Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th (1980)

In the past months, we have spotlighted a variety of 70's horror films. At the rant, we love the 70's; however, the next decade would be a decade of transition. In the eighties, horror movies would be more and more about the special effects, monsters, ... and slashers. Landis would bring us An American Werewolf in London, Carpenter would deliver The Thing, Sam Raimi would spew his Evil Dead, Clive Barker would introduce us to Pinhead in Hellraiser and Wes Craven would unleash Freddy Kruger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Terror fans would now have their Modern Horror: icons, directors and special effects artists.

One special effects artist, Tom Savini, would give us some of the most gruesome and disturbing American visual treats. Following his ground breaking display in Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Savini would define the slasher flick, beginning with Friday the 13th and introduce us to Jason Vorhees. Years before CGI would take over, Savini's practical effects would shock and terrify audiences with arrows and hatchets and ... machetes.

Friday the 13th, while crude at times and simple in its structure, would strike a nerve with the horror community and be a huge hit, spawning decades of sequels and a forthcoming remake next year in 2009. This movie is frightening and fun. Great stuff.

Friday is directed by Sean S. Cunningham (Deep Star Six), written by Victor Miller and stars
Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Jeannine Taylor and the incredible Kevin Bacon.

So here it is ... Friday the 13th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dUDJJrYW6U