Friday the 13th (1980)

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:

Victor Miller admitted that he was purposely riding off the success of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978).

Goofs:

Continuity: After Alice goes back to the cabin and stares at Brenda's body the blood coming from the right side of the chest has changed from the left side when Brenda was originally thrown in.

Quotes:

Officer Dorf: You kids keep your noses clean, you understand? You'll be hearing from me if you don't! We ain't gonna stand for any weirdness out here!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

A Classic, genre defining

Without a doubt, the work of Cunningham and Carpenter during 1978 & 1980 rocked the world of the horror genre. Friday the 13th is one of the films that to this day still has repercussions. It demonstrated the importance of setting the tone in horror movies, making the audience themselves feel as if they too were being stalked. Cunningham also was one of the few directors to introduce the idea of a possible female serial killer.

Without this film, Scream's Randy would have never uttered those famous words, 'There are certain rules to surviving a horror movie..' This film combined with Carpenter's Halloween, firmly etched the rules in stone. The creepy music, the infamous "ch-ch-ch-ha-ha-ha", the crude photography and the graphic depiction of the murders of the counsellors all blend together to give a classic piece of film history. It scared the hell out of multitudes of teenagers who, in many instances could see themselves in the victims of the stalker. These weren't bad people getting killed, these were just your typical average American kids, having a good time, getting picked off.

That is what makes this film so defining, that is why, for all its crude and harsh imagery, this is a classic. This is why alot of recent attempts at horror don't measure up. It's not the effects or the blood necessarily, it's the atmosphere and the familiarity that bring it home.It is more frightening to think, "That could be me"