The success of the original Friday the 13th film from 1980 was due to a perfect alignment of elements. The landscape of horror cinema took an extremely dark and realistic turn during the 1970's and by 1978 and 79 had churned out some of the genre's most enduring classics. But in many of the cases the gore effects hadn't quite changed since the early days. Films like HALLOWEEN and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE were fairly bloodless and light on gore. But all that was about to change.
By 1980 audiences were primed for a horror movie that hit all the right marks. Enter Friday the 13th. It had the same old plot they had seen many times before but this time we were treated to the amazing special effects of Tom Savini, gore on full display at a realistic level hitherto unseen in film. The film's simplicity, timeless plot, and incredible gore effects struck at the perfect time and audiences went crazy over the movie. The film, made on a shoestring budget, was a huge financial success. So, naturally every other movie studio and schmo with a camera wanted to cash in on this success too. Thus the horror boom of the 1980's began. And audiences embraced them film after film, year after year. A sequel to Friday the 13th, when everyone else was copying the original and making big bucks, was only a matter of time.
As successful as the original Friday the 13th film was, looking back on it now, I've always felt it lacked a compelling villain. Mrs. Voorhees is fine but she lacked the presence of a Michael Myers or a Leatherface or even the Phantom Killer from THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN. And the simplicity of the plot doesn't particularly stand out. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART II is where the franchise really begins to take shape and stand out from the crowd. This is the film where Jason emerges as the masked killer and the unique Friday the 13th mythos begins.
Honestly, I watch the first Friday the 13th just to get to Friday the 13th Part II, the first part of the original Jason Voorhees trilogy.
THE PLOT
Five years have passed since the events of June 13th 1979 at Camp Crystal Lake. The murderer, Pamela Voorhees, has been long dead and Camp Crystal Lake has been shut down. The area surrounding Crystal Lake has been quiet all this time. Now, a new camp has been built on the lake only a few miles from the infamous "Camp Blood." For some of the townsfolk it's too soon. For others it's time to forget the past and move on. Despite warnings from the locals the camp proceeds on schedule and the camp counselors begin to arrive, the campers soon to follow. Unbeknownst to the counselors someone is stalking them from the woods, someone who hasn't forgotten the events of five years ago, someone ready to kill every last one of them.
WHAT I LIKED
A Killer To Be Feared. The murderer being Mrs. Voorhees was a huge twist in the original Friday the 13th, so shocking that you just went along with it up to the incredible decapitating climax. But once you know what's coming and start to think about it Mrs. Voorhees becomes a tad disappointing, not to mention perplexing (seriously, she manhandles 180 lbs men, lifting their dead bodies up into the trees and such, but can't handle Alice at the end?). She's a woman driven insane with grief and that is certainly scary because it could and does happen.
But compared to Michael Myers or Leatherface she was missing that "thing" that set Michael and Leatherface apart from the myriad of movie maniacs in existence. We're never given clues as to the killer's identity in Friday the 13th and then suddenly we meet Pamela Voorhees seemingly out of nowhere and shortly thereafter it revealed that she is the killer. There's no mystery or intrigue, only pure blindsided survival (which is cool and frightening and why Friday the 13th has endured so long). Overall though, her character was poorly constructed.
With Part II we open the film with Alice seeing Mrs. Voorhees' severed head in her refrigerator and then stabbed with an ice pick. But Mrs. Voorhees is dead, right? Who would want to kill Alice? The mystery as to the killer's identity begins almost immediately. Then there's the camp fire story where Paul regales the counselors with the tale of Jason, Mrs. Voorhees, and Camp Blood, hinting that the supposedly dead son of Mrs. Voorhees may not actually be dead. That scene provides us with another clue to the mystery and adds intrigue as to how Jason could be alive or if it really is Jason at all.
Ever wonder why Jason kept returning and not Mrs. Voorhees? It's curious to analyze and debate.
An Epic Climax. All in all I feel Part II having the superior villain is what sets it above the original. Otherwise Part II seems right in line with its predecessor in terms of gore, suspense, and death scenes. The double spear through the bed is one of the gory highlights. The claw hammer to the cop's head, the machete to the wheelchair bound counselor's face, both brutal and memorable. But when events start ramping up towards the climax the film really takes off. Jason bursts through doors with a fricken pitchfork, rips through the roof of a car, and ultimately bursts through the window in what would later become a signature move. And the showdown in the ruins of Camp Blood with the piles of corpses and the shrine to Jason's mother's head is profoundly disturbing and bloody wonderful.
The series may have started with the original film, but the sturdy foundation for a long and enduring franchise was laid with Part II.
NITPICKS
When it comes to the kills in this film I feel they're right on par with the original. They aren't as elevated as I would've liked them to be. Jason's kills should be angrier, more savage and rough, after all his motivation is vengeance for his mother and he's basically a feral animal. Alice's death at the beginning is quick and over with in a second. Shouldn't Jason be venting his rage on Alice and every counselor who dares tread on his hallowed grounds? I don't get that from Jason save for a moment here and there. While the kills may not go beyond much of what we saw in the original, the mystery and intrigue built around Jason and the harrowing climax more than make up for it.
THE VERDICT
While Friday The 13th may have been a Slasher film at its purest and most simplistic, Friday The 13th Part II takes the story far beyond the original. This is the film that introduced one of the most recognizable horror icons of all time, crafting a compelling and uniquely bizarre story around the character of Jason. Part II retains all of the aspects that made its predecessor a success, the graphic realistic deaths and make-up effects, the suspense, and the purity of Slasher horror. And it did one better creating an even greater antagonist and delivering an epic finale. If this film hadn't of done so well in crafting Jason it's possible the series might've ended here. I personally prefer Part II far and away over the original.
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 4 out of 10
For more Friday the 13th and Slasher horror check out these films below
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