elicopperman For almost 40 years, Friday the 13th has been praised by many as a horror movie classic, if only for its surprising twist ending and not much else. As such, it spawned over 11 sequels, a couple of reboots, and even a crossover between Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, so its status on pop culture is certainly admirable. In terms of what I think of it, while I don't consider it that great of a film, it does its job well enough with what it needed to do, if not perfectly.The basic storyline revolves around six new camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, which was previously closed 22 years prior after an unresolved murder case of a little boy occurred. While the new owner Steve Christy tries restoring the camp on the night of Friday the 13th with the aforementioned counselors, a mysterious killer starts to roam around murdering most of them one by one. By that plot alone, there is a direct influence from John Carpenter's "Halloween", as writer Victor Miller crafts the film's plot around the night where teens become at mercy towards an unknown serial killer. Even though the plot itself does drag on at points and it's not hard to predict who dies, the general stakes turn the film into a suspenseful thrill ride, and once we reach the famous climax, all these murders add up fantastically.In addition, the usage of slashing is very effective, as the kill count practically completes the suspense with Tom Savini's wonderful makeup effects, with some rather unique ways to murder teens. The set pieces themselves are remarkably well done, especially when it comes to the usage of lighting and shadows that paint the visuals with the right amount of fear more than the story does. While not the most original sounding music, the score also helps build tension whenever a certain character is about to get the axe. It is admirable to see a horror movie shot on a rather low budget, since they never go overboard with effects, scares, or even sets; they just perform with what little resources they have and go nuts with them.However, with everything the film gets right, there are some notable issues it has that bog it down from being special. Most of the acting, while not terrible, leaves much to be desired, as many of the actors either phone it in or are just underwhelming. The only notable exceptions would have to be Adrienne King for delivering the most genuine frightened performance in the whole feature, and Betsy Palmer for combining sweetness and insanity into one. Also, the counselors are pretty annoying when it comes to their shenanigans, and even their deaths take longer to happen than one might think. Lastly, while I get that the ending was clearly sequel bait, it does leave much questioning to those who have just watched this film for the first time, as it comes off as more confusing rather than startling.Needless to say, while by no means a perfect film, I do think the original Friday the 13th succeeds enough in what it was meant to do: thrill teenagers with shocking scares and a horrific payoff. Even if the film isn't without its flaws, it's nonetheless impressive to see a simple slasher flick that was inspired by Halloween become almost as if not more successful by franchise than the aforementioned classic. If you are still yet to see the film, give it a watch and judge whether you think it holds up or not. I know I have many more sequels to get to, so this one was a decent start to a beloved franchise for me.

simonconnolly72-467-863881 I was pleasantly surprised. Non annoying teenagers, a story that took it's time without an overload of gore and killing, and some nice cinematography of the American countryside. It doesn't go at breakneck speed and some people might find it slow and plodding but it was very watchable. Sure, it rips the music of psycho right off, even the reverse plotting of psycho with this time the mother taking on the personality of the son, and some routine stuff, but it was still ok....until we find out who the killer is, and then it all goes into silly territory and all suspense lost. The issues I have are: 1. the killer kills everyone off by creeping up on them or catching them off guard. then with the final survivor she introduces herself and explains her motives...why? it's purely a set up for the audiences benefit to understand who she is but it's not in keeping with the character.....are we to believe she'd explain herself to the last survivor before massacring her? no - bad script and direction...find another way 2. she's the most hapless killer - after executing a camp full of teenagers and the guy in charge with no problem, she becomes suddenly incompetent, and can't kill off an hysterical girl. 3. typical horror situation - the survivor keeps finding a way to knock down the killer but never finishes her off, just walks away - and finally when she runs back to the cabin, she doesn't look for any type of weapon to defend herself even though she knows she's being hunted.unfortunately this last 10/15 minutes lets down a pretty good movie

vasilasdiakoumakas This is a movie that promises a lot but delivers just the basics. There's lots of blood, some creepy moments and it certainly makes you feel quite uncomfortable when it's close to the end. I guess that's perfect for a slasher film, but it really isn't enough to make a good movie. Friday the 13th is basically a bloodier version of Halloween but without that incredible atmosphere that made Halloween so special. It's still decent though and of course, a must-watch for horror fans.

lorcan-61881 Friday The 13th came out in 1980 and stars Betsy Palmer and Kevin Bacon...that's..ya,that's pretty much it,and a few actors and actresses that barely showed there face again. The film follows a group of camp counselors at the now famous Camp Crystal Lake as someone watches them,killing them off one by one. Like Halloween,Friday The 13th is an amazing horror film,some people have said that this film is just another 80's type horror film that didn't need another 9 sequels and spin offs,one remake and one canceled spin off but I think this as well and Halloween and Nightmare On Elm Street were the three best horrors series's ever. Something,now this doesn't really have anything to do with this but I wish Leatherface got a big bunch of movies and was as good as these three because,like,come on! He's a mad man and I wish Ghostface,Pinhead,Chucky and even Reverend Henry Kane would get there own franchise..but,anyway,sorry,going back,Friday The 13th is a brilliant classic,definitely watch it but,I'm pretty sure you all have!!