Review: Friday the 13th (1980)

Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Victor Miller
Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan and Kevin Bacon

On the topic of slashers, one of the most prominent questions is what the very first slasher movie actually is. Commonly you hear people citing Halloween and Black Christmas and others credit earlier films like Peeping Tom and A Bay of Blood. However, the question neglects to consider the quality of these movies or their role in mainstreaming the genre. Friday the 13th is not the first slasher movie or even the best, but it's the one with a legacy that warrants a particular celebration. You don't spawn 9 sequels, a crossover film, a remake and even comics and video games without immense appeal. I wanna overlook all of this however and simply review the original classic as the longtime fan that I am.

Beginning in 1958 two promiscuous counselors at Camp Crystal Lake fall victim to murder by an unknown assailant. In 1979 the camp is being reopened despite its now sinister reputation as 'Camp Blood' following the murders and the drowning of a young boy a year prior. After ignoring the warnings of a local crazy the new camp counselors one by one fall victim to a murderer out in the woods. Is it the same killer responsible for the murders two decades earlier? Is it a vengeance spree? Is Crystal Lake really cursed? And who will make it out alive?

A common complaint  against Friday the 13th a tired old groan about how terrible it is that the iconic Jason Voorhees is not the killer in the film, like it's either a serious fault or it was a mistake that those involved couldn't predict the extent of the series' success. This complaint drives me to talk about an immense positive related to characters and performances. Betsy Palmer plays Mrs Voorhees and despite only being onscreen for the final act she leaves a solid impression. Her performance combines our perceptions of a loving mother and vengeful psychopath. Our villains need stories, and Mrs Voorhees' place in the story of Friday the 13th prevents it from falling into purely generic territory. Even some of the other cast in this film act quite admirably for the standard of a slasher movie, namely a young Kevin Bacon and the film's star Adrienne King.

I will confess that this isn't a perfect slasher film either, and I personally think that a small handful of sequels are superior. There are two majors flaws worth mentioning. Firstly, the lighting is poor and makes the relatively low budget of $550,000 very apparent. Secondly, it's sometimes paced very slowly and leaves you all too eager for what it does best: Depict brutal murders with the art of practical effects. Flaws aside, what the movie does very well has since become tradition. I personally am not scared at all by this film, but there's an element of fun that comes with its cheesiness, violence and its cinematic universe that makes it a joy to watch over and over again. I always find myself drawn into the world of Crystal Lake with its fictional history and each film's progression into a slaughter. The original film laid the framework for such a tradition. The fact that these movies are so fun to watch despite their cheap standard is something special that only fans will understand. The critics really need to lighten up a little.

To summarize, I don't think the original Friday the 13th is best entry into the slasher genre, the most important in history and I don't even think it's the best entry into the franchise, but there's so much I cherish in it, be it from nostalgia or my enthusiasm for the genre that I recommend it that highly. It's a classic.

My Rating: 8.5/10