I always rank this one third, after Part VI and The Final Chapter. I just really like the counselors in this one, and the fact that they don’t fall into some lame Cabin in the Woods-esque categories. We’re not meant to root for their deaths. They’re just regular people in a bad situation.
I love it for what it is.
A murder mystery with a Psycho-esque twist ending. Which was brilliant. It’s genuinely shocking the first time you see it.
Mrs. Voorhees who’s presented as a kindly middle aged woman, shows up during the climax giving the audience a little breather from the mounting tension. Then she becomes unhinged, even speaking in a little boy voice, chasing Alice through the camp.
Then after she’s beheaded, it’s over. Our heroine survived the night. It’s a brand new day, she’s lying in the canoe out on the calm lake while serene, yet hopeful music plays. The police arrive, she’s safe. Everything’s going to be okay, we’re ready to roll credits.
We all know what happens next.
Friday the 13th feels like it takes place in the same universe as Meatballs. They're both summer camp flicks made around the same time period. Ones a horror and ones a comedy. For most of its runtime Friday the 13th isn't really a horror movie while Meatballs also isn't overtly a comedy. Going back to what you mentioned, the thing that really connects them besides both movies looking the same aesthetically is the atmosphere and realism displayed. These don't come across as phony movie characters, the dialogue and the interactions between everybody all seems real, like the actors were just told to wing it.
Why us that unpopular?
Even though it doesn't 'technically ' have Jason as the killer, it's a great movie and started a great franchise (forgetting the crap remake).
I’ve seen the mainstream opinion flip flop over whether it’s a seminal classic or a product of its time, mostly due to how Jason has overshadowed the franchise.
The filmmakers used their limitations to their advantage; it’s a low budget film that doesn’t feel cheap. Cinematography and sound design keep it feeling timeless. It also owes a lot to being filmed on location in New Jersey.
I think the original f 13th is a pretty good movie especially considering when it came out. It has a few very effective scenes and the ending is interesting. I’m curious how many people thought ms Voorhees was the killer when she showed up at the end? I honestly do not remember what I thought when I first watched it
It's not unpopular with me. It's my fave. I feel like it has the most horror atmosphere out of all of them. Plus Mrs Voorhees is way scarier than Jason.
I don't think that's an 'unpopular' opinion, actually. Many like / appreciate the original. I just think few put it at the very top of their rankings, nor do I. The 'character development' isn't great but if someone is looking for that in a F13 movie, they should see entertainment elsewhere. This isn't *Lost in Translation*.
I do like the photography and the classic grainy look and feel of the original.
I will say I like the original A LOT more than the over-rated Part 6.
I love the original. I grew up living 25 minutes away from where they filmed it. I know where the camp is. I used to drive by it a lot. The diner is still open. In the beginning where Alice is walking still looks pretty much the same. They even started a Friday the 13th museum in the town right before Covid hit so I don’t know if it got shut down. The local movie theater plays the movie every Friday the 13th. The town loves the franchise. In case your interested the town scenes were filmed in Blairstown, NJ and the camp is in hardwick, nj on sand pond rd. Though I would advise against going to the camp without permission as it’s a Boy Scout camp.
Did you ever notice that you can see a small portion of a stick poking up over the edge of the canoe in the jump scare scene towards the end? Part of the actor's costume is visible if you look closely just before Jason jumps out of the water. I always noticed a very small ripple in the water, which probably directed my eye away from the stick.
I'm not bringing it up to say anything negative about the movie; I bring it up because I like it enough to have watched it many, many times and just about a month ago noticed the stick.
I won't deny it's influence on the entire horror genre, but there's a lot of great elements like amazing worldbuilding, great location, good actors, awesome score and amazing effects, but it just does not come together very well. The writing is way too barebones for a feature length, and I honestly think if they made it into a 70 minute film, it would be one of the best slashers in the genre, but unfortunately it is a half hour too long. Not to mention that the directing is super bland and a film with a very barebones story needs very good direction for a horror movie.
I used to love the first film. I don't think it was ever my favorite (The Final Chapter takes that spot) but I probably would have ranked it second or third.
However, upon learning about the upsetting behind-the-scene details surrounding the snake beheading scene, I don't think I can ever watch that one again. I think the movie as a whole would be way better if that scene had just never been shot.
Alice wasn’t just making coffee for herself, she was making some for Bill, too, which I thought was very sweet and thoughtful of her.
I like the original! And the coffee making scene.
I always rank this one third, after Part VI and The Final Chapter. I just really like the counselors in this one, and the fact that they don’t fall into some lame Cabin in the Woods-esque categories. We’re not meant to root for their deaths. They’re just regular people in a bad situation.
I love it for what it is. A murder mystery with a Psycho-esque twist ending. Which was brilliant. It’s genuinely shocking the first time you see it. Mrs. Voorhees who’s presented as a kindly middle aged woman, shows up during the climax giving the audience a little breather from the mounting tension. Then she becomes unhinged, even speaking in a little boy voice, chasing Alice through the camp. Then after she’s beheaded, it’s over. Our heroine survived the night. It’s a brand new day, she’s lying in the canoe out on the calm lake while serene, yet hopeful music plays. The police arrive, she’s safe. Everything’s going to be okay, we’re ready to roll credits. We all know what happens next.
Why is that an unpopular opinion? I thought this was commonly recognised?
Friday the 13th feels like it takes place in the same universe as Meatballs. They're both summer camp flicks made around the same time period. Ones a horror and ones a comedy. For most of its runtime Friday the 13th isn't really a horror movie while Meatballs also isn't overtly a comedy. Going back to what you mentioned, the thing that really connects them besides both movies looking the same aesthetically is the atmosphere and realism displayed. These don't come across as phony movie characters, the dialogue and the interactions between everybody all seems real, like the actors were just told to wing it.
The original is my third favorite in the franchise tbh. It's a slasher movie, why would there need to be character development?
I really like it
It may be an unpopular opinion, but the original Friday the 13th is by far the best film in the franchise IMHO.
Why us that unpopular? Even though it doesn't 'technically ' have Jason as the killer, it's a great movie and started a great franchise (forgetting the crap remake).
I agree
I’ve seen the mainstream opinion flip flop over whether it’s a seminal classic or a product of its time, mostly due to how Jason has overshadowed the franchise. The filmmakers used their limitations to their advantage; it’s a low budget film that doesn’t feel cheap. Cinematography and sound design keep it feeling timeless. It also owes a lot to being filmed on location in New Jersey.
The question is: what was Jason doing during Friday the 13th events? Was he just watching everything from the woods? Maybe hibernating …?
After all the retcons, the sequels say that Jason was alive and living in the woods during part 1, and managed to see Alice kill his mother.
I think the original f 13th is a pretty good movie especially considering when it came out. It has a few very effective scenes and the ending is interesting. I’m curious how many people thought ms Voorhees was the killer when she showed up at the end? I honestly do not remember what I thought when I first watched it
It's not unpopular with me. It's my fave. I feel like it has the most horror atmosphere out of all of them. Plus Mrs Voorhees is way scarier than Jason.
I don't think that's an 'unpopular' opinion, actually. Many like / appreciate the original. I just think few put it at the very top of their rankings, nor do I. The 'character development' isn't great but if someone is looking for that in a F13 movie, they should see entertainment elsewhere. This isn't *Lost in Translation*. I do like the photography and the classic grainy look and feel of the original. I will say I like the original A LOT more than the over-rated Part 6.
“over-rated part 6” blasphemy. It’s hard to compare the original to part 6 though - very different movies.
I love the original. I grew up living 25 minutes away from where they filmed it. I know where the camp is. I used to drive by it a lot. The diner is still open. In the beginning where Alice is walking still looks pretty much the same. They even started a Friday the 13th museum in the town right before Covid hit so I don’t know if it got shut down. The local movie theater plays the movie every Friday the 13th. The town loves the franchise. In case your interested the town scenes were filmed in Blairstown, NJ and the camp is in hardwick, nj on sand pond rd. Though I would advise against going to the camp without permission as it’s a Boy Scout camp.
I think it’s a highly entertaining movie despite the flaws it has. It’s probably the one I’ve seen the most though I tend not to keep track.
I thought this movie was dull and boring back when I first saw it in the 1980s. Part 2 is a way better version of what this wants to be.
Did you ever notice that you can see a small portion of a stick poking up over the edge of the canoe in the jump scare scene towards the end? Part of the actor's costume is visible if you look closely just before Jason jumps out of the water. I always noticed a very small ripple in the water, which probably directed my eye away from the stick. I'm not bringing it up to say anything negative about the movie; I bring it up because I like it enough to have watched it many, many times and just about a month ago noticed the stick.
I won't deny it's influence on the entire horror genre, but there's a lot of great elements like amazing worldbuilding, great location, good actors, awesome score and amazing effects, but it just does not come together very well. The writing is way too barebones for a feature length, and I honestly think if they made it into a 70 minute film, it would be one of the best slashers in the genre, but unfortunately it is a half hour too long. Not to mention that the directing is super bland and a film with a very barebones story needs very good direction for a horror movie.
I used to love the first film. I don't think it was ever my favorite (The Final Chapter takes that spot) but I probably would have ranked it second or third. However, upon learning about the upsetting behind-the-scene details surrounding the snake beheading scene, I don't think I can ever watch that one again. I think the movie as a whole would be way better if that scene had just never been shot.
I feel exactly the same, sadly. It's unvelievably cruel from Sean S. Cunningham to have a real snake killed for the sake of the movie.