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It’s been nearly three decades since Sean S. Cunningham’s horror classic, Friday the 13th, first hit theaters, spawning nearly a dozen sequels and spin-offs. Still, despite my love of late-night scary-movie marathons, I’d never seen it. So, with a new deluxe edition DVD available—and a remake hitting theaters in a matter of days—I figured it was about time I finally saw it for myself.
On Friday, the 13th of June, 1980, the new counselors at Camp Crystal Lake show up for duty, ready for a summer of sun and fun with the camp’s inner-city campers. It’s been more than twenty years since the camp was last in operation, and Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer), the new owner, has been working for the last year to get it ready.
According to the folks in town, though—especially crazy old Ralph (Walt Gorney)—they’d all be better off turning right around and heading back home. Because Camp Crystal Lake is cursed; it has been since 1957, when a little boy drowned in the lake. Ever since then, bad things have been happening out at “Camp Blood.”
Ralph may be crazy, but he’s not wrong. And as the horny young counselors take over the camp, playing strip Monopoly and sneaking away to have sex in the cabins, they begin to die—one by one—in gruesome ways.
The original Friday the 13th is pretty tame by today’s horror movie standards. It isn’t drowning in gallons of fake blood and guts. It doesn’t drag out the characters’ deaths in long, torturous scenes. In fact, there isn’t even much of a story.
What Friday the 13th does have, however, is plenty of spine-tingling chills. From the moment that the camp counselors arrive (and even before), Cunningham’s camera lurks behind trees and peers through windows, giving the audience that eerie feeling that someone’s watching…waiting for the right moment to strike.
As the bodies start to pile up, the suspense continues to build, and you’ll feel a sense of panic that the camp counselors don’t. And that’s because you know something that they don’t know. You know that they’re quite likely playing their last game of strip Monopoly—that there’s someone right outside the window. And that someone could be anyone. In fact, it’s probably someone who doesn’t seem all that scary at all but who’s actually very, very deadly.
So while it isn’t the flashy, jaw-dropping, high-octane, blood-and-guts slasher film that audiences have come to expect, this horror classic is still so eerie and suspenseful (and even horrifying) that it’ll make you think twice before heading out on your next camping trip. It may be an oldie, but, for those who enjoy chilling, old-school suspense, it’s still a goodie.
DVD Review:
The new deluxe edition DVD release of the uncut Friday the 13th includes a handful of all-new features, including a Friday the 13th reunion Q&A (from September of 2008), as well as an additional feature with interviews from various cast and crew members, who talk about things like their casting and the process of making the movie. There’s also an interview with director Sean S. Cunningham, an interview-style audio commentary with various cast and crew members, and an additional short film, Lost Tales from Camp Blood: Part 1.
Fans of the Friday the 13th franchise will enjoy watching the interviews—despite the occasional repetition. After all, when these people made the movie almost 30 years ago, they had no idea what they were getting involved in—so it’s interesting to listen to their stories as they reminisce about the movie and its overwhelming success.
As for the “uncut” version of the movie, though, don’t expect too much. The extra footage adds only 10 more seconds to the runtime—mostly just a few extra flashes of gore. So if you’re looking for added scenes and more insights, you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re just looking for a new copy of an old horror classic, it’s worth picking up.
