Friday the 13th is a 1980 American slasher horror film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller. The film concerns a group of teenagers who are murdered one-by-one while attempting to re-open an abandoned campsite and stars Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, and Kevin Bacon in one of his earliest roles.

Friday the 13th, inspired by the success of John Carpenter's Halloween,^[2]:11–12 was made on an estimated budget of $550,000.^{[1]:314–315} Released by Paramount Pictures in the United States and Warner Bros. internationally, the film received negative reviews from film critics, but grossed over $39.7 million at the box office in the United States,^[2]:60 and went on to become one of the most-profitable slasher films in cinema history. It was also the first movie of its kind to secure distribution in the USA by a major studio, Paramount Pictures.^[3] The film's box office success led to a long series of sequels, a crossover with the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and a series reboot released on February 13, 2009.

Plot[link]

In the summer of 1958, two counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, Barry (Willie Adams) and Claudette (Debra S. Hayes), are murdered by an unseen assailant after they sneak away to a cabin to have sex. As the film jumps to present day Friday, June 13, the camp is being re-opened by Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer). Annie (Robbi Morgan), one of the teens who will be a counselor at the camp, is hitchhiking to Crystal Lake and is given a lift by a friendly truck driver, Enos (Rex Everhart), after asking for directions at a local diner. She is warned by the town crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney) that the camp is cursed and is also warned by Enos who tells her about the murders of 1958, among other strange happenings. After being driven part of the distance to the camp, Annie dismisses the warnings when she leaves and continues to Crystal Lake, later being picked up by an unseen driver in a Jeep. As the driver speeds past the entrance to the camp, Annie becomes concerned and leaps from the moving vehicle when the driver fails to stop, fleeing into the woods. The unseen driver chases her into the woods and slits her throat with a hunting knife.

Meanwhile, several other counselors have been hired to help Steve with the camp, including Alice (Adrienne King), Bill (Harry Crosby), Marcie (Jeannine Taylor), Jack (Kevin Bacon), Brenda (Laurie Bartram), and Ned (Mark Nelson). The counselors begin refurbishing and renovating the camp as Steve heads off to get supplies in town. Ned follows a figure wearing a black rain slicker he sees disappearing into an old cabin and is never seen alive again. Jack and Marcie take refuge in a bunkhouse and have sex, unaware that Ned's corpse (with a slit throat) rests on the upper bunk. Marcie then leaves for the bathroom, while Jack stays and smokes a marijuana joint. The unseen figure shoves an arrow through his throat from under the bed, then murders Marcie in the bathroom with a hatchet to her head.

Meanwhile, Steve's Jeep gets stuck in mud and he is escorted back to camp by a police officer. Upon arrival at the camp, Steve is murdered by the same attacker, although Steve appears to know the person. After playing strip Monopoly, Brenda is murdered while walking back to her cabin after hearing a child-like voice calling "Help me!" from the woods. Hearing her scream, Bill and Alice go to investigate but only find a bloody axe in Brenda's bed.

After discovering the phone lines have been cut and Ned's truck won't start, Bill leaves to check the generator. When he fails to return, Alice searches for him, finds his corpse pinned to a door with arrows and flees back to her cabin. After barricading herself in the cabin, Brenda's roped corpse is hurled through the window, forcing Alice to run back outside only to meet a middle-aged woman who identified herself as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer). As Alice begins to tell Mrs. Voorhees about the murders, Mrs. Voorhees tells Alice about her son Jason who had drowned in the lake at the camp years before. Blaming camp counselors who were not watching her son, Mrs. Voorhees charges at Alice with a knife, and Alice realizes that Mrs. Voorhees is the killer.

A lengthy chase ensues in which Alice appears to subdue Mrs. Voorhees several times and finds the dead bodies of Steve and Annie in the process. Facing off near the shore of the lake, Alice manages to finally defeat Mrs. Voorhees, decapitating her with a machete. With Mrs. Voorhees dead, Alice climbs in a canoe and floats onto the lake.

The next morning, Alice wakes to find police officers on the shore. However, as Alice continues to float in the canoe, the decayed corpse of Jason (Ari Lehman), Mrs. Voorhees's son, leaps up from the surface and pulls Alice underwater. Suddenly, Alice awakes in the hospital, the previous scene with Jason having been a nightmare. Alice asks about Jason, but when the officer explains that no child was found at the camp, Alice replies, "Then he's still there."

Cast[link]

• Adrienne King as Alice Hardy
• Harry Crosby as Bill
• Laurie Bartram as Brenda
• Jeannine Taylor as Marcie Cunningham
• Kevin Bacon as Jack Burrell
• Mark Nelson as Ned Rubinstein
• Peter Brouwer as Steve Christy
• Robbi Morgan as Annie
• Betsy Palmer as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees
• Ari Lehman as Jason Voorhees (child)
• Walt Gorney as Crazy Ralph
• Rex Everhart as Enos the truck driver
• Debra S. Hayes as Claudette
• Willie Adams as Barry

Production[link]

Development[link]

Friday the 13th was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, who had previously worked with filmmaker Wes Craven on the film The Last House on the Left. Cunningham, inspired by John Carpenter's Halloween, and films by Mario Bava, wanted Friday the 13th to be shocking, visually stunning, and "[make] you jump out of your seat." Wanting to distance himself from The Last House on the Left, Cunningham wanted Friday the 13th to be more of a "roller-coaster ride".^[2]:11–12

This film was intended to be "a real scary movie" and at the same time make the audience laugh. Friday the 13th began its life as nothing more than a title. Initially, "Long Night at Camp Blood" was the working title during the writing process, but Cunningham believed in his "Friday the 13th" moniker, and quickly rushed out to place an advertisement in Variety. Worried that someone else owned the rights to the title and wanting to avoid potential lawsuits, Cunningham thought it would be best to find out immediately. He commissioned a New York advertising agency to develop his concept of the Friday the 13th logo, which consisted of big block letters bursting through a pane of glass.^[2]:15–16 In the end, Cunningham believed there were "no problems" with the title, but distributor George Mansour stated, "There was a movie before ours called Friday the 13th: The Orphan. It was moderately successful. But someone still threatened to sue. Either Phil Scuderi paid them off, but it was finally resolved."^[1]:17 The film was shot in and around the townships of Blairstown and Hope, New Jersey in the fall (September) of 1979. The camp scenes were shot on a working Boy Scout camp, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco. The camp is still standing and still works as a summer camp.^[4]

Writing[link]

The script was written by Victor Miller, who has gone on to write for several television soap operas, including Guiding Light, One Life to Live and All My Children. Miller delighted in inventing a serial killer who turned out to be somebody's mother, a murderer whose only motivation was her love for her child. "I took motherhood and turned it on its head and I think that was great fun. Mrs. Voorhees was the mother I'd always wanted—a mother who would have killed for her kids." Miller was unhappy about the filmmakers' decision to make Jason Voorhees the killer in the sequels. "Jason was dead from the very beginning. He was a victim, not a villain."^[5] The idea of Jason appearing at the end of the film was initially not used in the original script, and was actually suggested by makeup designer Tom Savini. Savini stated that "The whole reason for the cliffhanger at the end was I had just seen Carrie, so we thought that we need a 'chair jumper' like that and I said, 'let's bring in Jason.'"^[6]

Music[link]

When Harry Manfredini began working on the musical score, the decision was made to only play music when the killer was actually present so as to not "manipulate the audience".^[7] Manfredini pointed out the lack of music for certain scenes: "There's a scene where one of the girls […] is setting up the archery area […] One of the guys shoots an arrow into the target and just misses her. It's a huge scare, but if you notice, there's no music. That was a choice."^[7] Manfredini also noted that when something was going to happen, the music would cut off so that the audience would relax a bit, and the scare would be that much more effective.

Since Mrs. Voorhees, the killer in the original Friday the 13th, appears onscreen only during the final scenes of the film, Manfredini had the job of creating a score that would represent the killer in her absence.^[7] Manfredini borrows from the 1975 film Jaws, where the shark is likewise not seen for the majority of the film but the motif created by John Williams cued the audience to the shark's invisible menace.^[1]:39 Sean S. Cunningham sought a chorus, but the budget would not allow it. While listening to a Krzysztof Penderecki piece of music, which contained a chorus with "striking pronunciations", Manfredini was inspired to recreate a similar sound. He came up with the sound "ki ki ki, ma ma ma" from the final reel when Mrs. Voorhees arrives and is reciting "Kill her, mommy!" The "ki" comes from "kill", and the "ma" from "mommy". To achieve the unique sound he wanted for the film, Manfredini spoke the two words "harshly, distinctly and rhythmically into a microphone" and ran them into an echo reverberation machine.^[7] Manfredini finished the original score after a couple of weeks, and then recorded the score in a friend's basement.^[1]:39 Victor Miller and assistant editor Jay Keuper have commented on how memorable the music is, with Keuper describing it as "iconographic". Manfredini says, "Everybody thinks it's cha, cha, cha. I'm like, 'Cha, cha, cha? What are you talking about?"^[8]

Release[link]

Box office[link]

Paramount bought Friday the 13th's distribution rights for $1.5 million, after seeing a screening of the film. They spent approximately $500,000 in advertisements for the film, and then an additional $500,000 when the film began performing well at the box office.^[2]:59 Friday the 13th opened theatrically on May 9, 1980 across the United States in 1,100 theaters. It took in $5,816,321 in its opening weekend, before finishing domestically with $39,754,601. The film finished as the eighteenth highest grossing film of 1980.^[9] Friday the 13th was released internationally, which was unusual for an independent film with, at the time, no well-recognized or bankable actors; aside from well known television and movie actress Betsy Palmer.^[10] The film would take in approximately $20 million in international box office receipts.^[11] Not factoring in international sales, or the cross-over film with A Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger, the original Friday the 13th is the highest grossing film of the ten film series.^[12] To provide context with the box office gross of films in 2009, the cost of making and promoting Friday the 13th—which includes the $550,000 budget and the $1 million in advertisement—is approximately $4.4 million. With regard to the domestic box office gross, the film would have made $117,917,391 in adjusted 2009 dollars.^[13] In terms of recent box-office performance, Friday the 13th would be the highest grossing horror film of 2008 using the adjusted figures.^[14] On July 13, 2007, Friday the 13th was screened for the first time on Blairstown's Main Street in the very theater which appears shortly after the opening credits.^[4] Overflowing crowds forced the Blairstown Theater Festival, the sponsoring organization, to add an extra screening at 11:00 PM. The event was covered by local media and New York City's Channel 11.^[15] A 30th Anniversary Edition was released on March 5, 2010.^[16]

Critical response[link]

Upon release, Friday the 13th received initially negative reviews from critics but well received from the public. Its most vocal detractor was Gene Siskel who in his review called Cunningham "one of the most despicable creatures ever to infest the movie business".^[1]:45 He also published Betsy Palmer's home address and encouraged fellow detractors to write to her and express their contempt for the film.^[1]:46 Siskel and Roger Ebert spent an entire episode of their TV show berating the film (and other slasher films of the time) because they felt it would make audiences root for the killer.^[17] Leonard Maltin initially awarded the film one star, or 'BOMB', but later changed his mind and awarded the film a star and-a-half stating "...simply because it's slightly better than Part 2." and called it a "...gory, cardboard thriller...one more clue to why SAT scores continue to decline." ^[18] Variety claimed the film was "low-budget in the worst sense—with no apparent talent or intelligence to offset its technical inadequacies—Friday the 13th has nothing to exploit but its title."^[19] The film currently holds a 60% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes (the highest percentage for any film in the series).

The ending sequence of the film was listed at #31 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments,^[20] and the film was voted #15 in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Scariest Moments.^[21]

The film was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills.^[22]

Related works[link]

Sequels[link]

As of 2009, Friday the 13th has spawned ten sequels, including a crossover film with A Nightmare on Elm Street villain Freddy Krueger. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) introduced Jason Voorhees, the son of Mrs. Voorhees, as the primary antagonist, which would continue for the remaining sequels (with exception of the fifth movie) and related works. Most of the sequels were filmed on larger budgets than the original. In comparison, Friday the 13th had a budget of $550,000, while the first sequel was given a budget of $1.25 million.^{[1]:314–315} At the time of its release, Freddy vs. Jason had the largest budget, at $25 million.^[23] All of the sequels repeated the premise of the original, so the filmmakers made tweaks to provide freshness. Changes involved an addition to the title—as opposed to a number attached to the end—like "The Final Chapter" and "Jason Takes Manhattan", or filming the movie in 3-D, as Miner did for Friday the 13th Part III (1982).^[1]:73–74 One major addition that would affect the entire film series was the addition of Jason's hockey mask in the third film; this mask would become one of the most recognizable images in popular culture.^[24] Cunningham did not direct any of the film's sequels, though he did act as producer on the later installments; he initially did not want Jason Voorhees to be resurrected for the sequel.^{[citation needed]}

A reboot to Friday the 13th came to theaters in February 2009, with Freddy vs. Jason writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift hired to script the new film.^[25] The film focused on Jason Voorhees, along with his trademark hockey-mask.^[26] The film was produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller through Bay's production company Platinum Dunes, for New Line Cinema.^[25] In November 2007, Marcus Nispel, director of the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was hired to direct.^[27] The film had its United States release on February 13, 2009.^[28]

Adaptations[link]

In 1987, seven years after the release of the motion picture, Simon Hawke produced a novelization of Friday the 13th.^[29] One of the few additions to the book was Mrs. Voorhees begging the Christy family to take her back after the loss of her son; they agreed.^[29]:164-168 Another addition in the novel is more understanding in Mrs. Voorhees' actions. Hawke felt the character had attempted to move on when Jason died, but her psychosis got the best of her. When Steve Christy reopened the camp, Mrs. Voorhees saw it as a chance that what happened to her son could happen again. Her murders were against the counselors, because she saw them all as responsible for Jason's death.^[2]:50

A number of scenes from the film were recreated in Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale, a two-issue comic book prequel released by WildStorm in 2007.

Uncut DVD and Blu-ray releases[link]

On February 3, 2009, Paramount Home Entertainment released Friday the 13th on a unrated uncut home video version for the first time in the United States (all previous VHS and DVD releases were the rated theatrical version). It is available on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The uncut version of the film contains approximately 10 seconds of previously unreleased footage. In 2011, the uncut version of Friday the 13th was released in a 4-Disc DVD collection with the first three sequels.^[30]

Soundtrack releases[link]

In 1982, Gramavision Records released a LP album of selected pieces of Harry Manfredini's scores from the first three Friday the 13th films.^[31] On January 13, 2012, La-La Land Records released a limited edition 6-CD boxset containing Manfredini's scores from the first six films. It sold out in less than 24 hours.^[32]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Friday the 13th (1980 film)

• Friday the 13th at the Internet Movie Database
• Friday the 13th at AllRovi
• Friday the 13th at Rotten Tomatoes
• Friday the 13th at Box Office Mojo
• Interview with Betsy Palmer on the podcast The Future and You (includes anecdotes about working on Friday the 13th)
• Official website for the friday the 13th films