*Originally written November 14th, 2018*
Friday the 13th is one of those franchises I really want to love, but just end up finding them extremely poor. This is by far one of the better entries in the series before getting more and more absurd with each new film that delved into self-parody as it progressed. It's just a shame that a series that's as well loved by horror fans peaked with this completely uninspired and derivative slasher.
I do appreciate the simplicity of the original. Much like the Halloween franchise, the sequels focused on creating more and more convoluted reasons at the why the killer is the way they are. This is much more simple: Someone is slaughtering horny teenagers one by one at a summer camp. It's that simple. Nothing more, nothing less. If you want characters with depth or even personality, then look elsewhere, because they are just meaningless fodder that either get killed, go topless or both.
The most interesting thing about the characters ends with the fact one of them is Kevin Bacon. It's fun to see him in an earlier role before he hit it big and a sick joy to see him inevitably get picked off (I assume the killer saw the future and knew about those EE ads). Aside from Bacon, I really could not tell you a single thing about another character in this slasher.
Some of the kills are at least very gory and brutal. I read this film received a lot of criticisms for its violence, which I can see. By today's standards and how desensitised by blood and gore I am at this point, it's arguably tame, but I can see how in 1980, it's seen as a bit much. The kills and score are probably the only thing that makes Friday the 13th at least watchable.
Aside from the pretty decent twist that reveals who the killer is and their motivations. I really do like how the first film in this franchise revolving around Jason Vorhees and his iconic hockey mask, doesn't even make an appearance here. He doesn't appear until the sequels. It does create some questions as to how the killer was able to overpower and kill these teenagers, but hey ho, this is a dumb slasher film. I'd be stupid to argue about logic in a series where the killer is able to transfer his conscious into other people who a demonic slug.
There's so little to pick apart here. It's a derivative and forgettable slasher with some fun kills and a surprising twist. Nothing more, nothing less. I do want to revisit the sequels at some point, but from aside from funky opening titles to Part 3, I have very little desire to go there.
5/10 Dans
Friday the 13th is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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