While Halloween is given credit for establishing the groundwork for the teen-slasher flick phenomenon of the 1980s, it was the success of this underachiever that ensured a glut of routine splatter-fests. Suddenly no summer camp in America was safe, and fornicating youngsters were being dispatched with extreme prejudice, especially on holidays. Friday the 13th is fun for genre enthusiasts primarily as a compendium of clichés, none of which originated here but exist in abundance. False scares, a crusty old-timer who tries to warn the kids, a premonitory dream of rain and blood, a full moon, cut telephone wires, discordant violins -- it's all on display without apology, along with the greatest cliché of them all, a cunning killer who screws up by taking the time to explain her motivation to the final victim. The youthful camp counselors are a lot more wholesome and likable than the crass, amoral bunch that appear in similar films, but it doesn't stop us from reveling in each demise. This is a film with a body count, and the audience isn't encouraged to mourn. Still, Friday the 13th is far less gory than the imitations that followed (despite an effective axe-in-the-face effect), and in a "seen one, you've seen 'em all" genre like slasher films, this is the only entry that most casual viewers will need to witness.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Genres - Horror, Thriller |
Sub-Genres - Slasher Film, Teen Movie |
Run Time - 95 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - R
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