Rating: 
Summary: THE TERROR BEGINS!
Review: Where it all starts. Not so much of a monster movie but a suspense thriller, this movie will have you on the edge of you're seat. It all begins and 1957 two camp counslers where murded and the camp was shut down, now in 1979 they plan to reopen the camp, only with terifying results. One-by-one the counslers are murded until the final climactic end. Just when you think it's over it's only begun! END
Rating:
Summary: Fantasic film that redefined an industry!
Review: Casablanca it ain't, and we can all be thankful for that. Set in the rainy, dark woods of Crystal Lake, a group of young adults plan on re-opening a summer camp that has been shut down for many years. Rumors persist of a little boy who drowned in the lake a long time ago, and murders commited (by him?) shortly after. Soon, the camp's new counselors start dissappearing and everyong starts wondering; "Did Jason come back from the dead?" END
Rating: 
Summary: Landmark splatter movie given short shrift on DVD
Review: In the wake of revisionist splatter movies like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer", it may be difficult for today's audiences to imagine how much the modern horror genre owes to Sean S. Cunningham's seminal splatter movie "Friday the 13th" (1980). Borne from the success of "Halloween", Cunningham's film reworked the template set down by John Carpenter, placing a group of vulnerable teens in an isolated location (in this instance, a run-down summer camp plagued by a series of unexplained 'accidents') before unleasing a deadly, unstoppable force against them. Cunningham underlined the element of mystery and suspense by hiring makeup wiz Tom Savini - fresh from his groundbreaking work on "Dawn of the Dead" - to stage a series of elaborately gruesome set-pieces. This potent combination knocked mainstream audiences sideways, and the film was a huge success, spearheading a wave of independent horror films which dominated movie screens in the early 1980s and spawned a slew of sequels and rip-offs which continue to this day, to a point where the original film has become somewhat lost in the shuffle.Viewed objectively, "Friday the 13th" is perhaps a little too slow-burning for its own good. Victor Miller's one-dimensional script allows the gory murders to punctuate a labored narrative which takes too long in setting out its meagre stall. Too much time is wasted on petty details - characters make coffee, wander in the woods, hunt for snakes in the cabins, etc. - while a ubiquitous Evil Presence lurks ominously nearby. However, once the stage has been set and the mayhem begins, this deceptively simple premise comes into its own, and Cunningham cranks up the tension for a show-stopping finale which raised terrified audiences from their seats duting the film's initial run. Production values are functional but effective, distinguished by Harry Manfredini's instantly recognizable score ("ch-ch-ch!") - a memorable variation obn "Psycho"s shrieking violins- and Barry Abrams' unobtrusive cinematography, which makes a real virtue of the woodland locations. The cast includes a young Kevin Bacon and Harry Crosby (Bing's grandson), and Walt Gorney parlays the cliched character of 'Crazy Ralph' (a prophet of doom) into something of a cult figure. But the show belongs to veteran Betsy Palmer as Mrs. Voorhees, an old friend of the camp's owner, whose arrival late in the film gives the proceedings a much-needed kick up the backside. Oh, and watch out for Ari Lehman, making the kind of splashy entrance that most other movie stars would kill for... If the never-ending slew of sequels has robbed the film of its initial impact, then it's nice to see it on DVD where it can be enjoyed by new generations, though Paramount's region 1 disc contains a curious hybrid print which appears to have been culled from more than one source. The shot at 0:22:17, which was oiginally curtailed for US audiences, has now been fully restored, which is cause for celebration. But what Paramount giveth, Paramount also taketh away - the villain's comeuppance has been severely curtailed, thereby losing much of its impact. The rest of the movie is the same R-rated print which played in US theaters, shorn of some of the gore which features in the European and Japanese version of the film, though Paramount has not been forthcoming on the reasons for the DVD alterations (the disc runs 95m 3s). To add insult to injury, this anamorphic (1.85:1) print is simpy TOO DARK, obscuring a wealth of details during night scenes (the bulk of the movie!) which are plainly visible in the accompanying trailer - the results are truly awful. At least the two-channel mono sound is clean and forceful, but that's no compensation when you're struggling to see what the hell is going on! Captions are provided. All in all, Paramount would be well advised to licence this title to another company which would lighten the contrasts and restore it to its unrated glory at the earliest opportunity. As it stands, four stars for the movie, two for the DVD presentation. Over the years, "Friday" has been a useful tool for critics to bash the horror genre, citing it as an example of all that's bad in modern moviemaking. Even the trailer seems to have its tongue firmly embedded in its cheek ("You may only see it once, but that will be enough!"). But for all its faults, the film has aged gracefully, and the shocks and scares still have the power to take unwary viewers by surprise. The DVD is a worthwhile purchase, but it's a long way from being the definitive version of this landmark splatter movie.
Rating: 
Summary: The best of the series...but thats not saying much...
Review: Friday the 13th is good for a slasher flick, but isn't all that great alone. BUT, it IS the best of the Friday the 13th series. It's not just kill, kill, kill from beggeinng to end like the sequels are. It actually has some substance to it. Yet it is not the "funnest" of the series. The sequels are more enjoyable to watch. Reccomended if you like early-80's slashers.
Rating:
Summary: The best Friday ...
Review: Though I enjoy Jason Voorhees a lot, this is the best Friday the 13th. For the most part, this movie actually didn't have that bad of acting, as did the sequels. It's better because it is the original storyline. The sequels are better in that since Jason is the killer, he has unique and gruesome ways of killing people, and he's much scarier and would be much harder to get away from.
This movie has everything that a horror movie should have. There is no way someone can go through their life claiming to be a huge horror fan and have no seen this movie INCLUDING the sequels. If you like teenage horror with plenty of killings, get this. A good movie to start off your horror collection.
Rating:
Summary: The best film in the slasher subgenre!
Review: Plot summary:
When two romancing camp counsellors are savagely slain by the hands of an unseen killer one late night, Camp Crystal Lake is immediately shuttered for the safety of others. But now, twenty years later, when an ambitious man by the name of Steve Christy prepares to reopen the campgrounds with the help of several young counsellors despite grave warnings of a "death curse" by local residents (and a previous fire which burnt the camp down, as well as a deadly contamination with the water), the killings start again. On the dreaded day and date that is Friday the 13th, the curse proves true, as one-by-one each of the counsellors is attacked and savagely slain by the very hands responsible for the death of the first two back in the year of nineteen fifty-eight... just a year after the death of a young disadvantaged boy who drowned in the murky waters of Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of... romancing camp counsellors. Friday the 13th will never be the same... not after watching this movie-not after watching Friday the 13th
Although none had achieved the raving success of the original F13th, the majority of the sequels, although quite moronic at times and increasingly senseless, they're still very much entertaining and fun-to-watch; fun in the sense of watching a film regarding complete [dorks] (who were cared for early in the series) who embark upon the remotest forest locations at or nearby sites that are known for their death toll, summer-after-summer, merely to regret it as they ultimately become rendered helpless and, one-by-one, are slain in the most grisly of ways by an avenged killer who is far from human and whose purpose for his resurrection is to wreck havoc...over...over...and over again (don't those ruttish teens ever learn?). Besides, since when has an actual storyline been the driving forth as to why we find ourselves watching silly popcorn slashers like these, anyway? We do so-or so I believe-not necessarily for any real plot (or Oscar-worthy performances), but merely for a good time with friends. I'm I right? I mean, if you dig these kinds of films, you should know what I'm talking about here. They aren't high art, they're slashers. And now that I've got all that outta the way, let's begin with the one that started it all, shall we... Released the same year as immediate blockbusters such as the legendary Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, Irvin Kershner's Star Wars-Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Harold Ramis' Caddyshack, which are still praised by moviegoers as of today, one wouldn't anticipate that a low-budget slasher like Sean S. Cunningham's Friday the 13th (also known as Long Night at Camp Blood) receiving the same success. Hell, even Cunningham himself was surprised when his film was that of one to be catapulted as one of the best twenty-five of the year. It was not only as successful, despite a lot of flack by critics, but was so influential that it spawned not only nine-and now apparently soon to be ten-sequels-which makes it the longest running series in the horror genre-but also a television series of its own! I personally like it as much as I do because it has a lot of ambience (we see the placid, murky lake; the trees dancing in the wind; the clouded full moon), a lot of ambience and mystery, that's partly caused by those very shots, because if they're not to hint that things may not be the way they seem to be, they're to show us the menacing nature if the campground's surroundings as day grows weary and night takes over. Aside from the remote forest locations, there were a few other factors that elevated it from its peers in the successful and viable subgenre: An Oscar-worthy music score by Harry Manfredini (magnificent was its theme song in particular, which sounds both assuasive and mysterious, and therefore it, with the help of the film's low-budget, actually enhances the spooky feeling); inventive and horrific death sequences that, although it and its sequels were heavily cut by the dreaded MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), are still most definitely not suitable for the squeamish; and an energetic Tom Savini, whose gruesome makeup effects were beyond exceptional. F13th also gave birth to Jason Voorhees, who radically altered the misogynistic "man stalks woman" formula, and quickly became one of the largest psycho-killers in the modern era, next to the darkly comical and horridly scarred Freddy Krueger from Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the ghostly Michael Myers from John Carpenter's Halloween, which I am sure you (the reader) know that it also, very much like F13th, opened new doors in the subgenre and popularized numerous themes and techniques that are still used till this day.
Rating:
Summary: in response to "silly"
Review: in what even remote way does friday the 13th copy halloween other than that there both slasher films and they both have sex scenes in which the participants die??????????
Rating:
Summary: The splatter genre is born
Review: Friday The 13th is a poor film (though miles ahead of later entries) which follows a group of teenagers as they try to reopen an old summer camp, Camp Crystal Lake. After being warned by an old man of the horrors of the camp ground in the past, the teens start reopening it anyway. One by one they are slaughtered, until help at last arrives...or does it? The killer is revealed, as a bates-ish type killer, and the film really picks up. A somewhat surprising end is in store for those who manage to make it clear through the film. A Twilight Zone-ish tag is added to the end as well.
The main problem this film faces is it's utter cheapness; in writing and budget.
I suppose I should mention Kevin Bacon is in this, but by no means makes the film any more watchable.
This film barely deserves the 2 star rating I have bestowed upon it (it's more like a 1 1/2 star film), but later entries are worse, so I had to give it more than just 1 star.
Rating:
Summary: A HORROR CLASSIC!
Review: This film is horror classic, Friday the 13th is one of the first slasher films ever made. This film is a classic not only in the horror genre but in cinema itself. It basically jumpstarted the popularity of horror/slasher films. It's one of a number of films that changed horror movies forever. The film is not a copy or ripoff of John Carpenter's Halloween. It's a unique film all it's own. This is also the first horror film to have a very high body count. Exactly 10 people died in the film, the whole premise of this film is extremely frightening to me compared to today's horror films. Here's what the film is about.In 1957, a young boy named Jason drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. In 1958, the teenagers supposedly responsible are murdered by an unknown assailant. The camp closed, but in 1980 it is reopened by Steve Christie, who hires a few teenagers to be councillors. Mayhem happens when each one is murdered one by one by an unknown killer. This unknown killer hides in the woods, and stalks and kills the teens in a systematic manner. The first Friday the 13th film does not have Jason Voorhees in it, but is still scary as hell. The last surviving person eventually discovers who the killer is. It's a woman, Jason Voorhees' mother Pamela Voorhees. She's stopping at nothing to kill every single teenager at the camp. Close to the end of the film, the only survivor which is a girl chops Pamela Voorhees' head off. After she kills her she gets in a boat and sails down the lake. She wakes up the next morning and to her surprise gets attacked by Jason' ghost while in the boat. She soon wakes up in the hospital and realizes it was only nightmare. But the nightmare makes her ponder about the existence of the killer' son. THIS FILM IS A HORROR CLASSIC PERIOD!!
Rating: 
Summary: silly
Review: so silly a big rip off of halloween if you took halloween put lack of deriction good acting good atmoshere blood gore and leave in the style there you go you got friday the 13'th the opening sequence was a rip off of halloween and basicly the story of somone stalking teenagers and one by one they die one is left and fights for her life but add in a mother at the end. when brenda saw the killer in the bushes it was like when laurie saw michael myers in the bushes in halloween but more well done better music and bassicly a diffrent way. the whole movie took the style of halloween which is so un fair bad movie
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