Friday the 13th (1980)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Sean S. Cunningham

Writer:

Victor Miller (written by)

Release Date:

9 May 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

On Friday The 13th, They Began To Die Horribly, One......By One (UK - Theatrical Tagline)

Plot:

Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to re-open a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning.

Plot Keywords:

Lake | Summer | Camp Counselor | Murder | Revenge

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Betsy Palmer	...	Mrs. Voorhees
Adrienne King	...	Alice
Jeannine Taylor	...	Marcie
Robbi Morgan	...	Annie
Kevin Bacon	...	Jack
Harry Crosby	...	Bill
Laurie Bartram	...	Brenda
Mark Nelson	...	Ned
Peter Brouwer	...	Steve Christy
Rex Everhart	...	The Truck Driver
Ronn Carroll	...	Sgt. Tierney
Ron Millkie	...	Officer Dorf
Walt Gorney	...	Crazy Ralph
Willie Adams	...	Barry
Debra S. Hayes	...	Claudette

Also Known As:

A Long Night at Camp Blood (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1980) | Finland:K-18 (2002) | Portugal:M/18 | New Zealand:R16 | Hungary:18 | Portugal:M/16 (re-rating) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | France:-12 (DVD rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | France:-16 | Iceland:(Banned) | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Norway:16 (heavily cut) | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 (DVD uncut version) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R (Reg. No. 25901) | West Germany:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Singapore:M18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Blairstown, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Georgetown Productions Inc.

Trivia:

One critic was so angry at Betsy Palmer's role in the movie (which had angered many of her fans), that he published her address in his magazine, and encouraged people to write her and protest her. He published the wrong address.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Annie is approaching the dog at the gas station, the dog is looking directly at Annie. In the close-up, the dog is looking back behind him as Annie takes off her backpack and starts to talk to the dog.

Quotes:

Steve Christy: Well, hi. What are you doing out in this mess?
[Pamela stabs him]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Psychos in Love (1987)

The original horror classic!

In 1980, two years after "Halloween" scared the hell out of everybody, "Friday the 13th" was released to theaters. This was a clever knockoff of the John Carpenter horror classic, only this one was more violent and gruesome. That aspect turned critics off big time. But moviegoers couldn't resist. They flocked to see this movie and made it a big hit. I never saw this film on the big screen because I was only 9 years old when it came out. After I saw it on cable a few years later, it scared the hell out of me! It doesn't scare me that much today, but it's a far more effective horror/thriller than the last five movies in the series (parts 5 through 9). They should have stopped making these "Friday the 13th" movies after the fourth film, which was subtitled "The Final Chapter". And you know what's even scarier, they're making part 10. "Friday the 13th" was the beginning of the sick slasher genre that played out during the early 1980s. The first films in both the "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" series' were easily the best. "Halloween" was a great horror film. "Friday the 13th" isn't up there with "Halloween", but it's a well-crafted gorefest.

*** (out of four)