Reviewing the original Friday the
13th is not an easy task. Unlike most series
in which the original cemented the brand, Friday the 13th
became an icon of pop-culture largely because of Part 3. This leaves
Part 1 mostly as a gotcha trivia question (“Who was the killer in
Friday the 13th?” “…Jason?” “No,
Mrs. Vorhees!”), and Part 2 as almost completely forgotten. It was
in Part 3 that Jason first wore the hockey mask. It was also in Part
3 that it became clear the lunatics were running the asylum, as the
series became more and more self-referential and just downright silly
as it continued. This is not something I object to by any means, but
it’s wildly different from the original.
The original came in the still somewhat
early days of the slasher film. So strangely, the movie does not
feel the need to correlate the character’s fears with our own. For
most of the film, none of the characters know that anything is wrong
as the killer makes at least some token efforts to conceal the bodies
until only one victim is left. We on the other hand, periodically
see a murder happen, reminding us that something is very wrong.
People have tried to claim that the
movie has an anti-sex message. I disagree with this assessment,
which seems built on an inability to distinguish between Mrs. Vorhees
(Betsy Palmer), who slaughters teenagers for having sex because her
son drowned when he was not being watched by camp counselors, and
director Sean Cunningham, who set out to make a movie about a crazy
woman who killed teenagers having sex.
The set-up of the movie is that Camp
Crystal Lake is being reopened after two decades. It was originally
closed after a series of events that included a drowning, two
murders, as well as more minor issues like fires and bad water.
Before the camp officially opens, a group of councilors have
gathered, getting everything ready for the kids. The camp’s cook
(Robbi Morgan) is picked up by a mysterious traveler whose face is
never seen on her way to the camp, only to be attacked and killed by
the driver.
Peeping Tom was the first film
to use the killer’s perspective, but Friday the 13th
popularized it. Here, it’s used much more cheaply, primarily as a
way of showing you the violence while concealing the identity of the
killer. The reason for concealing her identity baffles me, because
there’s no mystery. We’re introduced to Mrs. Vorhees moments
before she’s revealed as the killer
The best-remembered death of this film
is easily Jack’s (Kevin Bacon). That may be at least partially
because of Bacon’s later success. But I suspect part of it is
because as the era of slasher films has continued on-and-off for
decades, it’s the only death that’s really creative. The killer
is under the bed Jack’s laying on and grabs him and holds him to
the mattress. She then forces and arrow up through the mattress and
through his neck.
I don’t want to give the impression
that I dislike this movie. It’s a classic, exploitative slasher
film, following in the footsteps of Halloween. Of the dozens
of movies that fit that exact description, this is one of the few
that really feels like there was some talent behind it, and most of
the characters are reasonably likable. It’s a shame that
Cunningham did a lot more work as a producer than a director after
this, I would love to see an episode of Masters of Horror directed
by him.
If you ever have the time, I’d say
watch this movie in a marathon with the following three, as they form
a fairly complete story. Mrs. Vorhees attacks and is killed, then
her not-quite-dead son returns from the lake and begins a series of
escalating killings that end with his apparent death in Part 4. Even
without the others though, it’s a fun ride.
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