Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th is interesting to revisit because the original movie is very different from what the franchise eventually became. When most people picture this series, they think of Jason wearing a hockey mask and taking out counselors in increasingly elaborate ways. The 1980 film is much more of a mystery slasher, and I think it's worth appreciating on those terms rather than expecting the formula the sequels established.

The setting is wonderfully simple. A group of young counselors is preparing to reopen Camp Crystal Lake, despite warnings that the place has a terrible history. You know something is going to go wrong, but the movie takes its time introducing the characters and building the sense that someone is watching them. It's a familiar setup now, yet it helped establish many of the things audiences associate with camp slashers.

I also like the way the film hides its killer. A lot of the attacks are presented from the murderer's perspective, so you don't have the iconic masked figure stomping after people. That makes it more of a whodunit. You start considering the people around the camp, but the movie doesn't give you a long lineup of obvious suspects. In fact, some potential possibilities are removed from the equation pretty quickly.

The music is another reason the film works. Harry Manfredini's score has such an unmistakable identity, and it adds urgency to scenes where the characters may not even realize they're in danger. The effects and kills are impressive for the time, and the cast is better than people sometimes give these early slashers credit for.

I grew up with this franchise, so I don't come to the original expecting to be surprised by where it goes. What I enjoy is seeing the foundation before Jason became a horror icon. It's a lean, effective slasher that understands suspense and mystery.

I still think the later Jason movies have a different kind of appeal, but that doesn't make this one less important or entertaining. Friday the 13th is a classic in its own right, and it holds up surprisingly well when you approach it as the film it actually is.

I have always said Jason is one of my favorite horror killers, so I felt a little silly realizing how different the original Friday the 13th is from the movies I know. I knew there was a twist about who the killer was, but I still pictured somebody in the familiar Jason-style outfit going around camp and killing people. That isn't how this movie works at all.

The original is much more of a mystery. You see people at a summer camp, and then someone starts killing them, but you don't really get to see who is doing it. I thought that was interesting because it makes you look at the characters and wonder who might be responsible. There aren't a lot of obvious suspects, though. Every time I thought somebody might be involved, the movie seemed to take that person out of the running.

I also liked the cast. Kevin Bacon was fun to see so young, and I thought the acting was better than I expected from an older slasher. I know movies from this period don't always look or sound like modern horror, but I didn't have trouble getting into the story.

The movie wasn't especially scary for me now. There are some good scenes and kills, but it's not the wild Jason movie where somebody is getting picked up and thrown around. The violence feels more straightforward, and the emphasis is on finding out who the killer is. That's a very different experience.

I can understand why people love this movie, especially if they saw it when it was new. It set up a whole franchise and gave the world one of horror's most recognizable names, even if the character everybody pictures didn't really arrive until later.

I enjoyed finally watching the original with a better understanding of what it is. I still love the later Jason movies for their outrageous kills, but I can appreciate the mystery and atmosphere here. It's a good classic slasher, and I'm glad I went back to the beginning.