FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

Tagline: They were warned...They are doomed...And on Friday the 13th, nothing will save them.

(Horror, Mystery, Thriller) [R]

Did you know a young boy drowned the year before those two others were killed? The counselors weren't paying any attention...

Review - Kevin Bacon.

Okay, the actual review. It doesn’t take much to catch people up on the lore here, mostly because it is re-told in almost every installment in this iconic horror franchise. A young boy (who is at least partly deformed ) winds up drowning at Camp Crystal Lake while his camp counselors are having sex. Now a killer is taking it out on everyone that shows up in Crystal Lake.

Keep in mind this was in the 80s when dismembering and shoving arrows through teenagers' necks was still perfectly acceptable behavior (kidding). Aside from Kevin Bacon (best known for TREMORS) being in this movie, there are no real stars in this. I will say that the main actress we care about Adrienne King still does her thing, coming off a voice role in SILENT NIGHT BLOODY NIGHT: THE HOMECOMING.

Contrary to popular belief Jason does not appear in this movie as we know him today. In fact, his storied hockey mask doesn’t even come into play until part III. Instead, we had an alternate killer who is pretty damn creepy in their own right.

A couple of tidbits, Kevin Bacon is the victim of the first, after or during sex killing in the entire series. Leave it up to Kevin to be the first to break one of the most steadfast horror movie rules. “Don’t have sex” like ever if you even have the slightest hint you might be in a horror movie. Many believe that the idea behind FRIDAY THE 13^TH came from the 1971 movie A BAY OF BLOOD (also known as A TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE), which may be, admittedly I've never seen it.

FRIDAY THE 13^TH is epically spooky even today but not necessarily "scary" due to the cheese factor being cranked to 10. A lot of this is due to Adrienne King's genuine and unassuming performance as well as one of the most recognizable scores in horror history.

Perhaps if I had reviewed this movie when it first came out, I might have given it a 5 out of 7, but instead, I am leaving it at a 4 out of 7, because now we have the other films in this series and countless other slasher flicks to compare this one to.