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Debaser Film

Friday the 13th (1980)

So here we go, the start of my movie marathon for 1980 — my plan right now is to watch 10-15 movies. I’ve been watching a lot of Friday the 13th movies over the last couple of years (all of the ones released between 1985 and 1989), and so I figured it was about time to watch the one that started it all. I honestly can’t remember if I ever watched it — it’s possible I did at some point, but I had no real memory of it. As I was watching it, I kept thinking, man, it’s amazing that this is what marked the start of such an iconic franchise, since for the most part it’s a pretty bad movie. But then that final sequence happens (the one in the middle of the lake), and that’s when the magic — and the birth of a franchise — happens. But yeah, for the most part, it’s not a very enjoyable film to watch (even with Kevin Bacon in the mix), and although it gets more exciting once Mrs. Voorhees shows up, her performance unfortunately drags it down (or is just too laughable). But hey, it does make me curious to watch the second one, and I guess that’s what all good franchises do, make you look forward to the next one.

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Debaser

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

I watched this in the context of the regular “Movie Nights” I organize at work — I pick a theme (this time was of course “Halloween”) and then create a survey for the team to pick the movie they’d most like to watch (choices were between this, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Scream, Creepshow, and Trick ‘R Treat). I had an absolute blast watching it, but it was in a fantastic setting: a large room with a bunch of people, drinking beers and eating popcorn, and having a fun time commenting at things and joking while we were watching it. This is a ridiculously over-the-top film — with an oh-so-young Cory Feldman — and it’s quite simply one of the best examples of what 80s slasher films were all about.

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Debaser

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Also known as Friday the 13th Part V, man was this funny – and I think I did the right thing in watching it after midnight. I mean, it’s hard to take it seriously as a horror movie, because it’s so tame in every sense of the genre, including the violence, gore, and level of terror. The acting is about porn-level. But hey, I had fun watching it. It’s been so long since I’ve seen an example like this of the 80s horror slasher film genre, and as a trip back to the era, it was interesting. Silly as fuck, but hey, there was a time when this is what a horror film was supposed to be like, with dumb kids, lots of boobies, and ridiculous ways to kill people. The Scream movies tried to parody this stuff, but I think they never out-parodied the original movies. And to be honest, I’m kinda curious to watch Part VI, to see if it continues what is set up at the end of this one.