Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, Kevin Bacon, Harry Crosby.
Director: Sean S.Cunningham.
And we're off on a massive eleven-film adventure of murder and mayhem with the almost absurdly prolific Friday The 13th franchise. I have no idea if I have the capability to analyze these(or if they're actually capable of analysis), but I'll see what I can do. It happens to be Friday the 13th today, so I couldn't ignore this franchise, even if I don't have the time to get more than two or three in today.
Friday The 13th came after slasher staples like Black Christmas and Halloween and obviously learned a thing or two from those superior films. The only true innovation of these films is more blood-the beginning of Tom Savini's inspired career-and sex, which were kept to a minimum in North American horror cinema (though Italy was rocking a lot of it) at the time.
I'd like to say that the movie is inventing the concept of townspeople getting quiet and glaring at outsiders...but I live in Maine. Go a few hours north of where I'm from and that's basically all that happens. These townspeople are actually okay after a minute or two, one of them even offering the poor young lady a ride.
I've said it before but, if I ever have the misfortune of getting truly old in this life, I want to be a "real prophet of doom" like Ralph. There doesn't even have to be a town legend or scandal: I'll just wander around yelling "It's got a death curse" when kids want to go to the mall or something.
The truck driver probably gives the best performance in this film, really: his impassioned "quit now" speech-which also offers some pretty sly exposition(mentions the drowning, the murders, a bunch of fires...things have been going wrong up at Camp Blood for awhile)-is actually pretty interesting and endearing. The scene itself is as simple as it gets, but there's no reason to expect cinematic wonders in a teen slasher movie.
Yes, yes, Kevin Bacon is in this and he dies.
The introduction of Alice is well handled...I think there might be some subtle stuff happening there: Steve Christy either is or wants to be screwing young Alice, but she might need to "go back to California and straighten something out" which...is interesting. What does she need to straighten out? I think she might be pregnant...it's never explicitly stated, so it's anyone's guess, but that's always been my theory.
The kids in this film have always seemed pretty interchangeable to me, one of the things that will always put it below many of it's predecessors and contemporaries. Other than Alice (and Kevin Bacon, but only because he's actually famous now, and even then I don't know what his characters name is) nobody really stands out. That said: there are a couple of scenes that actually do kind of develop them as actual people. While out swimming, one of them pretends to drown...it's one of the oldest horror movie bits ever, but what stands out is how the kids leap into action. If nothing else, it's clear why they were hired as counselors. They might be idiots, but they're mostly capable idiots.
The other sequence is Alice discovering a snake in her cabin: the kids come running, one of seemingly endless parade of men with dark, curly hair has a machete and is asked to kill the snake. The group begins to joke around, building some comradery, and then the snake is killed and everyone gets kinda quiet...there's something about it, despite it's total lack of actual narrative importance.
Death scenes fade to white instead of black. It's interesting.
Strip monopoly sounds kinda fun...if playing Monopoly is ever fun. Which I'm not sure it ever is. That game takes a hundred years to finish.
Kevin Bacon's girlfriend is probably the closest we have to an actual character besides Alice, and her death scene is presented as such. The creeping camera push-in as she attempts to get the faucets to work is nicely done...actually, a lot of the cinematography is actually pretty well done in this film. Cunningham likes to keep the camera moving, with a lot of quick cuts, and it mostly works. The real trouble is in the slightness of story and character, because there really isn't any sympathy, but other than that there's a sense of energy to all of it. Plus, y'know, good make-up effects from Savini.
After the death of Bacon's Girlfriend, things just kind of spin their wheels. I'm not entirely sure why Mr.Kristy is shown: I always thought that leaving him as a potential suspect for the killings was a better move. But we watch him get some coffee at a diner and get a ride back from the police, with neither scene really driving much more narrative.
Adrienne King gives a pretty decent performance, even when she isn't actually doing anything of note. There's an interesting non-scene of her making coffee and just looking around...she's nervous, she's worried, she's confused...she gives a lot of emotion without saying a word. Cunningham once again keeps the camera moving, even when his characters are standing still. The movements are always considerably more dynamic when the character begins to move as well, such as the camera following Alice as she runs around the room attempting to secure herself indoors away from the still-unseen killer.
Those Voorhees folks are such show-offs. They just have to leave bodies laying around where their work can be fully appreciated, kind of like leaving a blog write-up of Friday The 13th on the internet for someone to one day come across.
Betsy Palmer gives a wonderfully hammy performance as Mrs.Voorhees. It's pretty common knowledge that Palmer didn't want to be there, so I think that makes the performance consderably more impressive. There's a clear "Reverse-Psycho" element going on...again, the influences are pretty clear throughout, and that's not really a bad thing. The chase that occurs is actually pretty interesting in that Cunningham choses to show us what both Alice AND Mrs.Voorhees are doing. It's such a funny thing to see Voorhees bother to go fix the generator.
The actual combat scenes are actually very physical, too: I feel like that goes unnoticed a lot. Watching Mrs.Voorhees just go ahead and strike Alice is interesting to look at. If nothing else, Mrs.Voorhees is among cinema's most aggressive murderers. It makes Alice look great by comparison, too, even if sometimes feels like Alice could probably get away if she tried a little harder...but Alice is frequently able to get the upper hand against her opponent, even utilizing a call back with the pantry (where Ralph had startled her before). The beheading of Mrs.Voorhees might be one of the best defeats of a villain in film, though. Good on you, Alice. But, seriously, it's an excellent effect. Savini really is the best in the business at killing people.
Of course, it'd be silly of me not to comment on the big jump scare of Jason leaping out of the water onto Alice. It's a big moment, and is definitely a smart move: it certainly left an impression on audiences as they left theaters.
Final Thoughts: It's a little strange that this film was so successful, really. It's not particularly good. It's bloody, though, and maybe that's all it took. Right place, right time I suppose. The third act is particularly ferocious, which I suppose was also pretty new at the time, and probably left a good memory in the minds of audiences. It certainly created a cult phenomenon, for better or worse, that led to twelve different films(to date: more stuff is supposed to be coming), video games and every thing else. But, for a basic slasher film it's pretty solid. Like I said: pretty damn good third act.
Final Rating: Three Stars.
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