Friday the 13th (1980)

winjaffe Mayıs 23, 2022

Cast

Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Jeannine Taylor, Kevin Bacon, Mark Nelson, Robbi Morgan, Peter Brouwer, Rex Everhart, Ronn Carroll, Ron Millkie, Walt Gorney, Willie Adams, Debra S. Hayes, Ari Lehman

Storyline

In 1957, a young boy named Jason (Ari Lehman) drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. In 1958, two camp counselors were murdered. In 1962, fires and bad water thwarted the camp's reopening. Now, in 1979, Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer) finally reopens Camp Crystal Lake with the help of a few new counselor. Unfortunately, someone isn't happy about what's going on in the camp and enjoys playing kill the counselor.

Opinion

My first thought at the end of the film was, "Was this film really that scary back in the 80's?", because besides from giving birth to Jason, I struggle to see its greatness.

Slightly scary, Friday the 13th has nothing memorable, only the aura of legend that has been crafted over the years.

It's hard to find something that works. The script is barely there. The absurd story, and the non-terrifying murders are joined by a killer that just shows up at the end of the film, denying the surprise effect because nobody has an idea of who the hell that person is.

This film condones some of the horrors clichés - the couple having sex dies, the car doesn't start, and the ugly one survives. The action sequences are also quite bad. The fighting looks terrible and completely unrealistic.

The acting is another weak point. Adrienne King is great at screaming: if only her acting was that powerful. The other kids are not better. Betsy Palmer easily steals the show, even though she only shows up for 15 minutes circa.

Besides from Kevin Bacon's character dead - I don't like him much -, the good part is the music. I don't know how, but it was chosen properly, and manages to delivers some thrills.