Friday the 13th

Camp Blood - the original
What can I really say that hasn't already been said about this first venture into the life of Jason Voorhees? Before the Blair Witch was haunting the woods, before the werewolves of Dog Soldiers were stomping around in the dark, before countless other copy-cat wannabes, there was the menacing killer of Friday the 13th.

To be sure, John Carpenter hit the nail on the head a few years prior with the classic Halloween, but Friday the 13th also opened audience's eyes to a new breed of horror movie - the gory serial killing scream-fest.

For those in the know, Jason doesn't make an appearance until Part 2, but his legacy is revealed in fine family fashion here. The simple plot entails a small boy who drowns at a summer camp while the counselors are busy getting busy. Needless to say, his mom is rather pissed and unforgiving, and Jason just might not be dead...

The killings, for early 80's, are quite inventive - an ax through the head, an arrow through the...

A genre classic
I was working in a cinema in 1980 when this film was first released, No one expected it to take a light and it opened in one of the complex's smallest screens. Big mistake. From day one queues formed for this film and many wannabe punters were somewhat peeved for being turned away. Those who got in though experienced a genuinely scary horror film and it remains one of the best audience participation films that I have ever seen. Throughout the film, the suspense runs along and builds up to a crescendo prior to each slaying or to a false moment of fear.

The ending, however is something else. Sure it ain't exactly original but boy is it effective. I have never seen an audience scream so loudly and in total unison, and have some people visibly shaken and in tears sometimes afterwards.... Night after night, the result was the same and Friday The 13th became one of the 'sleepers' of 1980. Watch out too for a young Kevin Bacon as one of the teens in peril.

The passage...

The Gold Standard
I've already recorded my thoughts on the original Friday the 13th. I think it's among the top two or three greatest slasher films ever made. It has a kind of 'Blair Witch Project' feel about it, as you never see who or what you are dealing with until very close to the end. This creates an aura of dread, as well as a nearly tangible feeling that these characters are pretty much doomed.

I don't waste too much time mincing words about such matters-to me, this is a great movie. Not just a great slasher film, but a great film, by ANY standards. And it continues to grow on me. By now, I've seen it around 100 times, but I continue to like it better over time.

One word of caution, though. They refer to it as 'uncut',as if this is a big deal. I expected there to be major differences, such as reinserted deleted scenes or something of that nature. There isn't. So don't expect to get anything radically different than what you've had in the past. In fact, the major...

Click to Editorial Reviews