Please note that this is my first-ever movie review. Any hints, tips,
or thoughts would be welcome - please e-mail them to me at
sharktrager@geocities.com
FRIDAY THE 13TH
7 out of 10
A review by Shark Trager
Review written: 16 August 1999
Starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor,
Robbi Morgan, Kevin Bacon
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Rated 18 (UK)
Released 1980
A group of camp counsellors are terrorised by the mother of a boy who
drowned at the Camp 20 years beforehand.
I went into this movie with a lot of baggage. I'm 26 years old and
have never seen it before, although when I was at school it seemed
that everyone had seen it. I had avoided it because I didn't like that
kind of movie. I avoided HALLOWEEN and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM
STREET for the same reason. Then a few years ago I finally saw those
two movies and thought they were excellent. For various reasons I
still hadn't gotten around to viewing FRIDAY THE 13TH until today. And
I have to admit, I enjoyed it. Granted it's not the greatest work of
art ever to hit the screen, but it had one or two real
jump-out-of-your-seat sections (for me at least!).
Firstly, though, the music. Right from the beginning it had some
Herrmann-esque qualities, as I'm sure I heard both some PSYCHO and
NORTH BY NORTHWEST riffs in there. Kevin Bacon himself is not an actor
who I have ever liked, so seeing him offed gave me a certain sense of
satisfaction, and just when I was thinking that the movie wasn't as
gory as I was expecting, the axe entered the head. A great scene, with
the tension built up well.
The acting was not bad, and Steve the camp manager, played by Peter
Brouwer was creepy enough for me to think that he had something to do
with the murders until he was dealt with himself.
I mentioned Bernard Herrmann before, and it is interesting to note
that whereas in Hitchcock's PSYCHO, for which Herrmann wrote the
score, it is the mother who lives on through the son, here it is the
son who lives on through the mother (Betsy Palmer).
The one true shock scene for me was definitely the one near the end
when Jason, the dead son, appears out of the water. I don't know how
well publicised that scene was in the past, but I certainly wasn't
expecting it. But am I wrong in thinking that Jason wears a hockey
mask in the later movies? I've never seen any of them, but this one
certainly entertained me enough to try to get hold of Part 2, if only
to find out where the hockey mask comes in to play.
So, all in all, an enjoyable movie, for which I award it 7 out of 10.
© Shark Trager 1999
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