Friday the 13th (Widescreen)

 

 

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i have no doubt that if i had seen this when it first came out in
1980,it would have scared the crap out of me.in the present day
though,i didn't find it scary,mainly because i have seen so many
horror/slasher movies since then.this movie is hardly graphic or
shocking at all compare to today's feature film,and even some TV
shows,for that matter.however,i will say really enjoyed the musical
score by Henry Manfredini,who must have been influenced strongly by
Bernard Herman,who scored Psycho.i believe Kevin bacon makes his big
screen debut here,but i could be wrong.the acting for this type of
movie is fine,although i have to single out Betsy Palmer for really
standing out.this movie spawned,i believe,10 sequels,all differing in
quality.my vote for Friday the 13th is a 3/5

The original Friday the 13th is not the first, the most original, or the best slasher film ever made, but it is arguably the most influential. You almost have to take off one of your socks to count all of the sequels (and impending remake) this slasher granddaddy has spawned, and I daresay the majority of slasher films littering the genre in all the years since were constructed on the generic and simple framework of the Friday the 13th formula. Critics are still foaming at the mouth in indignation over this film all these years later, so you know it did something right. Of course, by today's standards Friday the 13th registers low (if at all) on the fright meter and really isn't all that gory, but no one can dispute the fact that this film set the stage for innumerable bloody slasher films to come.

Halloween, which is technically a much superior film to this one, had already been released and made lots of money, so it's easy to see why Sean S. Cunningham (who had already cut his horror chops on Last House on the Left) wanted to try his hand at creating a scary slasher film of his own. Cunningham did not have a big studio backing him, so he had to make this an independent, low-budget (barely more than half a million dollars) project. With almost all of the action taking place at Camp Crystal Lake, all Cunningham had to do was to find a viable old campsite, populate it with unknown actors (one of which, Kevin Bacon, went on to become a household name), kill his characters in compellingly different yet simple ways, and smack an ending on top of it. In some ways, it sounds like an almost haphazard project. The controversial gotcha scene near the very end, for example, was never in the original script - instead, it was added late in the game on the advice of special effects makeup guru Tom Savini, who had just seen Carrie. That is only one of several obvious influences worked into the film - even the famous Jason music leaves a trail of musical crumbs back to the shark music in Jaws (30th Anniversary Edition). Despite of everything, though, Paramount liked the final product, bought up the distribution rights, and the film hit box office gold. The rest is horror - and cinema - history.

As we all know by now, little Jason Voorhees drowned in 1957 while the counselors who should have been watching him were busy having sex. A year later, two counselors at the camp were brutally murdered (as they were getting it on, of course), with the murderer never being caught. That was more than Camp Crystal Lake could endure, and it soon closed its cabin doors for good. The residents of Crystal Lake know to stay away from the lake and "Camp Blood," but Steve Christy has decided he's going to open the place back up. He's supposedly been working to get the place ready for a year, but it's still a run-down dump. He's hired all of the requisite randy teens to serve as counselors/murder victims (anybody who plays strip Monopoly out in the middle of the woods is practically begging to be eviscerated by a mad killer), though, so everything is in place for good, old-fashioned bloodbath. All we need is a killer.

The one thing I've always admired most about the slayings in the Friday the 13th movies is the sheer efficiency of them all. Even at the beginning, before Jason himself ever lifted his first machete, the killer is all about getting the job done and going on to the next victim. That's not to say the murders aren't stylish and impressive, though. I just wish they would have been a lot gorier. Clearly, this film does have a few problems and doesn't deserve five stars on its own merits. When you figure in the immense influence this film has had on the horror movie genre and pop culture itself, though, I think it rightly deserves that fifth star.

If you've never seen the original Friday the 13th, you need to see it - especially if you've watched several of the sequels. After all, an incorrect answer to the question of who did the killings in the original Friday the 13th film will get you banned from all horror fan clubs for life.

Le premier volet de la saga Vendredi 13 , selon moi n'est pas le meilleur , ni le pire. Pour le scénario cé corect comparément au autres volet que l'histoire est toujours la meme. Coté gore , ca aurais pu etre mieux , la plupart des meutres sont vu apres l'acte. Cé un film a voir et tant qu'a moi Jason est un de mes slasher préféré.(un erreur coté traduction, Jason étant appeller Jacki dans la version FR)

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5.0 out of 5 stars The best Friday ...
Though I enjoy Jason Voorhees a lot, this is the best Friday the 13th. For the most part, this movie actually didn't have that bad of acting, as did the sequels. Read more

Published on July 15 2004 by Laura

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to the critics!
"Friday the 13th" is a typical slasher from the early 80's, only it's better than most. Despite critics, like Roger Ebert and Lenorn Maltin giving it ridicuosly low... Read more

Published on July 10 2004 by Disco '81

3.0 out of 5 stars THIS is supposed to be scary?
After taking in and enjoying 'Freddy vs. Jason' at a friend's place some time back, I decided to delve into the past cinematic exploits of the movie's titular combatants. Read more

Published on July 5 2004 by Zagnorch

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and scary in a few parts.
Friday the 13th is probly the mostpopuler horror film, it's alot of fun and get's you to jump 2 or 3 times, but doesn't capture the true horror of other great horror films like... Read more

Published on Jun 29 2004 by Drums

3.0 out of 5 stars Better..!! -Low Budget..!! -Camera angles..!!
Director; -Sean S. Cunningham.. -Did a o.k job on
this one.. -And took it with this low budget
camera angle's.. -Really good.. -The music by
Harry Mandfredini.. Read more

Published on Jun 22 2004 by Robert the Psychoman

3.0 out of 5 stars The best of the series...but thats not saying much...
Friday the 13th is good for a slasher flick, but isn't all that great alone. BUT, it IS the best of the Friday the 13th series. Read more

Published on Jun 19 2004 by Xanadu

4.0 out of 5 stars Friday the 13th
If your into horror watch this.The film has great death scenes, a good plot, and decent dialogue.The music is great and the ending is extremely suprising. Read more

Published on Jun 4 2004 by mac301

3.0 out of 5 stars A popular classic, but still a mediocre horror flick
Despite its popularity, FRIDAY THE 13TH still got a lot of flak from critics, and I must say they make a lot of good points against the movie. Read more

Published on Jun 3 2004 by Kenji Fujishima

3.0 out of 5 stars Friday the 13th (1980)
Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Cast: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon.
Running Time: 95 minutes. Read more

Published on May 25 2004 by The Tweeder

3.0 out of 5 stars Average JOE!!!
This movie has a nice concept to it but was poorly done. Might of been better if there was a bigger budget and not so stupid of teens.

Published on May 24 2004 by N. Fares

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