Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

Director:

Steve Miner

Writer:

Ron Kurz (writer)

Release Date:

1 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The body count continues...

Plot:

Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the imfamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant. Is it Mrs. Voorhee's son Jason who didn't drown in the lake some 30 years before?

Plot Keywords:

Crystal Lake | Murder | Jason Voorhees | Ice Pick | Death

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Amy Steel	...	Ginny Field
John Furey	...	Paul Holt
Adrienne King	...	Alice Hardy
Kirsten Baker	...	Terry
Stuart Charno	...	Ted (as Stu Charno)
Warrington Gillette	...	Jason Voorhees (Unmasked Scene)
Walt Gorney	...	Crazy Ralph
Marta Kober	...	Sandra
Tom McBride	...	Mark
Bill Randolph	...	Jeffrey
Lauren-Marie Taylor	...	Vicky
Russell Todd	...	Scott
Betsy Palmer	...	Mrs. Pamela Voorhees (also archive footage)
Cliff Cudney	...	Maxwell
Jack Marks	...	Cop

Also Known As:

Friday the 13th Part II (USA) (trailer title)
Jason (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Netherlands:16 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2008) | Brazil:14 | UK:X (original rating) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2009) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Finland:(Banned) | France:-16 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #26254) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Italy:VM14 | Mexico:C | Finland:K-18 (re-rating) (2002) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Norway:18 (1985) (cut version) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

KenWood Camp, Kent, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Georgetown Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Following the release of the movie, Adrienne King had numerous encounters with an obsessive fan. The situation escalated into a stalker case, and she decided to avoid any further acting opportunities. She has not done any on-screen film work since, but has done voice over work on several films more than 15 years later.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Scott is dancing with Muffin, his shirt collar is up on the close-up shots, but changes to down in the shot through the window.

Quotes:

Ginny Field: [to Paul] There is someone in this room.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Friday the 13th (2009)

Much Better Than the Original

The sequel to the woefully remedial "Friday the 13th" improves on the original film, which is sort of like saying slightly curdled milk is an improvement on really curdled milk, but I digress.

Part 2 is better if only because Jason is the actual killer, not that weird androgynous mother lady. He wears a really creepy pillow case or something over his head instead of his hockey mask, and it's actually a scarier effect than the more iconic image--he should have stuck with it. There's a long prologue in which the only survivor from the first film eventually gets an ice pick in the forehead, but only after she's been repeatedly scared by the phone, a cat, etc. This opening is actually pretty nerve-racking, and it sets the tone for the rest of the movie, in which the kills are more original than the first (I'm a particular fan of the handicapped kid who gets a machete in the face and then is sent bouncing down some garden steps in his wheelchair) and the nudity is more bountiful and gratuitous. I'm not even going to try to justify my enjoyment of slasher movies---they speak to the basest instincts in all of us and are really morally repellent, but, hey, I like what I like.

One of the better episodes in the interminable series.

Grade: C+