Horror Movie Thrills - Friday the 13th (1980)

Be warned, this article contains spoilers about Friday the 13th (1980).

Vanessa Santoyo Garcia, Guest Writer

This film was directed and produced by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller. Friday the 13th is a horror film that became instantly recognized by thriller fans all around the world. This film has a typical slasher film plot, but because of its unique form of killer it became a well-loved horror film amongst many.

A mother being the villain to a horror film is something not used often, especially in the 1980s when this movie was created. The reason the creators of Friday the 13th decided to make the killer a mother was because Miller enjoyed the idea of a mother that would kill for her children, which is explained when he spoken about how he had always wanted a mother like Jason’s.

He grew unhappy when later films in the franchise made Jason the killer because he claimed “Jason was dead from the very beginning. He was a victim, not a villain.”

The only reason for the very last scene of Jason attacking Alice in the lake was because of a makeup designer, Tom Savini, suggesting something similar to the ending of Carrie, a horror movie they had just watched, to the creators as a chair jumper, which is a form of unserious cliffhanger.

Overall, Friday the 13th is a must watch for horror fans, especially during Halloween season. It is very interesting to investigate the explanation of the specifics to the plot and viewing the opinions of people on if the mother of Jason was in the wrong or in the right. Friday the 13th involves of a lot of thinking and processing for the viewers, causing it to be attention grabbing and thrilling to watch.