Friday the 13th is one of the main stream, Golden Age era of Slashers, with it releasing in 1980, only two years after Halloween. It was the first movie to take place at a summer camp, which also resulted and set the standard for the summer camp, cabin in the wood Slashers. It plays on the basic tropes of the killers POV, weapon of choice, whodunit, “final girl” killing of the teens, etc. However, the “whodunit” aspect of the movie only concurs with the original.
Jason Voorhees was an 11 year old boy that drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. The counselors weren’t paying any attention to him due to the fact that they were having sex in one of the cabins. The camp shut down because of the tragedy; however, years later, the camp reopened with a new group of counselors. They all begin to arrive but little do they know a killer is stalking them, taking them out one by one, with bodies beginning to pile up. This is the one and only Friday the 13th with the whodunit aspect, as Jason Voorhees came in Friday the 13th Part 2, and being the killer beyond that point.
The series spawned 10 movies, with one taking place in space, Jason X, a crossover with A Nightmare On Elm Street, Freddy vs Jason, and a 2009 remake. There was also a video game in 2017 that unfortunately is no longer available. However, there is a TV show in the works, titled Crystal Lake that stars Linda Cardellni as Pamela Voorhees, which takes place during Jason’s childhood.
I have always loved Friday the 13th, as it was my first horror movie! Some of the movies in the franchise are better than others, but they are overall very entertaining to watch. 5/5 stars!