Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980)

I hate nostalgia. Really. I loathe it. I leave it to nostalgic VHS-collectors who whine on their forums looking back on a time that never will come back. It’s just a waste of time and makes you stay in a constant bubble, never learn anything, never evolve as a human and most of all, never discover something new. The only time nowadays I get that awful sense of nostalgia is when I start to watch a movie about our favorite Down’s syndrome serial killer Jason Voorhees. Yeah, according to the original backstory he has Down’s, a fact I guess even the owners of Friday the 13^th kinda wants to be forgotten by now. Anyway, I think it’s cool, in the sense that he represents a strong, awesome mentally challenged person.  Anyway, the nostalgia comes over me because Friday the 13^th (and its sequels) represents in many ways my first meeting with real horror. Not the classic, black & white horror, but the gritty, gory, brutal stuff that never stops – everyone is in danger (except the virgin of course!). Those dark nights when I was sitting (which means “hiding under a blanket”) in front of our big, fat TV, watching Jason chop his way through horny teenagers was truly inspiring moments. No, I didn’t go out and kill people – but I realized horror is so much more than the accepted “classics”.

So at least once a year I try to watch one, two or several Jason flicks and remember the days when I still was scared while watching movies. The first one is weird enough one of those I’ve seen least times. Not sure why, but doesn’t Warner own the first movie in Europe and the rest is owned by Paramount (up to Jason Takes Manhattan at least)? I remember watching part 2 to 4 many, many times on Swedish television – 5 to (partly) is harder to keep apart even if they all ever very specific storylines and gags – but feels less personal and gritty. Like Jason (not Voorhees, but of Cinezilla) said yesterday during our screening, after part 4 they’re becoming more meta – and that’s part of the fun I think – and less scary. But that was probably the only way for this series to survive so long. We need to laugh at it – until someone decides to fuck around with our minds again.

After watching the first film again – in our company’s cinema together with pals – it’s even clearer that it’s a damn fine movie. It’s also absurdly straight forward, very generic – except the twist at the end, it never really goes away from the format it establishes in the beginning and stays there. And it’s awesome. It’s so cool. It’s like smoking a joint and letting yourself getting drawn into a very macabre home video of idiots doing idiot things and at the same time just wanna fuck each other senseless. Friday the 13^th is the most sexually charged episode in this long-running saga. There’s one quite graphic sex scene (where Kevin show’s his bacon, nudge nudge…) which ends in a cum shot – OF BLOOD! Not sure if that was the meaning, but it feels a lot more sexual than it should have probably. All the young actors looks good and are very charismatic – from the Virgin Mary of the bunch, to smooth hottie Kevin Bacon. It’s a fine cast, inspired – and most characters have hardly any clothes on after just 10-15 minutes. Now wonder it became a huge success among the teenagers of the world.

Some people say that Halloween (or even Black Christmas or Bay of Blood) created the modern slasher. In a way they’re correct, but Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller took all these ingredients, mixed them together and created the first PURE slasher film ever. This film establishes every cliché in the book and does it very well. It’s grittier and gorier than Halloween, more streamlined than Bay of Blood and took an even cooler day than Christmas and used it for a perfect setting in a horror movie. I like the primitiveness of the story. I don’t need any surprises, I just want entertainment. Alright, you could say that about ever boring retro-slasher made the last five years, but they didn’t create the story – Friday did that. It’s also a gorgeous-looking movie. Together with My Bloody Valentine (who also shares very likable and interesting characters with this one) it’s one of the most well-shot slasher in history. It perfectly captures the magical terror of forests, the sparkling rain falling down on the darker-by-the-hour Camp Crystal Lake. You don’t see shit, but it’s still so well-lit you see exactly what you want to see.

Isn’t it interesting that Friday the 13^th with its legendary graphic violence isn’t especially violent? Well, it have three scenes of quite nasty carnage, but compared to other later slashers it’s tame – but I also think it gives us likable characters, a good (yes) script and a scary setting – which in the end wins us over.

It’s deep in our DNA, forests are scary and dangerous. Darkness is evil. We should stay by the fire and pretend there’s nothing out there watching us. But we all know we could be dead any second. That’s the power of Friday the 13^th. 

Comments

[Megatron]

"I hate nostalgia. Really. I loathe it. I leave it to nostalgic VHS-collectors who whine on their forums looking back on a time that never will come back. It’s just a waste of time and makes you stay in a constant bubble, never learn anything, never evolve as a human and most of all, never discover something new."

Some filmnerds can,sadly, be very conservative.

"The only time nowadays I get that awful sense of nostalgia is when I start to watch a movie about our favorite Down’s syndrome serial killer Jason Voorhees."

Yeah, certain films have that effect on me too.

"Yeah, according to the original backstory he has Down’s, a fact I guess even the owners of Friday the 13th kinda wants to be forgotten by now."

What???!!!

I had totally forgot that.

"(except the virgin of course!)."

Yeah......I often wonder wether or not that was an attempt to flirt with more conservative demographics(the Reaganites, christian right etc) watching the film or a sort of metaphor for the uptight, neurotic, 80´s way of dealing with abortion, AIDS, etc....?

Kevin Williamson made fun of it, and remakes of horror of the 80´s like Fright Night(2011) celebrate sex in a good way....very surprising, since DreamWorks SKG, Spielberg was involved.

"Not sure why, but doesn’t Warner own the first movie in Europe and the rest is owned by Paramount (up to Jason Takes Manhattan at least)?"

I have no idea.......studios keep changing and copyrights and distribution ends up in all kinds of weird constellations.

"There’s one quite graphic sex scene (where Kevin show’s his bacon, nudge nudge…)"

hahahahahhahahhah....yeah, that description was clockpure!

"Some people say that Halloween (or even Black Christmas or Bay of Blood) created the modern slasher. In a way they’re correct, but Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller took all these ingredients, mixed them together and created the first PURE slasher film ever. This film establishes every cliché in the book and does it very well. It’s grittier and gorier than Halloween, more streamlined than Bay of Blood and took an even cooler day than Christmas and used it for a perfect setting in a horror movie."

Never thought about it.....you could be right.

"Together with My Bloody Valentine (who also shares very likable and interesting characters with this one) it’s one of the most well-shot slasher in history."

Hmmm.....I saw My Bloody Valentine(1981)not that long ago.....I´m not as fond of it as you are......can´t you do a review of this one?

I want your thoughts on that one.

You probably done it before........but a new one would be appreciated.

"Isn’t it interesting that Friday the 13th with its legendary graphic violence isn’t especially violent? Well, it have three scenes of quite nasty carnage, but compared to other later slashers it’s tame"

Something I have been thinking about.....long and hard.....what was all the fuss about?

But when it came.....probably scared (and scarred)a lot of people.

"It’s deep in our DNA, forests are scary and dangerous. Darkness is evil. We should stay by the fire and pretend there’s nothing out there watching us. But we all know we could be dead any second. That’s the power of Friday the 13th."

Ultimately that is the staying power of this film I guess.

Great review, Fred.