It is now more than 45 years later, and I do think we have been spoilt by much better special effects, acting, sets, continuity and, well, pretty much everything since then. In order to appreciate and enjoy this now, you would have to be a die-hard fan of the franchise or a bit of a horror nerd. Yes, revisiting Sean S Cunningham’s slasher felt nothing like what I experienced in the cinema that day. I accept that it began one of cinema's coolest franchises, but viewing it through today's eyes reveals a production that is, frankly, falling apart at the seams. The script is diabolical and the performances wooden - it had me laughing rather than screaming!
The premise is the usual-now cliché we’ve grown to groan about. A group of dappy, spunky teenagers heads to a remote camp by a lake which, of course, has a dark and sinister past. On the way, we drop in on locals for directions, only to be met with 'sharp intakes of breath' and a stumble into the local ‘oddball’ chappie. Once they arrive, we settle down to watch frightfully chirpy American teens enjoying the freedom to do as they like - exchanging bodily fluids at will and indulging in risky behaviour without a watchful adult eye in sight. And then the chaos unfolds!
But sadly, the script is paper-thin, serving mostly as a setup for the next kill, and the dialogue is stilted and unrealistic. The characters make typically genre-dumb decisions like wandering into dark rooms, walking toward strange noises and isolating themselves at the worst possible moments for their health (though best for the story)! A 2026 audience really won't give a hoot about any of them - there's no character development and most of their roles are thankfully short-lived!
A young Kevin Bacon was horribly underused, even before his character copped it. When he actually had lines, his performance was pedestrian and anaemic. Furthermore, the whole cast seemed largely uninterested - except, perhaps, for the lead girl and Princess Di lookalike, Alice (played by Adrienne King). The rest were clearly just going through the paces for a pay packet. Apart from her, the only other convincing character was Jason’s mum, played by Betsy Palmer. She apparently admitted she only accepted the role to buy a new car! She was totally over-the-top, but she brought a sinister edge to the proceedings, talking to herself like a maniac.
Regarding the gore, the use of prosthetics was obvious. Even when actors were used for post-gore sequences, they could occasionally be seen moving! If the special effects felt realistic to us in 1980 - and from memory, they did - they have certainly not aged gracefully! The blood is a shade of bright, neon red that looks exactly like the paint it clearly was. It is a shame, as some of the kills were quite inventive - Kevin Bacon’s exit and the aforementioned mother’s end are worth a look! But it all feels like 'fun' now. Or rather, funny.
I reckon the star of the show was actually the music. The score by Harry Manfredini is nicely delivered and tries hard to create atmosphere - to compensate for the rest of the film's failings. It tries to tell you that something scary is happening, even when what we see with our eyes proves it wrong!
The film is an interesting venture but seems to have been made on a tight budget with a 'that’ll do nicely' and 'let's get it done and out' attitude toward quality. The whole Jason stuff is intriguing though - and perhaps I shall plough on to the sequels in the hope that they get better rather than worse (as we know well, they often can in the film franchise world)! I was patient, and the last twenty minutes were fun, but it isn't scary and it isn't well-made. However, it is quite funny! If you watch it on a Friday night after the pub with some mates - perhaps even on a Friday the 13th - you can have a grand time taking the piss!
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