Hello, Enthusiacs!  I am your Lord of Shadows and today we are going back a long way to what many consider the second “great” modern horror movie. Friday the 13th took what had become a stale genre in the two years after Halloween and elevated it to a level that would not be matched until four years later when A Nightmare on Elm’s Street was released.

The plot was seen dozens of times before this film and would be repeated dozens more. A camp full of teenagers are murdered. However, what makes this film stand out from the crowd is a level of realism in it. Our killer is not a supernatural being, it has no magical abilities, and the characters being hunted are portrayed as real people.

Most horror films have, let’s be honest, TERRIBLE acting. However, here the soon to be mega star Kevin Bacon leads an incredible cast. You can tell these people are giving their all to this project. Even Betsy Palmer who famously called the script a “Piece of shit” gives a fantastic performance shifting from concerned parent to bat shit psycho in the blink of an eye.

The acting was one of the pillars here but the effects stand as well as fantastic. For the time they were damn near unmatchable and even today they hold up way better than other movies of the same age.

It’s also one of the few “slasher” films that gives you a mystery. We don’t know who the killer is until the end of the film when she reveals herself. This was unheard of in the genre most of the time the monster was the main character and in every other entry in this series that is the norm.

At release however this film was panned by critics Gene Siskel even went so far as to publish the address for Paramount Chairman Charles Blundorn and Actress Betsy Palmer urging people to write them and tell them how much they hate the movie. Because that’s the mature thing to do when you don’t like a movie.

In the decades since it has been seen for the amazing film that it truly is. Not only did it give birth to a Monster franchise that is still going to this day, but it showed that John Carpenter wasn’t the only one who could do good horror.

What makes the horror elements work in this film is that the director understood how important all the elements are. It’s not just about jump scares. You have to have the music right you have to have the atmosphere that draws the viewer in and most importantly you have to care about the would be victims. If you don’t care about the actors you get “See no evil” levels of who cares.

As you can tell I love this film and it’s one of the first that got me into the horror genre as a boy. It showed that you make a serious slasher film. It is not only entertaining but terrifying when it needs to be gory when it makes an impact and for the most part keep things in the realm of reality.

If you have never seen it you should do yourself a favor and watch it.

I am your Lord of Shadow saying.

Stay Scared.