They were warned….
Today’s Classic Horror features the first film in one of the most successful horror franchises of all time, 1980’s Friday The 13th. The film turned forty years old on May 9th of this year, so it’s fitting that I should highlight the movie that started it all for Jason Voorhees even though he isn’t the central character nor the primary villain in this film.
Just in case you are wondering, there are spoilers ahead!
The film is actually a pretty generic slasher flick. A group of attractive young people arrive at Camp Crystal Lake in order to help its current owner, Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer), refurbish and clean up the grounds in order to open up for summer camp. Unfortunately for the group, the locals in the nearby town believe that the camp is cursed. They warn the youngsters about “Camp Blood” and all of the horrible things that happened there ever since a young boy drowned and a young couple was murdered the following year. Despite the warnings, the group moves ahead with their work. One by one, they are picked off by a murderer who is never shown on camera. When there’s only one person left, the villain is finally revealed to be the mother of Jason Voorhees, the young boy who drowned in the lake many years before.
Betsy Palmer starred as the insane Pamela Voorhees, driven to murder by the voice of her son. Adrienne King portrayed Alice Hardy, the final girl in the film and the one who faces off with Mrs. Voorhees. She also gets a spooky surprise during a dream sequence at the end of the film. It introduces the world to Jason Voorhees (Ari Lehman) sans the hockey mask that would make him famous. The film also starred Kevin Bacon in one of his earliest roles, Harry Crosby III, son of Bing Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Jeannine Taylor, and Mark Nelson. Also appearing briefly in the film as a camp counselor who is murdered on her way to the camp is Robbi Morgan as Annie Phillips.
The film was criticized by the MPAA for its violence which, by today’s standards, is actually pretty tame. The movie was also criticized for exploiting the young cast by having them run around in underwear and shirtless at points and a brief scene involving nudity. Again, by today’s standards, especially when compared to more modern slasher films, this movie is very tame. Critics of the time panned the film for numerous reasons, some that were actually warranted. As I already mentioned, the film was a fairly basic slasher film. The acting wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. What really gets me is how many critics were angered and/or couldn’t believe that an elderly woman could pull off all of the murders in the film. Many critics didn’t like the fact that a woman was the killer, either.
The movie would go on to produce a seemingly endless chain of sequels, one that even happens in the future aboard a spaceship (Jason X, 2002). In 2003, much to the delight of horror fans, Jason faced off against A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Freddy Krueger in Freddy Vs. Jason. The franchise was rebooted in 2009 but there has yet to be a sequel to that film. A television show was released in 1987 and ran for three seasons. It followed two cousins who ran an antique store and collected cursed items to safely store away. It had no connection with the film series despite being called Friday The 13th: The Series. There have been books, video games, action figures, and much, much more paraphernalia that has been released over the last forty years as well. The franchise has shown to be one of the most profitable horror properties in history. It is second only to the Halloween franchise and only gave up the top spot in 2018.
Of the cast, only Kevin Bacon went on to have a massively successful career. Many of the actors went on to have minor roles in film and television and a few have had solid voice acting careers. Adrienne King became the focus of a stalker and, as a result, left the United States to study art and dance. She eventually returned and began doing voice work, afraid to show her face on camera. She has slowly returned to acting on screen in small roles.
If you’ve never watched any of the Friday the 13th films, give this one a look. It’s a standard slasher film but it’s still worth checking out because of the films and franchise growth that would follow.
Thanks for taking a trip to Camp Crystal Lake with me today. I plan on taking a look at a couple of other films in the franchise in my Classic Horror series.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 