- Release year: 1980
- Director: Sean S. Cunningham.
- Producers: Sean S. Cunningham.
- Screenplay by: Victor Miller and Ron Kurz.
- Cinematography by: Barry Abrams.
- Music by: Harry Manfredini.
Synopsis: a group of teenagers hired as camp counsellors arrive at Camp Crystal Lake a few days before camp begins. They will be the victims of a vendetta that started years before after a horrible accident.
Shotgun Commentary: the OG of horror summer camp films. A must-watch if you like the genre.
Review
Friday the 13th is the summer-camp horror film that has inspired a whole subgenre. Whether it is in prompt, sound effects, or specific formulas, many, MANY, horror films follow its lead. ‘A few teenagers go to the middle of nowhere, where they are stalked and killed one by one’ is a very common formula for horror. So much so that it has elevated this feature to the status of cult film, leading to another eleven movies of the saga, plus tons of other features that take notes from it to either make something similar or parody the genre.
Old values
For anyone who likes horror, slashers, old-school special effects and ridiculously fake characters, this is the holy grail. A group of teenagers, played by actors who surprisingly look somewhat the age they are supposed to be, get together to fix a summer camp before the children arrive. As future camp counsellors, their role is to take care of both the installations and the children. They get started on the first while fooling around, which encourages a serial killer to murder them one by one.
It is still fascinating to see how every single time someone gets naked or is shown indulging in any sort of vice, they are quickly executed. Making the slayer some kind of defender of the faith or some other nonsense like that. Granted, the actual explanation makes sense (don’t get used to it, this won’t be the case for most films of the franchise). Nevertheless, it is still funny to think of it as some sort of weird ultra-conservative crusade against “those meddling kids” because, in a way, that’s exactly what it is.
Deep breaths
One of the most impressive features of the movie is the special effects. For a film released in 1980, they are incredibly realistic, and the fake blood is not half bad. The only thing that completely takes you out of the experience is the fact that none of the actors seem capable of disguising their breathing and blinking after their character is dead, Kevin Bacon and Laurie Bartram excluded.
Still, there is something wholesome and cosy about watching a generic girl yelling after seeing the corpse of a friend that is very clearly still breathing. It takes away from the gravity of the moment, making it a great watch for people who are not big fans of horror, but still want to dip their toes in it.
A different type of horror
The film doesn’t rely on jump scares as much as horror movies do nowadays. Despite being a slasher, the horror builds slowly and creates tension rather than going “Boo!” every five minutes. Regardless of how incoherent the one and only jump scare is, it is fast and unexpected enough to not give you time to process its illogical nature. This is a perk that a feature full of them can’t exploit.
Friday the 13th also utilises other legendary horror techniques to enhance the story. For example, the subjective POV of the killer, taken from Halloween (1978), and later used in most horror films, from Evil Dead (1981) to A Violent Nature (2024). Speaking of cinematic failures, the subjective point of view is not the only thing that In a Violent Nature (2024) borrows and destroys from Friday 13th. The 2024 picture also features an unending scene of the final girl running to the forest. It is a very similar situation to that of the first victim in the 1980 film, only this last one is significantly more successful since it is not dragged out.
A delicate balance
Overall, the big success of the movie is managing to be over the top without going over the top. That is, featuring countless absurd things in the script, BUT, without overusing or extending them to the point of boredom. It is ridiculous enough to entertain, but not emphasised enough to be tedious. Some examples of this are: characters that are so dumb that they run around the camp in their underwear for no reason, a killer that waits under a bed for a couple of teenagers to do their risky business instead of killing them before or during and saving some time, victims yelling and throwing their weapons around instead of using them against the killer, etc.
Most of the nonsense you enjoy in this film is delightfully outrageous and fun. In fact, it will be repeated further down in the history of horror. Parodied like no other in The Final Girls (2015), where the sex=death rule is crucial, and the camp songs are literally the same. Not to mention every other detail that makes summer camp horror what it is, whispers in the sound effects included.
All in all, Friday 13th might not be as impressive as it was back in the day, but it sure as hell still brings a great time for the audience and tons of inspiration for horror films, even now. Its status as a cult movie is completely justified and, despite the doubtful ending, it is a pretty well-rounded film.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Don’t bother blocking the doors if you’re in a cabin with huge windows.
- How does a middle-to-old-age woman overpower a healthy, athletic, young man or woman?
- If the corpse of a friend has just been chucked into your window, maybe it is not the best time for you to throw your only weapon to the ground?
What’s your take? Have you watched Friday the 13th? What’s your favourite instalment of the franchise?
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