Friday the 13th Month: Why the Original is So Great

There are so many reasons why I love Friday the 13th.

It's got that great mix of corny garbage and scary scenes that make it watchable millions of times over. I could watch it every day all day long. While my favorite is part 3, because that is where I think Jason is at his all-time best, the first one is a classic. Here's why:

1. Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon being in this movie makes it a valid film. I mean, Kevin Bacon is a pretty successful actor...He's come a long way from his days being stabbed through a cot and dancing his heart out in Footloose. He was in Mystic River for goodness sakes. I think because of his role in Friday the 13th, Bacon is now my new favorite actor.

2. The killer was a sweet old lady... this never happens. For 1980, I think this is pretty groundbreaking. It's not a mutated circus freak, there are no escaped convicts or aliens or fire breathing monsters... it's just a regular woman in a sweater...named Pamela Voorhees. Wikipedia.org just informed me that Pamela used to be the camp cook. That's a SpoooOoOoOoky Fun Fact! I didn't know that actually. Apparently there's a book that explores the background story of Mrs. Voorhees and Jason.

Betsy Palmer would have been the last person I suspected to be a killer. Also, you don't really see her until the very end, so there is no way on Earth you'd even think it could be anyone other than Jason.

But it waaas....


3. You kind of feel bad for Jason. I mean, it's not his fault he was born the way he was.

Look at him here. He's just confused. And the only reason he died was because the counselors weren't paying attention to him. Even Freddy Kreuger touched on that in Freddy vs. Jason. Jason just wanted to prove he could swim. Seriously, doing research for this blog has provided me with more info than I could've ever imagined. Wikipedia has the origins of how Jason was created. It's really sPOooOoky you should read it!

4. The surprise ending with the lake

I, for one, never expected it. I mean, I expected Pamela to come after her because it was too quiet, or some kind of flashback..but not deformed child Jason back from the lake! First of all, I guess it's so shocking because it doesn't make sense. I mean, Jason died how many years ago? And we're supposed to believe he's stuck in child form at the bottom of the lake? In the next installment he's a grown man! What's going on?! But, regardless, I forgive it and I allow it because I friggin' love him so much.


5. The hero is a pure virtuous teen who is just trying to do a good job. See, there's a good message in there somewhere right?

Poor Alice, she's the only one who's doing her job right. I mean, everyone else is too busy drinking and doing drugs and sleeping around to watch these innocent kids. Someone has to be the responsible one, and for Alice, that virtue provides to be the reason she lives.

So why do you love it? Or hate it? I mean, you can hate it, but that just means you don't get it.

ch ch ch ch...ha ha ha ha....ch ch ch ch.... you get it...right?