Friday the 13th - Film Review

I've been out for a bit, and I'm pretty late in getting the review out for this one, but as I've said on more than one occasion: all things come with time and patience. I've been a pretty big fan of this franchise for years, and it's been a blast to go through the series again. Although it's well-known now for its over-the-top violence towards young people, it is surprising to see how this whole series first came about.

1

Where You Can Find It: I saw this on Showtime via Amazon Video.

General Information 
Friday the 13th is a horror slasher film that was initially released on 9 May 1980. It was directed and produced by Sean S. Cunningham with Paramount Pictures distributing. It is the first entry in the long-running Friday the 13th film franchise, which currently boasts a total of 12 movies in the series (this is including Freddy vs. Jason). On 13 February 2009, the last entry in the series was released, which was a reboot of the same name. Since the reboot's release, there have been recurring rights disputes to the franchise that have kept any new films from coming out. The most recent news in 2020 was that a new project was in the works with both Blumhouse Productions and Stephen King expressing interest in a new entry. There's a big reason for Hollywood's ongoing interest in the series too as it's clearly a money generator. According to Box Office Mojo, the first film's lifetime gross is over $39 million (I don't believe this is adjust for inflation) based off of a $550,000 budget. Critically, the film hasn't been received remotely as well. It holds a disastrous 22 Metascore on Metacritic while it holds a slightly above average 64% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes.

Most recently, the franchise recently released a video game, Friday the 13th, where players can either play as the camp counselors or as the machete-wielding murder, Jason, at iconic locations around Crystal Lake. I'd like to get around to doing a review of it at some point, however the game (like the movies) was cut off from further developer support due to rights issues between Sean Cunningham and the franchise's creator, Victor Miller. The game can still be played on PlayStation 4, Xbox One X, and Steam, and I highly recommend checking it out with some friends.

My initial experience as a camp counselor in the Friday the 13th video game

The Story

Camp Crystal Lake is a typical lakeside summer camp that's been shut down since 1958 when two of its camp counselors were brutally murdered, causing the place to earn the nickname "Camp Blood." Today (aka sometime during 1980), Steve Christy (played by Peter Brouwer) plans to reopen the camp and gathers a group of attractive, young people to help him do it. After being repeatedly ignoring the warnings that the camp is jinxed by the resident crazy man, Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney), the counselors start to get picked off one by one by an unseen killer that will stop at nothing to keep the camp closed.

2

This movie has taught me to listen to crazy, old men that hide in pantries

As much as I love this series, most of its entries have never been all that well known for their plot. This one is arguably one of the best as it attempts to convey a legitimate horror mystery, however its grand reveal in the end doesn't work as well as it should. The camp counselors never really have enough time to investigate who the killer is and there are no clues that logically point to the true killer's identity. I will admit that there are some decent red herrings, and if you are familiar with the franchise and haven't seen this movie, you may actually be in for a bit of a shock (I know I was).

The most annoying aspect of this film is its underdeveloped characters. The counselors demonstrate no growth and have relatively paper-thin backgrounds (if they even have that). Alice (Adrienne King) shows some initial promise as we see that she has some sort of relationship with Steve Christy, but others like Marcie (Jeannine Taylor) and Jack (Kevin Bacon) have little to do or say. In comparison to Halloween, we see plenty of depth with both the main protagonist as well as some of its supporting cast. I genuinely cared about Laurie Strode's plight against Michael Myers, however I never felt that with Alice.

3

Guess I'll just die then...

Special Effects/Atmosphere

Right off the bat, I have to give credit to Harry Manfredini who makes the score for this film's music. The classic "ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma" still gets me every time and it reminds me of Psycho's iconic theme. The music stands the test of time and really amps up the dread in every scene it's featured in.

If there was a standout star in this film, it would Tom Savini who was in charge of both stunts and special makeup effects. The many grotesquely wonderful ways in which the killer dispatches their victims is pretty incredible to see, and still looks really good today. A particular standout was one of the characters getting stabbed in the neck with an arrow.

Lastly, I want to just point out the choice of set was fantastically well-done. I'm aware that Sean Cunningham essentially used a real lakeside camp to shoot in, but the dreary, cold atmosphere makes everything feel uncomfortable in a good way. I flinched seeing the characters venture out into the rain, and even the daylight scenes felt a touch bleaker than one would expect with a summer camp setting.

The Acting

Considering the plot and generally lackluster writing, I'm aware that the cast didn't have much to work with. With that being said... I'd still say the acting just isn't good. There's a monologue by Jeannine Taylor around halfway through the movie that is executed so poorly you can see Kevin Bacon die a little on the inside next to her. Betsy Palmer arguably does the best job in this as she really sells some of the creepy vibes her character gives off, and it was always a blast to see Walt Gorney ham things up as the town's resident lunatic.

4

Betsy Palmer tries...kind of...

I think one could argue that this film doesn't particularly need good acting as it's clearly on a budget and set up as a slasher. Although I would tend to agree to an extent, I would also once again point out that Halloween pulls this off far better. The characters in Halloween are far more believable not simply because of the better writing, but also the superior acting. Unfortunately, Adrienne King is no Jamie Lee Curtis, and although Betsy Palmer is clearly distinguished, her performance pales in comparison to Donald Pleasence.

The Best of the Best: That arrow-to-the-neck scene was brutal.

The Worst of the Worst: Marcie telling Jack about her nightmares of raining blood, which somehow leads to sex.

Calhooey Score: 7/10 - Good

Would I Recommend?

5

At least it's more fun than Strip Monopoly

I've always loved this franchise, but it's clear that it isn't perfect. The generic writing and subpar acting weighs the film down, but its awesome special effects and music score make it shine far brighter than it has any right to. If you like slasher films, this is one of the originals and it's certainly worth checking out. With that being said, Halloween is the superior slasher film and I would recommend that first before trying this one.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• I like to think that copy of The Godfather (on the jeep's dashboard) is Kevin Bacon's, but no one at that camp seems like the type to read Mario Puzo.
• I'm really curious why Crazy Ralph felt the need to hide inside the camp's pantry. How long was he waiting in there? I would've loved to have seen a scene of him creeping in and just patiently waiting for someone to open it.
• Steve Christy went for the longest lunchbreak in film history, I think.
• It cracks me up how Marcie just accepts her fate. Most people would've at least run, but she just takes that axe to the face like a champ.
• The grand reveal that Mrs. Vorhees is the killer was awesome despite the fact that she wasn't a pre-established character prior to that scene. I went into this film expecting Jason, and I think this shock-surprise works better today than it did back in 1980.
• I'm not only impressed that Mrs. Vorhees was able to pin Bill's body to the door, but that she was able to fire those arrows with enough force to suspend Bill off the ground. Did she shoot him in mid-jump or something? How much does Mrs. Vorhees bench?
• Reflecting on this, it now makes sense why Mrs. Vorhees decided to just slap Alice instead of stabbing her. If I was as strong as she is, a few pimp-slaps would probably be enough to kill a regular human being.
• As much as I love the terrifying shock-ending, it makes absolutely no sense. What's Jason been doing in that lake for the past 22 years?

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

(1) AllPosters. (n.d.). Friday the 13th film image. Retrieved from: https://www.allposters.com/-sp/FRIDAY-THE-13TH-ONE-SHEET-Posters_i15744579_.htm?sizesMoveExp=true.

(2) VSGIF. (n.d.). Crazy Ralph gif. Retrieved from: https://vsgif.com/gif/3233113.

(3) IFC. (n.d.). Marcie dying gif. GIPHY. Retrieved from: https://giphy.com/gifs/ifc-friday-the-13th-l0MYGoa9OdRYBiBTq.

(4) PrimoGIF. (n.d.). Betsy Palmer gif. Retrieved from: https://www.primogif.com/p/xT9KVAJenhRS0JPHFK.

(5) Parker, J. (2018, June 24). Strip monopoly image. Friday the 13th. Retrieved from: www.fridaythe13thfranchise.com/2018/06/discussion-strip-monopoly-game-in.html.