Review: Friday the 13th (1980)

There's a lot to be said about this movie - it's not the grandaddy of slasher films (I'd give the 'grandparent' titles to 1978's Halloween and 1974's Black Christmas), but in many ways it is the father of modern slashers, with its penchant for sequels and high body counts, not to mention the (for 1980) extreme gore used to shock the audience.  While many have come after - some better, some worse - nothing quite like this movie existed before 1980 in American cinemas, and its success changes the landscape of horror.

Do I even need to summarize this film?  Everyone knows the basics: at a summer camp shortly before the campers arrive, the counselors are stalked and killed by a mysterious figure.  Some people forget it was Mrs. Vorhees (Betsy Palmer) who was the killer in this film instead of the more famous Jason, but otherwise the story for many of these films plays out the same.

I think sometimes modern looks at this film come down a little too hard on it - it is frequently called boring in the first half, with some even questioning how it was 'shocking' with such tame kills.  And while they are not wrong in the first point - not completely - the second point conveniently forgets that these sorts of effects (done by the legendary Tom Savini) were shocking - nothing so explicit was given a wide release in US theatres before.

The problem is, by the time this is being watched and evaluated, most reviewers have already seen movies that improved on the formula that this movie set.  Yes, the whoddunnit aspect is undercooked, but that's mainly because we've seen it perfected with the Scream movies.  The movie is slow and spends time getting you familiar with both the counselors and the layout of the campground, when later movies realized that people were mostly there for the kills and sped along that process to get to what the audience wanted.

I'm not saying the film cannot be criticized, but remember it's place!  I don't think it is one of the great films of horror by any stretch - the best in this series, Part 4, probably wouldn't even crack my personal top 20 - but it's a movie to be watched to appreciate where the genre started.  It's akin to watching a retired Hall of Fame pitcher come out and throw the first pitch of a game: It might not have the heat it used to, but respect should be given for what it accomplished.

How to rate this movie?  In all fairness, it probably is a 6 at best.  But given it due respect, I think 7 is a perfectly respectable rating.  So that is where I will set it.

7 out of 10