DVD Review: FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

Title: FRIDAY THE 13^th

Year of Release—Film: 1980

Year of Release—DVD: 1999

DVD Label: Paramount Home Video

In the world full of Horror Franchises, none have stood the test of time as well as the FRIDAY THE 13^th franchise. Twelve films, a TV series, video games… for 29 years now, Sean Cunningham’s iconic slasher Jason Voorhees has dominated the modern Horror scene, outdistancing even his closest competitors, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger. However, few remember that, when it all began, before there was a killer named Jason, there was his grief-deranged mother Pamela, and the first blood-bath at Camp Crystal Lake.

Following the success of John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN, which major studios ignored but went on to earn millions—in a series of regional releases—for Cannon, the heads of the various majors began to reconsider their objection to distributing Horror Films, especially Slasher films. Paramount was the first out of the gate, with a low-budget film written and directed by Sean Cunningham. Cunningham, who made a name for himself producing Wes Craven’s LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT in 1972, took a different approach to the Slasher Film than Carpenter had with HALLOWEEN. While Carpenter had built his movie on suspense, minimizing the blood and gore, Cunningham hit the viewer head on with them, in new, imaginative ways.

The plot, what there is of it, is almost superfluous. It exists merely to place the characters into the situations that lead to their violent, gory deaths. Decades after two camp counselors were brutally murdered at Camp Crystal Lake, the son of the original owners decides to reopen it for the Summer season. With the help of some teen-agers from the city, he begins to ready Camp Blood, as the locals have christened it, for a new group of campers. However, soon his counselors start to disappear into the woods surrounding the camp, as Camp Blood begins to live up to its ominous nickname.

There are many reasons that this film became the standard-bearer for the Slasher sub-genre—the inventive, over-the-top death scenes, the huge body count, the copious amounts of blood, gore and nudity—all no doubt contributed greatly to the film’s success. The film is very much an American Giallo, sharing many features and plot devices with those staples of Italian cinema. Indeed, many similarities exist between FRIDAY THE 13^TH and Mario Bava’s classic 1971 thriller REAZIONE A CATENA ~aka~ A BAY OF BLOOD. The setting by the water, the creative modes of inflicting death upon the ever-growing body count, and the shock ending are only a few of these similarities.

Paramount Home Video’s 1999 DVD has been superseded by a newer release with additional materials, nice to have but not really necessary. The original presentation is adequate for viewing the movie, and, as it came in a set of the first three films in the franchise, for less than $10, I have no complaints about the paucity of features on the disc. Paramount Home Video seldom goes overboard on bonuses for it’s customers, and this disc is certainly no exception to that rule.

Still, as I said it is sufficient for viewing the film, and that film is one of the seminal movies of the Slasher genre. Not as good as HALLOWEEN certainly; and we wouldn’t gain the series’ iconic “man in the mask” until the sequel a year later, in the person of Jason Voorhees. That sequel would transform its predecessor, a little, low-budget summer movie that defied critics, astounded studio executives, and amazed audiences, into a franchise that is still going strong today. The importance of FRIDAY THE 13^TH, Pt. II notwithstanding, the original is by far the better movie. It’s also a film that every Horror fan must own in some form.