Friday the 13th

---

“A group of camp counselors trying to reopen a summer camp called Crystal Lake, which has a grim past, are stalked by a mysterious killer.”

Piggy-backing on the success of “Halloween,” Sean Cunningham took the teenage slaughter to the woods, giving us the notorious Camp Crystal Lake. Many people forget that this original classic didn’t feature the silent hockey masked killer. Point in case, the movie doesn’t even show the killer until the end. But the killings start right off the bat.

This movie makes sure to include all the 80’s standards to qualify as a horror movie. Teens who drink, do drugs and have sex are picked off even after the crazy old man from town has warned them away and a mysterious history gave the place the nickname of “Camp Blood.”

But that beautiful combination gave special effects master Tom Savini a place to work his magic. There’s something about the art of practical effects that gives horror that extra bite.

SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT

As mentioned previously, Jason, the most iconic member of the franchise, did not get his slaughter start here. The big reveal is that it is Jason’s mother avenging the drowning of her baby boy all those years ago.

The jump scare ending was actually not written into the film. Tom Savini had just seen “Carrie” and loved the jump scare from that so they brought back the child actor for Jason one last time.

To think, Jason may not have been able to rack up his future body counts if not for an inspired special effects expert.