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Friday the 13th (1980)

A group of camp counselors is stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp which, years before, was the site of a child's drowning.

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2,084 ( 64)
5 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Jeannine Taylor ...
Robbi Morgan ...
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Harry Crosby ...
Laurie Bartram ...
...
Ned
Peter Brouwer ...
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Ronn Carroll ...
...
Walt Gorney ...
Willie Adams ...
Debra S. Hayes ...
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Storyline

One summer at Camp Crystal Lake, a group of young counselors begin to get ready to lead campers. Unfortunately for the former, someone isn't happy about what's going on in the camp and enjoys playing kill the counselor. As bodies fall to the ground in the camp, no one is safe. Written by FilmFanUK

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Lucky 13? I think not. See more »


Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

9 May 1980 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A Long Night at Camp Blood  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$550,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$37,465,200 (USA)
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Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a township named Voorhees, New Jersey, which is about eight miles away from Haddonfield, New Jersey, which was inspiration for the fictional town where the movie Halloween (1978) took place. The documentary Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006) shows a picture of a road sign that lists Voorhees right under Haddonfield. The township was named for Foster McGowan Voorhees, the governor of New Jersey from 1899 to 1902. The surname "Voorhees" is of Dutch heritage, and is also a common family in New Jersey. See more »

Goofs

When Alice is lying down on the couch and is having a conversation with Bill, we see neither her, or Bill's mouth move. See more »

Quotes

Jack: Come on. I love you.
Marcie: But what about Ned?
Jack: I don't love Ned.
See more »

Crazy Credits

We see giant letters proclaiming 'Friday the 13th' moving towards the screen and crashing into and smashing a pane of glass. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Dead Snow (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

Sail Away, Tiny Sparrow
Performed by Angela Rotella
Written by Harry Manfredini and John R. Briggs (uncredited)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
A Date to Remember
2 August 2006 | by (Essex) – See all my reviews

Friday the 13th. The movie which turned around the horror genre and gave us one of the most unforgettable villains and endings, is, and always will be a horror classic. Friday the 13th doesn't set out to be glossy and glamorous. Friday the 13th sets out to do what it wants to do; and that is, make you sit on the edge of your seat, feel uncomfortable and unnerved, to make you frightened when you go to bed after watching it. Friday the 13th delivers all of the fantastic horror goods. The plot revolves around American teenagers, who are the new counsellors at the apparently jinxed Camp Crystal Lake. These naive, horny youngsters have a one-track mind and break all of the innocent borders which has more depth than you would think. Basically, the message is "Don't have pre-marital sex, or you'll die" just like many of Friday the 13th's predecessors and clones send out as well. Friday the 13th has a variety of characters, all who you could possibly relate to. These characters are then slowly followed and hacked off one by one, in dark, gory, claustrophobic manners, which may leave you frightened in the same way Psycho made showers scary. As the camp counsellors are knocked off one by one, the tension rises higher and higher. Along the journey of carnage, the hugely effective soundtrack really creeps under your skin, highlighting how jumpy and scary the events happening on screen really are. For example when a chase scene occurs, the music may speed up, the tempo rising and jittering, almost moving like the characters on screen are. The acting in Friday the 13th is not bad at all; some of the actors/actresses may be a little amateur, but there is nothing terrible in this picture. The settings are also very effective. The stalkings and slaying in broad daylight and open spaces are a twist in a new direction, showing that not everything has to happen in the dark, in a small isolated house on the top of a hill, so the variation of location makes forests, cabins and even lakes more unappealing to the viewers afterwards, and may leave them creeped out by the aforementioned places. The camera-work is also very effective. The way the camera 'stalks' the victim behind trees and bushes, and the way the camera chases after it's victims as the point of view of the villain is unique and exciting, and adds a more tense and faster chill to the movie. Friday the 13th may play as a clichéd slasher, a story of sex equalling carnage, but it plays so effectively well it is a too important horror movie to simply be dismissed. It collects everything appealing about the 80's horror genre and wraps it up neatly into this fantastic horror package. A classic in it's genre.


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