Friday the 13th

Friday, October 31 - Saturday, November 1, 2014

DCP projection

“A wave of disasters after the drowning of a certain Jason Voorhees turns Camp Crystal Lake into “Camp Blood”: The townspeople react to a visitor’s mention of it like Transylvanian villagers hearing about Count Orlok’s castle, the stagecoach ride comes courtesy of a trucker who doesn’t get “these dumb kids.” The counselors (an anonymous bunch that includes Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartham and, gah, Kevin Bacon) are getting things ready for the camp’s re-opening, which means smoking pot, lounging around in bikinis, and playing strip Monopoly; the town loony chants “You’re all doooomed,” and soon enough the handheld killer-o-vision camera from Black Christmas is introduced with extra heavy-breathing. Since the hockey-masked boogeyman is a few sequels away, Sean S. Cunningham can still sketch a bit of detail between the guts-spilling — one appreciates Jeannine Taylor’s telling of a dream in which the rain runs red, or her Kate Hepburn impression at the outhouse mirror before she takes a hatchet to the kisser. The wackiest frisson has to be the unveiling of Special Guest Villainess… Betsy Palmer. (What, was Jaye P. Morgan busy?) “So young. So pretty. What monster could have done this?” Intentional or not, what you have here is the idleness and stupidity of post-Seventies hedonism, where the apolitical dummies come to life only as Tom Savini gore effects (cf. the bridal tableau animated by the ex-lover’s revolver in The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz). The finale takes from De Palma (who took it from Boorman), and gazes ahead into dark waters. With Robbi Morgan, Mark Nelson, Peter Brouwer, Ron Millkie, and Walt Gorney.” – Fernando Croce

  • Country USA
  • Rating R
  • Year 1980
  • Running Time 95 minutes
  • Director Sean S. Cunningham

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.