Friday the 13th (1980)
- written November 1999
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The first in the long series begins here in 1980 at Camp Crystal Lake, a.k.a. Camp Blood. The film begins with 3 counselors on the way to the opening of Camp Crystal Lake. Steve is the lead counselor and the one running the show. As the counselors slowly arrive, he takes some notice in Alice, a pretty young counselor. The opening day goes on as planned despite the cook's absence (she hitched a ride with the wrong person) and by nightfall some of the counselors (including Alice) are "deep" into a game of "strip monopoly." And just when you thought it was finally safe, Mrs. Voorhees comes to the rescue. See, she used to be a counselor back in 1957 but some her fellow counselors weren't paying attention when her son was drowning in the lake. She'll never forgive the counselors back then (whom she killed one year later) nor will she forgive any now. Alice must do everything she can to survive including taking Mrs. Voorhees into her confidence, that is until she finds out the secret. Will Alice just become another statistic?
Overall: Well this was a film which helped truly define both the 80's and the horror genre. It's fascinating as the years go on to remember that Jason wasn't the killer here. I do think the film could have been better. If anything it is exactly like the later films - you don't see the killer but just the murder weapon as it penetrates the victim's body. Little character development and the action could have been better. Best part though is seeing Kevin Bacon in this film. I will say that few films have female killers so this is a tinge unique ("Urban Legend"). Especially given the time the film was made. Death Count = 8 My Title: Friday the 13th Serial Mom on the Loose 02/02/2009: So I've seen the movie more than a few times, including owning the original box set. However coming out tomorrow is the new Uncut DVD. There's a lot to say about the new version. It has a few extra shots of gore and splatter. I think the commentaries mentioned merely seconds of extra stuff. However we finally have a "commentary" for the film. The original box set didn't have one for part 1. So here we have a long and very "full" commentary narrated by practically everyone. Tons upon tons of material. If anything, I got distracted from the film itself. :) As for the extras for the disc, it seems like there is just everything you ever needed to know about the film. We have shots from conventions as our cast discussed the film. We also have "Fresh Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13th" as we hear from most of the behind the scenes stories on the creation of the film and the casting process. Including who was originally tapped for "Jason" and how opur creators thought of making this movie. Sorta shockingly easy. And finally, what appears to be a running series on the dvd's is "Lost Tales from Camp Blood part 1." This is pretty much a short film shot in very much the same manner as the movies giving us a couple killed by what could be a "Jason-like" killer. If you get the other films (thru Part 3 as of today), we see the continuation of these snippets. |
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Friday the 13th Review Page
Friday the 13th Part 2 Review Page
Horror Films A-K Review Page
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