bow and arrow fu, axe fu, an arrow through the neck, and just the right amount of naked flesh to balance out the bloodshed. If you haven’t seen this, what are you waiting for? Alice (King) is the lone survivor and squares off with the killer to become one of horror history’s earliest Final Girls. This film fires on all cylinders: the pace keeps moving along and the ‘whodunit’ set up remains engaging, Harry Manfredini’s score is now legendary (just say ‘ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma’ to any film fan worth their salt and see what I mean) and the special effects from Savini is what made him a rockstar in the horror scene. Get your short shorts, sleeping bag, beers, and take a trip to Camp Crystal Lake. Just mind ‘ol Crazy Ralph, he might be telling you the truth that “you’re all doomed’.
This is the first entry in a horror franchise that would rock the world and create a pop culture icon. The original Friday the 13th is a decent slasher film with all the essential pieces of the slasher puzzle (sex-crazed teens, vicious blood and gore, etc.) My only gripe with this film is that it does take a long time to get going. A lot of this film seems like an advertisement for a summer camp. But once the film gets going, the kills don't stop and they get more and more outlandish and insane as the film goes on. I would definitely say it is a decent film.
|
The movie that started a franchise, popularized the slasher sub-genre, and became a cultural phenomenon. The film featured a lot of elements that would soon be popular in the slasher sub-genre like sex-crazed teens, paper thin plot, disposable characters, over the top kills, and copious amounts of blood. While the plot may not be the best and the characters not the most unique, the film makes up for this with some extremely cool over the top kills and a decent amount of atmosphere.
The back story surrounding Jason Voorhees's death is actually well thought and gives the villain a lot more sympathy. Betsy Palmer gives a very chilling performance, actually being the only one that acts well in the whole film. The theme music is also one of the most iconic songs in horror film history. This is one of my favorite horror films that also kick started one of my favorite horror franchises. |