THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
I think the scariest thing about fictional slashers is that they are people who commit the sins and in Friday the 13th, the paranoia couldn’t be any more present.
PLOT
The film takes place in 1979 showing Camp Crystal Lake prepare to reopen after a murder and an accidental drowning occurred in the 50s. Annie Phillips (Robbi Morgan) is going there to work as a counselor but on the way, she is killed by an unseen stranger. The other counselors that arrive to refurbish the cabins and facilities include: Brenda Jones (Laurie Bartram), Ned Rubenstein (Mark Nelson), Jack Burrell (Kevin Bacon), Marcy Stanler (Jeannine Taylor), Bill Brown (Harry Crosby) and Alice Hardy, assigned by the owner Steve Christy. In between the work, the mix of teens and young adults enjoy the lake while Steve goes out to pick up supplies to stock up. During the day, they encounter local elderly resident Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney) who warns that the camp is cursed, like he told Annie, before leaving. By night, the Sam’s unseen killer continues the murder spree by killing Ned, later going after Jack and Marcy after they have sex in a cabin. On the other cabin, Brenda, Alice and Bill play ‘Strip Monopoly’ before the weather gets hectic and causes them to stop. Just when Brenda chooses to settle in, she hears the voice of someone crying for help and when she goes outside to check, she is shot down by the killer with arrows. When Steve makes his return, he gets stabbed to death as well. Worried that everyone is disappearing, Alice and Bill investigate. During their search, they find an axe on Brenda’s bed, the phones are disconnected and Ned’s truck is inoperable. When Bill checks on the generator, he is shot down by the killer with arrows, pinning him to the generator door. Alice finds herself alone and traumatized when finding his and Brenda’s bodies. She remains on her own until someone pulls up and it’s a woman named Pamela Voorhees, who claims to be a friend of Steve. However, she breaks from her facade of normality when sharing that her son Jason was the child that drowned in the 50s. She blamed the neglect of the counselors and chose to them after the incident, this confessing of her murders from the past and present as she felt that the camp should never be open after her loss. She tries to kill Alice as well, but she defends herself and knocks her unconscious to escape. Pamela does catch up, but the final girl ends the hunt by decapitating the woman with a machete. Exhausted of the of chaos that came her way, Alice boards herself on a canoe and falls asleep in the middle of the lake. She wakes up by morning, only to be attacked by a decomposed Jason. She would then wake up in a hospital, told by an officer that they couldn’t find a child. The film ends with the lake shown to be rippling, confirming that Jason was real and is still there.
THOUGHTS
As I grew up getting interested in horror, starting with slasher films like Halloween, it was a matter of time for me to see this one as well and boy was this something else. Director Sean S Cunningham and writer Victor Miller change forever with a whodunnit that rocks you. With Bill Freda editing and Barry Abrams on cinematography, you feel the presence of the killer 24/7 and feel like you're next. Harry Manfredini's score has its resemblance to Psycho respectively, but that whisper that occurs is arguably deafening because the killer's presence gets even stronger you start to think it's right behind you. Of all the things that stuck around for this franchise, I'm glad it's that. To me, this movie gets better to watch overtime because it's patient with what it wants to share, that is the shocking violence that comes to life thanks to Tom Savini. Seeing someone get stabbed in the neck with an arrow and another in the face with an axe is not something I'd expect yet that is where you see the strength as the franchise progressed; Each creative kill would leave an everlasting impression on every viewer possible. Saying this formula aloud is why each entry has had its own share of popularity within the times; You know what you're gonna get with them and you still dig it. If this movie is able to teach anything so strongly, it would have to be how you gotta make peace with yourself, otherwise your feelings will eat you up inside and will make you act without thought. Pamela Voorhees is the definition of that and Betsy Palmer embodied it incredibly in her performance of the character. No one would have expected a grieving mother to be responsible for murder, but that proves how everyone reacts differently when grieving. When we finally see her face in the climax, you want to believe she's a friendly lady, that is until she shares her tragic past and unleashes her insanity. If you were in her shoes in the 50s, she had the right to retaliate since no one took accountability for what happened but the fact that she chose to keep killing is where she loses sympathy. She literally speaks as her son when she chases her target, that is until her son comes back from the grave. With her reign of terror over, this would only pave the way for a new one to be taken over by her son who would grow to be the most iconic slasher in film history. With such an imposing villain, of course there's gonna be a fair share to root for to survive and I think we kinda do. I think what the counselors had in common is that in between the responsibility bestowed on them, they were all about enjoying themselves as much as they could. They may have acted oblivious, but they are nothing but harmless as things unfold, which is where you feel bad as everyone bites the dust one by one. The only one I seem to keep invested in every time I check it out is Alice as Adrienne King showed her to be one who was indeed shy but knew when to step up when terror came her way. She definitely proved her intelligence when blocking one of the doors before things got worse. She may have not lasted long in Part 2, but at least she was the first to prove that reopening the camp was a bad idea. Of all the characters that bored me, it was Steve Christy. I got nothing against Peter Brouwer but I don't think he brings enough life to the role the way King does for Alice. And he's hardly in the movie where I would often forget he's part of. So when he died, I honestly didn't care. I find myself entertained every time I see it, but even one as good as this has had some noticeable issues upon re watching. Like looking back in the opening, Pamela is targeting horny counselors yet she takes forever. I’m not trying to condone the actions of a killer but if she’s that thirsty for revenge, she could’ve just went straight to execution when they were sleeping. And how did she take Steve’s Jeep during the day? She doesn’t kill him at that point so it’s crazy no one nearby spotted her taking it to kill Annie. Speaking of which, it’s cool that Annie gets a ride at least halfway, but how come not one of her coworkers offered her a ride? They’re going the same way, so it’s not like she’s going elsewhere. That’s dumber than the driver choosing to tell her the past of Camp Crystal Lake before dropping her off instead of before starting to drive. I then wonder how come Annie didn’t get suspicious about the camp? She was just told of its tragedy and doesn’t really bat an eye about it. That’s weirder than Pamela choosing to be silent when she picks her up before killing her. Also, how did Jack and Marcie miss Ned’s body before they get it on? They can’t be that clueless when they’re horny, that’s insane. I don’t want to sound like a pervert, but why was Strip Monopoly stop due to weather opening the door? I know we need a suspenseful excuse for characters to split up and get killed off, but all that had to be done is to close the door and enjoy the night before it’s over for them. I get that we need to know Pamela is the killer to avoid a plot hole, but she did need to play on an act when she had one target left? She didn’t do this with Annie so it partially feels out of character for her. Ignore this, then you’ll still have a bloody good time. In short, Friday the 13th is a classic horror film for being a cryptic and graphic kind of whodunnit that’ll be difficult to forget. If you have an interest in slashers, see this film as soon as you can.
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