When it comes to the American slasher movie, 1980 is a big year.  There's little doubt that 1978s Halloween was the supernova that started the process, but with the long production process of film, especially in the celluloid days of hand editing, it wouldn't really be until 1980 that producers and directors would be able to sift through the formula and build on it in ways that they thought would grab fans of Halloween while adding their own signature to gain adherents of their own.  For my money (and the money of the theater going public of the day,) if Halloween is the proof of concept, Friday the 13th is the blockbuster success that opened for floodgates for the dozens and dozens (by some accounts over 100 entries in just 4 short years) of films that would follow the blueprint and try to grab as much adulation and cash as they could before fan burnout and political pressures in Ronald Reagan's newly conservative political climate would essentially lead to a smothering of excitement for the genre both amongst horror fans and film makers.  

Despite being a film that clearly leans heavily on the legacy of Halloween, I'd suggest that Friday the 13th is an unabashed success both as a catalyst in shaping film history, but also in simply being a film of excellent quality that stands up today.  While done on a very modest budget with a young inexperienced cast, and apparently with a script written in just a couple of weeks, it's got a depth that I think will be surprising to people who rightfully have a generalized assumption of what an 80s slasher has to offer.  If you haven't seen it, Matt and I both highly recommend it.  If you have, we hope you enjoy our analysis of this fun and important film in the history of Horror.

Cheers!

Shonny Constant 4.19.19

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