Top 13 moments from the original Friday the 13th.
I'm currently enjoying my summer vacation in the best way possible. I'm drinking iced coffee, got my feet up, and enjoying 1989's The Wizard. I'm trying to muilttask while watching/reviewing this movie and posting for this week's theme of summer camp slashers.
Today get on your flip-flops. Put on some sun screen, grab a machete and head on down to Camp Crystal Lake for some good old fashion summer fun! Let's party like it's 1980 and count down the top 13 moments from the original film that started it all.
Friday the 13th.
13) "We weren't doing anything we were just messing around!"
- Ah the first on screen murders that started it all. I love this opening to the film that takes place in the 1950's. It shows the camp, peaceful, quiet, and still. Shows long before the terrible events that followed that this was just a typical summer camp in Jersey. I loved the two teenagers, the ones who were actually responsible for Jason's drowning sneaking off for a quickie and boom the haunting P.O.V shot of the killer coming in to murder them. I love the frozen expression of the young girl screaming before the main titles come up. Great way to set the tone for the rest of the film.
12) Annie's fateful ride.
- What honestly makes this movie so much more disturbing is the fact that these characters were really likable. The sweetest character in the whole movie goes to Annie. The happy go lucky young woman who was hired to work as the camp cook. Sadly Annie's way of getting to her new summer job is hitching a ride. First Annie starts off getting a ride with a friendly truck driver who warns her shortly after leaving town to quit the job before she's even started. Here he tells her about the history of Camp Crystal Lake. How back in the 1950's a young boy drowned, a year afterwards two teenagers were murdered, shortly after that the water was bad, and even a series of fires were started. It seemed as if the camp was cursed and the locals began calling it Camp Blood. Sadly Annie doesn't listen to these warnings, and takes another ride by an unseen driver. Here Annie instantly knows something is wrong when the jeep blows past the road that leads to the camp. Scared, she begs the driver to stop before it starts speeding up. In a panic, she leaps from the moving jeep and stumbles into the woods frightened. Sadly, she backs against a tree and an arm lashes out of nowhere slitting her throat. I urge anyone to check out the uncut version of this movie. It's actually pretty heartbreaking seeing Annie's pained expression as her throat opens up and blood gushes down her shirt.
11) "How do you call a snake?!"
- The first half of this movie is establishing the small group of teens that will be working the summer at the camp and the string of bad luck that starts to follow them the moment they arrive. We meet our lead Alice, a strong independent young woman who clearly has some issues to deal with back home and seems to have a pretty complicated relationship with the camp's owner Steve. While dressing in her cabin she happens to notice a long black snake slithering underneath her bunk. In my eyes this is the scariest part of the movie. Of course she calls in her friends to help including the adorable Bill who she tells him while searching for this slimy little creature to call it. Bill's reaction is the best "How do you call a sake?!" Also I think they killed a real snake for these scene. Ohhhh shittt!
10) Ralph's warning.
- It's a staple in horror movies to have a crazy old person warning the young teens of impending death. In the original Friday the 13th, old timer Ralph tried to warn the teens, including Annie that they were all doomed. Twice Ralph tries to tell the kids that he's a messenger from God before riding off. One of the creepiest shots in the whole movie is Ralph getting onto his bike at sunset and riding away whispering that they are all gonna die. Ralph returns once more in the sequel but sadly doesn't listen to his own warnings and suffers the same fate he foresaw.
9) Marcie's dream.
- I have always said that the original Friday the 13th was always very beautifully shot. Not only are the locations stunning, but as is the overall quality of the film. In fact, this movie on blu-ray is beyond crystal clear. One of the more memorable moments of character development is pretty girl Marcie and dreamy boyfriend Jack sitting on the shore at dusk talking as thunder is heard overhead. Of course this movie is best remembered for starring. Here Marcie begins to talk about a dream she's suffered from for years about being caught in a storm and how the rain slowly turns to blood. Was this a foreshadowing of her own death? Whatever it is, her delivery of this dream is beyond haunting.
8) "Can I help you?"
- Sadly I was unable to screenshot this beyond creepy moment in the film. Jokester Ned (isn't there always one in the group?) is wandering around after busting balls all day being a complete and utter jackass. Lonely, he wanders around the lake, not that far from where Jack and Marcie will be sitting by the shore. Ned notices a figure standing in the doorway of one of the empty cabins. What makes this shot so creepy is that the killer appears in broad daylight and if you pause the movie and look closely you can see exactly who's doing it. The killer turns and disappears inside the cabin as Ned follows into his own death.
7) Strip Monopoly
- What better way to pass the time during a storm than smoking a few joints, drinking beers, and playing a good old fashion of strip Monopoly. In one of the lighter moments before the very dark and suspenseful final act, we watch three of our leads laugh and play a family favorite with a nice little twist.
6) Check the top bunk!
- To "keep warm" during the rain storm, Marcie and Jack decide to meet up on the bottom bunk in one of the cabins, unaware that above them, covered by blankets and bags is actually their dead friend Ned. It appears following that stranger into the dark cabin wasn't such a great idea after all!
5) Can I axe you a question Marcie?
- After some Kevin Bacon sex, Marcie goes to use the bathroom and the suspense that builds in this scene is perfect. Many people have argued that this film is too slow. All I have to say to that is these people have zero attention span. This is horror done right. Marcie has one of the more graphic deaths in the movie and I gotta give props where props belong, Mr. Savini did this one right. I love how you see the shower curtain slowly go back a bit, and how Marcie's screams as the axe is risen, hits the metal lampshade before going WHACK straight into her face. Brutal and awesome.
4) 6 degrees of fried Bacon.
- The film's most memorable death goes to Mr. Kevin Bacon. Just a few years before he would be dancing in Footloose, or chasing Tremors, Mr. Bacon got laid and then just as he began smoking a joint had a hand spring up from the bed pinning him down before an arrow was sent straight through his throat. Now I hate to say it, but I like the cut version of this scene better since in the uncut you can clearly see how fake it looks. What tickles me pink over this scene is just recently Mr. Bacon appeared in a commercial where he appears as several of his more popular character, including Jack from Friday the 13th!
#perfection.
3) "I'm Mrs. Voorhees."
- After Bill and Brenda are picked off, it leaves a poor and frightened Alice alone when suddenly headlights light up the road. Believing it's Steve back from town, she runs out only to stop dead in her tracks to see a friendly older woman climb out of the jeep. Here we meet our killer. Mrs. Voorhees. I love how this is how it all started. Long before Jason returned from the grave hockey mask and all. It all begun with a woman Hell bent on revenge and too crazy from the massive loss she suffered years ago. Determined to stop the camp from opening, she reveals her true colors rather quickly to Alice and gives one of the best speeches in the entire series. Here she reveals that a young boy drowned many years ago while the counsellors who were supposed to be watching him were too busy screwing around. That this disabled child was Jason, her only son and that today is his birthday. The late Betsy Palmer is what makes this movie. Looking like a typical late sweet middle aged woman, she's actually a crazed psycho who starts speaking in Jason's voice, telling her to kill all of the teens responsible. Here we watch seriously one of the most frightening chases around the camp ever. This woman is one tough cookie and is bat shit crazy!
2) The end of the beginning.
- After an exhausting chase around the camp by Mrs. Voorhees, poor Alice stumbles to the beach only to get attacked AGAIN by her. The two have the ultimate cat fight on the beach before Alice grabs a machete and in slow motion swings it cutting off Mrs. Voorhees' head where for a brief moment her hands grasp up at the bleeding stump before falling. Unknown to us, her son Jason (wherever he was was watching and filled the legacy that is now known as the film series.)
1) "Then he's still there..."
- In one of horror's greatest pop out scene I still remember watching this as a child on HBO with my father and how high I jumped when a rotting Jason emerged from the lake grasping onto Alice as she sat peacefully looking at the water the following morning. Here we get our first true glimpse of the monster that will stalk Crystal Lake for 30 + years. The best line in the entire film is the ending when Alice, looking as if she's awoken from a terrible dream asks the police officers "The boy, is he dead too?" "Boy?" "The boy from the lake, the one who attacked me, the one who dragged me underneath the water." "Ma'am, we didn't find any boy." And here Alice stares off into the camera and says "Then he's still there..." and the best shot is of the lake, and the tiny bubbles escaping the surface.
Thoughts?
