Friday the 13th (1980) Halloween Advent 2022

Rating 18
Length 1h35
Release 05.08.1980
Director Sean S Cunningham
About A group of counsellors are brutally killed one by one at a summer camp held at the Camp Crystal Lake, when the entrepreneur Steve Christie reopens the site, which was shut for years.
Moon: Full moon for both 1958 and 1980 ‘present’ sequences
Where to Watch: Rental on Prime (It’s the only one you can’t get without additional payment)
Trailer:

Trick

• They fucking killed the snake! That snake was actually beheaded on set. I don’t care how scary an animal is, you do not kill it for ‘entertainment’.
• The full moons in most time frames. 4th July 1958 did not have a full moon, it was in its waning gibbous phase. While the film states 13th June “present day”, I can confirm that 1980 did not produce a full moon.
  Yes, full moons are pretty and make for a good “shot”, but for fuck’s sake, ya boring!
• The “killer POV” was a little too much for me. Specially when it comes to driving the cook to camp. I get it, you don’t want to reveal the killer but how the fuck did they not crash the car while looking at her for so long.
• They say if you don’t suspect the person who is revealed as the killer, you’ve not done a good job. At least that’s what they say about books.
  What I’m going to say about films? If you’re going to have a female killer, you have to use women in all the filming of the deaths. It’s obviously a man in every death scene until the reveal.
  Mrs Vorhees threw a 90lb girl through a window?! pffft. She lifted a man and pinned him to the door with arrows, at close range? Now, I know there are sequels and that Jason lives. However, I’m watching this movie, for the first time. I’m not buying it.
  Maybe, just maybe, if the ‘dream’ Alice had involved an adult Jason and not ‘a boy’ as she describes I might have bought into the idea that it was him doing the killing and mummy dearest was there just to clean up.

Treat

• Ki ki ki ma ma ma ma. Holy crap, Leo meme, “That’s what that reference was!”. That music cue is genius. It’s chilling and works in the exact same way as the Jaws theme. It puts you on edge and lets you know what’s coming. Perfect.
• The deaths are quite unique in a way. For example, I was expecting the cook to be the final girl from how we were introduced to her. Then how each individual was killed in isolation. It wasn’t until the final act really that the characters knew anything was amiss. That put the audience in a rather voyeuristic, yet powerless, position.
• Young Kevin Bacon was a treat and while his death seemed completely improbable (no one could put something like that through as slowly as it was done with the space they would have had under the bed), it sure was fun.

Final Thoughts

A little too flawed and way too hyped for me to enjoy fully. That said, it’s a great premise and the use of music is perfect.