Barnes & Noble

When it comes to slasher flicks, the Friday the 13th series and its infamous antagonist Jason no doubt rank among the most influential ever, with eight (soon to be nine) sequels and one of the most recognizable villains of all time -- even if you do rarely see his face. The simple story -- which pays homage to the original slasher film, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho -- follows a group of plucky young counselors as they head for infamous Crystal Lake despite warnings of a murderer by the town crazy. The campers soon fall victim to the legend by way of their own hubris. Among the leads is a then-unknown Kevin Bacon in his first big role. A generic script by Victor Miller and Ron Kurz is helped by director Sean Cunningham's talent for tension, but the true savior is Harry Manfredini's score, the theme of which is used similarly to that of Jaws, creating tension by announcing the killer. Gruesome effects master Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead) deserves much credit for the creatively graphic gore, which carries the film's junk food excitement to new levels with moments including an axe to one poor soul's face and an arrow through the throat of another. Neophytes be warned: Don't expect to see Jason, as he doesn't show his face until the second installment, nor a hockey mask, as it doesn't show up until the third. Scream fans may already be aware of that, but even they cannot consider themselves true aficionados of scary movies until having seen the original Friday the 13th. Greg Kalleres

All Movie Guide

One of the longest-running horror film series began with this gory shocker from director Sean S. Cunningham, who had previously produced Wes Craven's classic Last House on the Left. Entrepreneur Steve Christie (Peter Brouwer) re-opens Camp Crystal Lake after many years during which it has been cursed by murders and bad luck. The young and nubile counselors all begin to die extremely bloody deaths at the hands of an unseen killer during a rainstorm which isolates the camp. A woman is chopped in the face with an axe, another has her throat sliced in amazingly gruesome fashion, a male counselor (Harry Crosby) is pinned to a door with arrows, and a young Kevin Bacon has an arrow shoved through his throat from below a bed. Victor Miller's script is not particularly impressive, but Cunningham's tense direction, and some remarkable special-effects by acclaimed makeup artist Tom Savini are enough to make it worthwhile. 1950s quiz show regular Betsy Palmer appears as the cook whose son, Jason (Ari Lehman), drowned 25 years earlier while neglected by romancing counselors. Palmer was reportedly cast because she was willing to drive her own car to and from the set. Trivia buffs should note the decapitation scene near the end, in which the female killer exhibits rather hirsute hands clutching at the air. The hands belong to Savini's assistant, Taso N. Stavrakis. Friday the 13th made over 20 million dollars at the box office and spawned numerous sequels. Robert Firsching

Product Details

• UPC: 097361405742
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Language: Français
• Editions: Remastered, Special Edition, Uncensored
• Time: 1:35:00
• Sales Rank: 8,101

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Friday the 13th: from Crystal Lake to Manhattan

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