Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday Reviews

>>

Some might argue that the 'Friday the 13th' series is the pinnacle of American slasher horror. Every classic slasher trope appears: reckless teenagers, a remote location, disposable characters, and, of course, the silent masked killer. However, contrary to popular belief (at least it used to be), the original film’s killer isn’t Jason but his mother, Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), an old-school horror reveal that was perhaps made more famous by 'Scream' than 'Friday the 13th,' itself.

Despite 'Friday the 13th' giving us the horror stereotypes I always enjoy, we really have 'Halloween' to thank for its existence. The series began as a direct imitation of 'Halloween.' It used a spooky day of the year, and the idea of teenage victims making poor decisions. However, this time, it was set in an isolated location, making escape more unlikely, and, to the film's credit, the series's first killer was an unsuspecting figure. Jason Voorhees enters the scene later as the series' version of Michael Myers—one of the rare cases of successful imitation that resulted in a legendary horror villain.

The film opens with a flashback to 1957 at Camp Crystal Lake, where Jason Voorhees supposedly drowned after counsellors failed to watch him the previous year. Following this, we see Jason's mother begin her vengeance-driven killing spree, taking at least two lives. The story then shifts to the present day—Friday, June 13th—prompting debates about dates within the 'Friday the 13th' timeline. Here, we meet the happy-go-lucky Annie (Robbi Morgan) heading to Camp Crystal Lake. At this point, another classic American horror stereotype appears: the so-called "harbinger of doom."

Annie is warned by a random guy in town known as "Crazy" Ralph (Walt Gorney) that she and her friends are indeed "doomed" if they go to Camp Crystal Lake, aka "Camp Blood" to the locals. In the meantime, her friends all arrive at camp to await her arrival; The responsible adult of the group, Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer); our lead, Alice (Adrienne King); Jack (Kevin Bacon) and his girlfriend, Marcie (Jeannine Taylor); the quiet but fun Brenda (Laurie Bartram); the eccentric Ned (Mark Nelson); and the outdoorsy Bill (Harry Crosby - Bing's son).

This group of camp counsellors has come to this perfect-looking campground to reopen it despite a supposed "curse" on the land. Unbeknownst to them, however, what "Crazy" Ralph mentions to Annie has a truth behind it, as one by one, a body count amongst the counsellors begins to build up, and in true 'Jaws' fashion, the killer is never seen until the climactic portion of the film. There are no true surprises with this series these days, including Mrs. Voorhees' role, but it's interesting to note how much of a jolt it may have been to audiences at the time to see that the killer was some kindly old lady from camp.

Although 'Friday the 13th' has a lot in common with 'Halloween' in tone and atmosphere, unlike 'Halloween', it delivers some blood for gore hounds, compliments of the great Tom Savini. And while I very much appreciate how 'Halloween' executed it all by allowing our imaginations to go wild, the physical blood and gore here gives you something interesting to look at... No, really, there's nothing quite like looking at these tacky special effects and pondering how it was all done. There's a certain charm to the cheesiness of it all.

Though released in 1980 and possibly dated for some viewers, this film remains influential within the genre. The first hour or so builds tension slowly, with suspense that may not always hit the mark (sometimes you just want something to finally happen), but after Mrs. Voorhees appears, things escalate with a memorable nighttime chase scene, where Betsy Palmer shows just how sinister she can be, even if her heart wasn't really in it. While not centred on Jason, it earns its reputation in the horror hall of fame and is essential viewing for fans eager to explore genre history or simply enjoy a classic.

4/5

---