For those who haven’t seen Friday The 13th, this article contains spoilers.
Jason Voorhees is one of the most enduring figures in horror. Regardless if you love or hate the franchise, there’s no denying its impact on popular culture. Often overlooked is what went into making the 12-film series. Through extensive research and interviews, I’m inviting you to take a closer look at each of the Friday The 13th films. This is Crystal Lake Confessional.
In the early 1970s, indie directors found unexpected success with guerilla-style filmmaking as counterculture slowly crept into the mainstream. The minimal storytelling and violent surrealism of young filmmakers rivaled the straight forward gloss of Hollywood’s silver age. But when an indie film finds success, the director is forced to make a decision: Stay true to a vision and fade into obscurity or become a Hollywood fixture at the cost of artistic integrity. For director Sean S. Cunningham, Friday The 13th would make the decision a little more complicated.
After graduating from Stanford University with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Cunningham started the 1970s with dreams of being a mainstream filmmaker. His goal seemed somewhat obtainable when a distributor bought his second film, Together for $10,000. Impressed with the film’s graphic nature, Hallmark Releasing offered Cunningham an additional $50,000 if he could turn in an exploitive horror film. Trying to avoid the inevitable controversy, Cunningham chose to produce The Last House On The Left as the directorial debut for his friend Wes Craven
The Last House On The Left kickstarted Craven’s career but was derided by critics, prompting Cunningham to focus on family-friendly films.
The next few years saw Cunningham and his friend Victor Miller writing and directing the financial failures, Here Come The Tigers and Manny’s Orphans. Meanwhile, John Carpenter’s Halloween hit theaters and became a box office game changer. Horror films had come full circle and were once again selling out theaters across the country. Reluctant to get back into horror but in dire need of money, Cunningham and Miller decided to write an inexpensive horror film titled The Long Night At Camp Blood.
The premise was simple. As a group of teenagers prep the reopening of Camp Crystal Lake, they’re stalked and killed by a mysterious killer. Later its revealed the killer is Mrs. Voorhees, a former employee whose son drowned due to negligence. With no experience in horror, Miller was drawn to the idea of a mother as an opposite take on Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. For Cunningham, it was important as a plot twist. After all, keeping the antagonist shrouded in mystery would build tension. Adding mileage to the third act where most slasher films tend to fizzle out.
Unabashedly lifting from Halloween‘s calendrical title, The Long Night At Camp Blood was changed to Friday The 13th.
Cunningham then took out a ‘coming soon’ ad in Variety to make use of the ominous title change. “Coming soon: Friday The 13th. The Most Terrifying Film Ever Made!” the title boasted as if the film was already in production. Cunningham waited for the phone to ring off the hook but the only call was his previous investor, Hallmark Releasing. With Halloween taking in record amounts of money, the concept of a small budget horror film spelled dollar signs for producers and distributors alike.
Hallmark, now called Georgetown Productions, agreed to produce Friday The 13th but had a few reservations about the script. To them, Miller’s story was fine but it lacked relatable characters. Knowing relatability was crucial, Georgetown hired Ron Kruz for an uncredited rewrite. The result was tighter, more focused, and even a little streamlined for horror movie standards.
Casting consisted of many up and coming actors and actresses from New York’s theater scene.
While Kevin Bacon had experience in films such as Animal House and Harry Crosby was born into the entertainment business as the son of Bing Crosby, most of the cast were unknowns. Using the publicity to his advantage, Cunningham set up an open casting call for the film’s lead character Alice Hardy. Despite the hype, the casting department was simply looking for good looking kids who could read the script in a believable manner. The role of Alice went to the last person to audition, 20-year-old Adrienne King.
For the role of Mrs.Voorhees, Cunningham wanted a veteran actress. Someone who would appear warm and comforting but with the ability to snap. The first choice was Academy Award winner, Estelle Parsons. But upon reading the script Parsons was insulted she was even contacted for the role. As production of Friday The 13th was to begin, Betsy Palmer was asked. As luck would have it, her car had broken down a day before. Palmer agreed to be paid $1000 each day she was on set. Which lead to a grand total of $10,000, the price of the car she wanted. Like Parsons, she wasn’t impressed with the script and was certain the film would be forgotten upon release. Palmer needed a new car and that was the extent of her enthusiasm.
After George A. Romero’s Martin and Dawn Of The Dead, Tom Savini was the only artist Cunningham considered to handle the special effects of Friday The 13th.
It was important for the graphic death scenes introduced gradually in order to catch the audience off-guard. Keeping the audience from being desensitized to the gore also played into the false sense of security. Tame by today’s standards, Friday The 13th was one of the first horror films to use gore as a means of scares instead of shock. Savini’s time spent as a photographer in the Vietnam war allowed him to craft effects with a layer of bleak realism unlike other movies of the genre. The modest budget pushed Savini to be even more creative when it came to designing the kills in the film. Often creating new techniques on the fly before a shot.
Friday The 13th still needed something a little extra to seal the deal. With the success of Brian DePalma’s adaptation of Carrie, Georgetown insisted on a final jump scare. The ghoulish Jason jumping from the lake and dragging Alice out of her boat ends up being the only scare in the film to hold up upon repeat viewings. However, Miller wasn’t happy with the addition of the scene and along with Kruz’s rewrites, felt the revisions undermined the weight of Mrs.Voorhees’ actions. This disagreement would be the first of many issues to drive a wedge in the personal and professional relationship between Miller and Cunningham.
News of the film’s shocking nature soon swept Hollywood and much to Cunnigham’s surprise, Friday The 13th was the subject of an all-out bidding war.
Paramount eventually won the battle for distribution for 1.5 million dollars with Warner Bros snagging the international rights. It’s also worth noting Friday The 13th was the first independent horror film to be acquired by a major studio. By the time the film went nationwide, Paramount spent over 1 million additional dollars for promotional purposes. Unlike Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday The 13th was rolled out like a major release.
Seeing its official premiere May 9th, 1980, Friday The 13th was an unprecedented box office phenomenon. Shown on 1100 screens across the united states, the film took over 5 million dollars in its opening weekend alone. The film finished its theatrical run with 60 million dollars on it’s $550,000 budget. Not only one of the highest-grossing movies of 1980 but one of the most successful indie films of all time. Most critics praised the original score by Harry Manfredini but blasted the film’s wooden performances and over-the-top depictions of murder.
The legacy of Friday The 13th is interesting due to inconsistency in popularity despite its influence in the horror genre.
Where most franchises see their first film as the best one, Friday The 13th rarely tops any best-of list. Even when compared to the many sequels to come after, it unanimously ends up somewhere in the middle. There just aren’t any standout moments in the film that are truly special. Outside of the lush cinematography, the film is essentially a paint-by-numbers combination of Halloween meets Twitch Of The Death Nerve.
However, Friday The 13th excels in the tension department, but just not in a traditional sense. Instead of jump scares, the pacing plays upon inevitably. The combination of Savini’s effects and Kruz’s pacing, the tension isn’t wondering who dies next but how. Taking it a step further is Manfredini’s atmospheric score only occurring when the killer is on the screen.
In many ways, Friday The 13th represents the struggle of an independent artist.
As a filmmaker, Cunningham lacked the artistry of John Carpenter or the nuance of Tobe Hooper. But what he lacked in creativity, he more than made up for in opportunism. When the script was weak, he amped up the tension. When the reveal was anti-climatic, he added a final jump scare. Whether it was using the title to sell a movie before even filming or choosing visuals over storytelling, Cunningham’s resourcefulness came into play both on and off-screen.
For better or worse, Friday The 13th was the hit Cunningham set out to make and then some. It also inadvertently helped achieve his dream of making a film for a broad audience. Cunningham would go on to direct other horror films throughout the 1980s but none captivated audiences or started franchises like Friday The 13th. Although he liked the money, Cunningham would grow to hate what would follow: a series as unstoppable as Jason Voorhees himself.
Crystal Lake Confessional title card by James Sakelaris
Catch up with previous installments of Crystal Lake Confessional here.
Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – –Part 6 – Part 7
Part TS – Part 8 – Part 9 – Part HM – Part 10 – Part FvJ – Part 2009