Friday the 13th (1980)

I must say I expected more from the original Friday the 13th, the first film in a franchise that spawned eleven additional entries and is recognized as one of the most successful horror franchises in American film history.  Personally, I've never been a fan of the modern day horror film, especially slashers, which tend to be even more plot-less and dumbed down when compared to the typical horror film.  If you want to see this genre done right look to the American slasher's ancestor, the Italian thrillers otherwise known as giallo of the 1960's and 70's, very similar style yet contains a lot more than senseless murders.  Still from time to time I enjoy watching a cheesy horror film that requires absolutely no braincells to enjoy, yet I found myself quite surprised that Friday the 13th really has trouble delivering that type mindless entertainment.

It's present day 1980 Friday the 13th, and Steve Christy has taken it upon himself to reopen his family's old summer camp, Camp Crystal Lake.  Leaving the repairs in the hands of his newly hired camp counselors Christy heads off to town, he'll never make it back to camp alive and almost no one will make it out of camp.  The counselors are about to experience the curse of what the townspeople refer to as Camp Blood!

For me the 1980's was the heyday of classic blockbuster cinema, Indiana Jones, the last two Star Wars films, Back to the Future, on and on you could go, so I half expected the first entry into the longest running slasher franchise to at least be something special.  To me Friday the 13th breaks the cardinal rule every slasher film should adhere to... flow (aka keep the film moving).  At 95 minutes long, 80 minutes of the film moves at a relatively slow pace, so when the script and acting is for the most part non-existent, and the payoff on the kills aren't worth the wait Friday the 13th ends up being a chore to sit through for anyone whose not a fanatic of the genre.

On the plus side the last fifteen minutes finally gets it right, as the last surviving camp counselor fights to stay alive when she finally realizes what's been going on the entire time  and that everyone is probably dead.  It's at this time the attacker finally is revealed and we're given a decent game of hide and seek.  Why this wasn't done from the beginning is anyone's guess, waiting so long offered very little suspense, and unfortunately when the film finally starts moving it's too little to late to make up for the plodding of the first 80 minutes.

Of course, in typical slasher form, it takes about three tries for the last survivor to finally put an end to the terror (why she didn't decapitate the attacker the first time around continues the never-ending cycle of stupid characters in horror films, one of the big reasons slashers tend to annoy me.)  In the end, Friday the 13th was a bit of a disappointment for me and quite a few others whom I also found had similar observations.  Definitely recommend Friday the 13th the 2009 direct reboot over this, and supposedly the 1981 sequel to this film gets things a little more right.

5/10