Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

As a child, I was not allow to watch any of these movies, as they are R rated horror flicks that contains nudity, violence, etc. I do remember one of my vague memories when "Friday the 13th: Part 3" came on TNN before it became Spike TV, and Paramount Network, I remember seeing Jason in a hockey mask chasing some girl at a barn. Heck, I remember when my uncle brought a copy of the movie when he rented from a video store, and I sneakily put the tape in to see Jason on an old VHS tape and seeing a brief snippet of him he did look quiet scary. After that, my mother caught me, and I turned it off. Never intend to watch it, I just only wanted to see Jason for a bit and that was it. With that said, here is my review of the first one that started it all, before Jason became the main killer, as well as putting on his iconic hockey, brought back as zombie, going to Manhattan, Hell, space, fighting Freddy Krueger, and being rebooted. The first film's plot is pretty simple, as you have a group of teenagers that are trying to reopen Camp Crystal Lake, but something evil is lurking them as it kills its victims. When I first saw this movie, I really love it, but as time goes by, I began to recognize its flaws. Nevertheless, its far from being a bad movie, and it is not the worst thing ever as critics make it out to be when it first came out. There is a lot of good things to say, where is the bad isn't that much, nor that big of a deal. To start off, I thought that Tom Savini's makeup FX are outstanding, and really is a master at it. The movie does have some great kills such as putting an axe on Jeannine Taylor's face, as well as having an arrow into Kevin Bacon's neck. The music by Harry Manfredini is completely unforgettable, he made that theme sound so iconic and everyone always like to remember that theme, when something bad is about to happen when you hear "Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma." Totally classic. Taking place in the woods is great, and really does have that surreal atmosphere quality as you do feel somewhat unsettle as if you were alone in the woods. The characters I'll admit, aren't really three dimensional as you would seen in other great horror films, but at the end they are still likable. The acting isn't the greatest, but its really not that bad either. They all did fine for what they have to do; the best actors, in my opinion are Adrienne King and Betsy Palmer. For King, she really does have a natural beauty, and for having the girl next door type. Now for Palmer, she is having a blast with this role, and you can't take your eyes off on how fun she is for playing Jason's mother. The plot is simplistic as it needs to be, and the direction by Sean S. Cunningham is very solid. While as much as I love Palmer's performance, it would have been interesting if she had more screen time, if the audiences would have thought that she is a nice woman, before the twist ending is being revealed that she is the killer. Imagine that. Also, while I do love the character of Alice, I do notice a character error, where she runs away from Pamela Voorhees as she gets into the Jeep, but doesn't drive off as she screams by one of the victims that Pam killed. Don't get me wrong, I do love the climax, but for a realistic standpoint, she should know that the Jeep has gas in it, and could have turned the keys over so she can get herself out of there. The Jeep has gas, when Pam first arrives at the camp. Just saying. Lastly, I do love the last scene, which I'll admit, I did get jumped by the last scene, where Jason played by Ari Lehman jumps out off the water to pull Alice into the water. Very scary, to say the least. All in all, no matter what flaws this movie has, "Friday the 13th" is a fun thrill ride that has great kills, scare factors, unforgettable music, and likable characters. I'm giving this movie a 9 out of 10.

(*Movie quote*) - "Kill her, mommy! Kill her!"The one thing that I find the most truly shocking about this 1980 "Slash'n'Gash" maniac-killer movie has nothing at all to do with its brutally high body-count - No way.To me - The most appalling thing about the original "Friday the 13th" is that (filmed on a measly $550,000 budget) - It has since grossed well-over $60 million, worldwide.And - On top of that incomprehensible horror - It has actually spawned 12 sequels (all pale, dismal copy-cats), a TV series, novels, comic books, video games, and, of course, tie-in merchandising, as well. (Anyone looking for an authentic "Jason" hockey mask?)Time and again - Critics have argued that "Friday the 13th" (like others of its kind) prove that movie audiences can be just as indifferent and callous as are the vicious and murderous characters in the story.This is the sort of film that seems to encourage viewers to actually laugh with glee at the hideously brutal Voorhees' murders.Anyway - Watch this one for yourself and you be the judge in regards to what all the fuss was about 38 years ago at Crystal Lake.

'Friday the 13th' may have been panned by critics when first released but since then it is one of the most famous and influential horror films, the franchise containing one of horror's most iconic villains. The film is popular enough to become a franchise and spawn several sequels of varying quality and generally inferior to the one that started it all of. Is 'Friday the 13th' an original film in terms of overall story? No, having been, and still is, compared to 'Halloween' (released two years earlier). One can see why somewhat, it is derivative in a way but to me it didn't come over as a direct rip off. 'Friday the 13th' is far from the best when it comes to acting, excepting Betsy Palmer (very good) and Adrienne King (charming). The others are average at best, though it was interesting to see Kevin Bacon in an early role pre-stardom.Nor is it the best when it comes to dialogue. Much of it is very crude and cheesy. Or character development, while the characters are actually still easy to sympathise with to some extent they are stereotypes that we don't know an awful lot about generally. However, while it may not be a "great" film, 'Friday the 13th' is great guilty pleasure fun and it is very easy to understand its popularity and influence. It's very gory and gruesome, though not pointlessly so, but it is also very frightening and suspenseful. This is apparent in the deaths, which couldn't have been more creative or shocking, and the hauntingly eerie music score. 'Friday the 13th' is assuredly directed and moves along at a lively pace. The late reveal is for the better and works very well. The climax is a long way from a petering out one, instead the film goes out on a very strong bang, right up to the unexpected and freaky final jolt clearly inspired by 'Carrie'. Overall, good fun and very scary even if not exactly classified as great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

i was so much looking forward to this horror but to my dismay realised id neglected to pick up any roast beef flavoured monster munch which i simply must have for my movie nights, lol. anyway, the title reminds me of a Friday the 13th where i decided to scare my best friend terry boxhill. clad in hockey mask and wielding an axe i stole from work i snuck in his house and belted him really hard with it in his leg. i didn't mean to hit him so hard really but we got him to the hospital but he wouldn't stop screaming and pointing at me, face aghast and puce. as he was screaming at me i shouted back "we will laugh about this someday terry" but we still haven't.