The landmark teen scream slash-a-thon. It’s a rip-off of Halloween, but set at an abandoned campground that’s about to reopen for the summer. You’ve got your horny teens, you’ve got your crazy killer, you’ve got your cut-ups and goofballs who die right away and you’ve got your sensitive girl who survives. There’s nothing original here and critics hated it, but it was a huge hit. Here’s why:
1) It was the first slasher movie to get pushed by a major American studio (Paramount). Gore flicks were previously the domain of independents.
2) It came out at a perfect time: the early 80s, when the culture hit a fever pitch of fear-mongering among the media, feminists, evangelists and parent organizations about how gory movies (and Satanic rock music and Dungeons & Dragons) were poisoning the minds of the young. The same year that Friday the 13th came out, Siskel & Ebert devoted an entire episode of their TV show to blasting slasher movies. They called for boycotts and letter-writing campaigns.
Did any of it work? Of course not. Media histrionics only helped make these movies more popular.
3) It’s actually a well-made film. We get just enough clowning around, just enough sex, and just enough of girls running around in their bras and panties as we can stand before the killer gets down to business and starts snuffing everyone out. The kills are suspenseful and feature great throat-slashing, head-chopping effects by Tom Savini. Rather than chase down or sneak up on the kids, the clever killer here toys with the victims and gets them to make the approach. We also don’t see the killer for most of the film, but we always know when they’re present due to a music score (by Harry Manfredini) that only shows up in moments of real danger and that never lies to us. The music essentially plays the role of the killer for much of the film. It’s an idea straight from Jaws.
Ten sequels followed. Critics hated every one of them, but the kids flocked to theaters and screamed their heads off.