#81: Friday the 13th

Release Date: May 9th, 1980

Format: Streaming (Paramount+)

Written by: Victor Miller

Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham

2 Stars

Friday the 13th is an exploitation movie through and through. I’m not sure if it was a good idea or not watching it one week after watching Halloween. It makes for a good comparison I suppose, but a rather simple one: There is not one aspect of 13th that is superior to Halloween.

Now without the comparison to its stylistic predecessor, Friday the 13th fares slightly better. The slasher genre is inherently fun (to me at least), and 13th checks all the boxes: gratuitous violence, scantily-clad women, questionable decision making, and a picturesque setting.

But instead of trying to follow the blueprint of John Carpenter’s masterpiece, I’d say Friday the 13th would be better served by being even dumber and marching to the beat of its own drum, which seems to be proven in its sequels, which are arguably more fun.