An Average Movie-Goer’s Review
No spoilers! If you would like spoilers – check out the Spoiler post
I love horror movies and if I’m going to watch them anyway, why not write an entertaining/funny review from the POV of an average movie-goer and not a professional critic.
Today we’re looking at a horror classic, Friday the 13th
Years after several tragedies, several camp counselors are preparing to open Camp Crystal Lake once again but they’re soon targeted by a serial killer hell-bent on stopping them.
Is it Scary?
Friday the 13th has a lot of jump scares and uses its music to create most of them. Unfortunately most feel very cheap while very few work, although those that work are effective. It does get to the point where it gets annoying because the musical stings get pretty loud.
In the end, you be a tiny bit scared especially if you’re somewhere where someone is inexplicably playing dramatic horror music.
All Friday the 13th Explanations/Reviews:
Related Article: Friday the 13th (1980) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part II (1981) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part III (1982) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday No Spoiler Review
Related Article: Friday the 13th (2009) No Spoiler Review
No Spoiler Review:
Friday the 13th is okay, it’s a movie about a bunch of camp counselors getting picked off one by one. It doesn’t try to be anything more than that and it doesn’t want to be more than that, and that’s okay.
Dialogue felt weirdly normal for a bunch of teens to mid-20s year old, almost to the point where it was a bit boring. Acting was alright, nothing special. As I’m writing this, I realize what the acting and dialogue felt like, it felt like a reality show without all the manufactured drama.
Interestingly it seemed like the writers hinted at some sort of backstory for some characters but then they remembered what movie this was and scrapped it. So it’s no surprise that we don’t learn anything about any of the other characters at any point. They’re essentially just fodder for a serial killer.
Like Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980) uses music to help create fear, but where Halloween used it for suspense, Friday the 13th uses it for jump scares. While it works for most of the movie, it becomes annoying as it feels like the music gets too loud at some points and actually takes away from the scene.
Overall I would recommend Friday the 13th but I also feel like it doesn’t need to be watched. Someone could explain the movie to you and it would be just as good. Also if you’re not a fan of gore, this movie isn’t afraid to show it so keep that in mind.
Cast IMDB