Fridaythe13th

Friday the 13th (1980)

Years after a couple of gruesome murders the so-called “cursed” Camp Crystal Lake is set to reopen. The camp counselors arrive and start cleaning up the place to prepare it for the kids in spite of the warnings of the local loon Crazy Ralph. While the counselors ignore Ralph the audience is let in on the fact that an unknown killer is picking them off one at a time until only Alice is left. Trapped at the camp Alice struggles to survive and find someone to help her. But who is responsible for the killings and whom can she trust? Is the camp really cursed? All these questions and more are answered by the final act of the movie. Though I imagine anyone here reading the review has already seen the movie or at least I hope so.

Honestly giving a plot synopsis for Friday the 13th seems a little silly. I mean obviously you have just read it so yes I did write one and I suppose there might be a horror fan that hasn’t seen the movie. I’m a huge fan of Halloween, Black Christmas, and Bava’s Twitch of the Death Nerve, all of which I think are earlier examples of slasher movies, or at least in Bava’s case a slasher like movie. But at the same time can anyone really argue the fact that Friday the 13th was the movie that kicked off the slasher boom of the 80s? Not only that but it has spawned 10 sequels and a remake, so this is an important movie. That said I personally think that the slasher boom and sequels that were inspired by this movie have actually in a strange way diminished it’s legacy. Stick with me here because I think I have a good point. The story to Friday the 13th is a very solid murder mystery with the added bonus of great gore by Tom Savini (more on that later). But because of all the sequels and the eventual creation of the Jason character people tend to forget that while this movie had a body count it also kept the audience in the dark as to the identity of the killer and was genuinely scary. Later on in the series when the “formula” was established and the movies really became nothing more than setting up the next batch of kids to knock them off they became very predictable. Now I want to be very clear when I say that I enjoy the sequels and their predictability. You always know what you are getting when you sit down to watch one of them. But my point is that the first Friday film really isn’t as formulaic and predictable as the rest of the series and because of that has a lot to offer.

Another thing that I wanted to point out about Friday the 13th is that I think the cast never gets the credit they deserve. First of all Betsy Palmer is wonderful in the role as Mrs. Voorhees. Not only is she genuinely creepy and scary, but also in an odd twist a lot of the audience can understand why she has done all the terrible things to prevent Camp Crystal Lake from opening. I would also be remiss in not mentioning Adrienne King, who has to carry the last third of the movie pretty much by herself in the role of Alice. She is wonderful and completely believable running around tripping over the bodies of her friends.

In addition to the cast the technical expertise and talent behind the making of the movie is another thing that never gets the attention it deserves. Obviously Tom Savini does another wonderful job on the makeup special effects. This movie is filled with many iconic kills that all horror fans will recognize and has a respectable body count of 10. Everything from the arrow in the throat, axe to the face, and to of course the decapitation (hairy knuckles and all!) this movie delivers what gore hounds want. And while the movie wasn’t cut up that badly on it’s initial release getting the few seconds back that we lost only makes this DVD better. The musical score written by Harry Manfredini isn’t intrusive, but is very effective. I’ve never heard a musical score do so much with so little. Hell not only that but whether you are a fan of the series or not everyone recognizes the trademark “ki ki ki, ma ma ma”. Finally no one ever talks about how beautiful the movie was shot. The lighting and camera work are all nicely done, with some of the shots being simply stunning. Look at the final sequence on the lake with Alice in the boat with the sun reflecting off the surface of the lake. That is a great shot and is every bit as nice as anything I’ve ever seen in any movie.

The DVD that I’m reviewing is the latest from Paramount Home Video. It contains a few special features that are worth mentioning. First up is a nice Friday the 13th Reunion panel with Tom Savini (effects guru), Ari Lehman (Jason), Victor Miller (screen writer), Betsy Palmer (Mrs. Voorhees), Harry Manfredini (music), and of course the great Adrienne King (Alice). If you have ever been to a convention then this panel will seem very familiar to you. There are a few cool stories and I was especially amused seeing Betsy Palmer refer to the script as a “piece of shit” while sitting next to the screenwriter Victor Miller. There is also a short feature called Fresh Cuts: New Tales on Friday the 13th. These really aren’t new stories, especially if you have ever read the great book on the series Crystal Lake Memories, but are still fun to hear from those who lived them. Other features include a short interview with Sean S. Cunningham called the Man Behind the Legacy and part 1 of a short film called Lost Tales from Camp Blood. All in all not a bad set of special features.

I’m a fan of the Friday the 13th series and grew up watching these movies. As much fun as I’ve had with the later movies in the series this is still the best. There isn’t an unstoppable killer Jason in the woods, it isn’t all about killing the teenagers that are smoking and having sex (though those are themes in the movie). This is just a solid who done it with great kills and some fun jump scares. This is a must for every horror fan’s collection. This is available from Paramount Home Entertainment and can be had from all the big retailers. Check out there site at http://www.paramount.com/paramount.php for more information.

4 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer