Friday the 13th (1980)

FRIDAY THE 13TH
*** (out of five stars)
A review by Jamey Hughton

Starring-Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer,
Jeannine Taylor and Kevin Bacon
Director-Sean S. Cunningham
Rated R
Released 1980
Paramount
Reviewed 1999

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You can probably blame `Friday the 13th' for all the putrid, Grade-Z slasher film garbage that amassed in the 1980's. It was so popular among horror movie fans that endless imitations begin spawning quickly thereafter, drowning the Hollywood market in gore. Among these imitations were eight `Friday' sequels (you heard right), but most sucked the big one. People couldn't get enough, apparently, so the slasher trend continued on throughout the years. I suppose the John Carpenter classic `Halloween' initially started the horror craze that lasted a healthy decade, but `Friday the 13th' brought the realization that a horror movie could be lame and cheesy but still modestly received by the public. Actually, despite the bad rap it often takes, the original `Friday the 13th' isn't bad at all.

In fact, in comparison to the awful clones that followed, it may be a flat-out masterpiece. The premise: a bunch of kids travel to Camp Crystal Lake, where they are signed up as counselors for the approaching season. Unfortunately, even before the young campers arrive, some mysterious killer is knocking off the sex-crazed teens in singular (and very gory) fashion. Of course, no one realizes they are being ruthlessly hunted down until the finale, when the sole survivor stumbles upon their rotting corpses and erupts in screaming. To once again quote Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), the legendary `Scream' character: `Their bodies will come popping up in the last reel somewhere. Eyes gouged out, throats slashed...' Yes siree, Randy knows his sh-t.

Despite being a blatant rip-off of the undeniably superior `Halloween', this entry manages to generate a fair tally of scares. The mass murdering takes a while to get underway, bet when it does, there is some nice tension and a few sufficient shocks. (HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD, FOR ANYONE WHO CARES). The best of all comes when a young Kevin Bacon (who graduated from the experience unscathed) is stabbed through a bed mattress with an archery arrow. That's about as inventive as the proceedings get, but for anyone interested in researching famous horror cinema, `Friday the 13th' is a fun and frightening little experience.

As anyone who watched `Scream' also knows, Jason Voorhees is not the actual killer. Get ready for this shocker, boys and girls: it's his mother!!! Yes, Mr. Voorhees doesn't do laundry or bake chocolate chip cookies anymore - she murders people to make end's meet. But there is a motive for these homicidal tendencies. Back in 1958, little Jason drowned in the lake because his supervising counselors were too busy with.... other matters. So now, the lady is out to exact revenge at the place where she lost her beloved son. It's a real tearjerker.

As with the majority of horror films, the characters and dialogue in `Friday the 13th' are unanimously pathetic. I will say, however, that those aspects are more interesting than in the following sequels. Director Sean S. Cunningham establishes a nice chill in the air, and the elaborate death scenes deliver on a fairly reliable basis. The movie is still relatively idiotic, though. I paid particular attention to how efficiently Mrs. Voorhees could swing an axe while her face is off screen. Funny, when the killer's identity is revealed and Betsy Palmer steps in as the deranged matriarch, she can barely muscle up enough strength to pick up a machete (and has even more trouble heaving it toward the helpless victim). Despite this, along with numerous other defects, `Friday the 13th' will still give you the jitters when you watch it late at night.

Horror fanatics will definitely want to look into seeing this puppy, mainly because it christened the most successful slasher movie franchise in history. By all means, don't bother with any of the sequels (although a few have some stylish attributes). Pick up this ancient fright flick from the cobwebs at your local video store, and pop it into the VCR this Halloween. The ending is terrible, but `Friday the 13th' is not as unlucky as the title may suggest.

(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton

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