Friday The 13th [1980] (DVD)

Years after a camp site is closed down after the death of a disabled boy, the site is re-opened to play host to a new myriad of sexed up drug addled teenagers. Unbeknown to them though, a dangerous killer lurks in the midst, dishing out a bloody revenge for something that happened years ago. One by one, they are picked off in gruesome ways, leaving little to the imagination of the unfortunate viewers. Hot on the heels of the far superior Halloween, the turn of the 80s decade saw horror films descend into mindless violence and increasingly lurid soft-porn images. Friday The 13th led the way, spawning 10 sequels to date (and an impending remake), and a tv ...  Read the complete review

A review of the original film, which was released in 1980. A remake has just been released at UK cinemas. 1958. Camp Crystal Lake. Two young camp counsellors are found brutally murdered. The camp is permanently closed down. Friday June 13th 1980. Camp Crystal Lake is due to re-open. A small group of teenaged counsellors arrives at the site to help get the camp ready for an imminent visit from inner city school children. As the light fades and evening sets in a terrible storm starts to batter down upon the camp's wooden cabins and the teenagers retreat to their various beds for the night. But they're not alone. Somebody is stalking the young ...  Read the complete review

On Friday 13, 1958 two lakeside camp counsellors were brutally murdered by an unknown killer. 22 years later on Friday 13 June the camp is set to open despite local fears regarding the camp being cursed. According to one driver, who gives one of the new counsellors a ride halfway to the camp, a young boy, Jason Voorhees, drowned in the lake one year prior the murders. That very day, one-by-one the new counsellors are picked off and brutally slain by an unseen killer until only one person remains to discover the terrible truth of Camp Crystal Lake... And that really is it as far as plot goes without spoiling anything. Friday the 13th and its incredibly ...  Read the complete review

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room Of the "big three" horror franchises - Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th - it is the latter which is by far the weakest, not even beginning with a particularly strong chapter. That said, it does have a place in film history as one of the original slasher films, that kickstarted the habit for horror franchises to be milked dry with the same, sadly money-spinning, concept every single time. The film revolves around the legend of Jason Voorhees - he was left to drown in Camp Crystal Lake whilst two supervisors went off to have sex. As a result, there's ...  Read the complete review

Crystal Lake is a truly beautiful location, with an ugly past. Several years before, a young boy died at camp while his counsellors weren't keeping an eye on him. Since then at subsequent camps, there have been a number of deaths and strange occurences, encouraging everyone to keep away from the area. Then someone decides to start the camp up again and a group of counsellors arrive to prepare the site. Unfortunately, someone doesn't seem to want them to stay, and one by one, the counsellors are picked off and killed horribly. Will any of them survive? And what have they done to incur the wrath of the killer? Good acting is not something that most horror films ...  Read the complete review