Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.
And being October, I wanted to focus on scary films.
Today’s review is Friday the 13th
THE GENERAL IDEA
THE GOODThis was one of those movies that TRULY frightened me and gave me nightmares. I had a hard time with this one, granted I was like nine when I saw it (evil babysitters). This made me afraid of the dark and nervous at night when camping. This has the stereotypes that were not yet present in the world of Horror. When the power goes out and one person drifts off on their own into the dark to go find out why, you don’t roll your eyes. That just made sense.
And there was no Jason. Not yet. Just a masked killer. There was mystery and there was no supernatural. This was REAL and could happen. Some Kids are hired to re-open the camp and legends resurface as to why the campground was closed and someone starts killing them. Simple and terrifying.
It is also one of the very earliest appearances of Kevin Bacon.
THE BAD
The movie is a little dated, and while much horror that followed this film is attempting to emulate the terror presented here, its hard to forget the history. While you are screaming at the TV saying “Why would you do that?? He is behind that tree waiting for you with a machete!! Don’t you Watch Horror movies? ” Well in 1980 there wasn’t a lot of this going around in film.
OVERALL
This is a great film to watch with friends around Halloween. You can wonder at the very young Kevin Bacon, wash your brain of that weak unscary remake and see the origins of the Jason Voorhees we know from the sequels that dominated pop culture ever since. SPOILER Remember that Jason was the motivation of the killings, but it wasn’t until a stinger after the credits a morning after that this turned supernatural and Jason’s aged-to-adult form leaps out of the lake taking the film’s last victim.
This is worth a watch for those who have never seen it, or just want to actually
I am going to introduce a new rating system for my Forgotten Fridays picks.
Since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I had a Tv, Rent or Buy scale going on, but it would seem that an overwhelming majority of my picks get a BUY rating.
So with every Forgotten Friday you see from now on, you get to rate your anticipation for yourself!
TV – If you are at least a little curious, catch it if it comes on TV.
Rent – If it is something you have heard of and forgotten, or just remember enjoying this as much as I did once upon a time, go rent it.
Buy – But if you are like me, and you agree with my review you should go buy it. If its featured here, I already have.
