Was original 'Friday the 13th' the most influential film of its decade?
On the Friday afternoon of May 9, 1980, I zipped over to the Woodfield Theater No. 1 in Schaumburg to catch the first matinee showing of a horror film, "Friday the 13th."
Paramount Pictures refused to show its movie to critics, so I steeled myself for the worst. I had no idea I was about to see the most influential motion picture of the 1980s.
With its simple plot about a faceless mad slasher who, armed with a battery of inventive death devices, merrily dispatches Camp Crystal Lake of its promiscuous counselors and bovine wards, "Friday the 13th" ushered in a Dark Decade by opening a flood gate of bloody tales and never-ending body counts.
Small independent filmmakers anxious to break into the business lined up to cash in on the cheap, easy-to-imitate maniac movies. "Mother's Day," "April Fool's Day" and "Happy Birthday to Me" joined slasher opuses with student themes such as "Final Exam," "Graduation Day," "Prom Night," "Night School" and "Horror High."
Other productions exploited holidays with "New Year's Evil," "Silent Night, Deadly Night" or scary locations such as "Mortuary," "Terror Train," "Slumber Party Massacre," "Sleepaway Camp" and the hospital-set "Visiting Hours." Some films pandered to pure sensationalism with "Pieces," "Don't Answer the Phone," "He Knows You're Alone," "Maniac," "The Burning," "Silent Scream," "Madman" and "Humongous."
Most followed the rigid "Friday the 13th" formula: Attractive young people gather at a remote location where they engage in wanton sex and drugs before a faceless maniac slaughters them in heinously inventive ways, almost like a Victorian avenger.
The "good girl" virgin always survives. The "killed" maniac miraculously returns for one last "surprise" at the end.
The dark influences of "Friday the 13th" spread to other films. Martial arts superstar Chuck Norris squared off with an unstoppable, knife-wielding maniac in "Silent Rage." So did Richard Gere in "No Mercy."
Had Walt Disney's G-rated 1989 musical "The Little Mermaid" been produced before 1980, would it have included a maniacal chef trying to stab Sebastian the crab with a butcher knife? No way.
Which is why I contend that "Friday the 13th" paved the way for mainstream acceptance of knife violence.
Significantly, "Friday the 13th" wasn't original. Bob Clark's indie "Black Christmas" (1974) and John Carpenter's indie "Halloween" (1978) used the same formula. What made "Friday the 13th" different?
"Friday the 13th" was distributed by Paramount Pictures, which backed its release with a huge campaign that permeated the market and helped make the horror film a huge hit. It inspired 10 sequels and a remake. (See review.)
A lot happened in 1980s cinema. The Jedi returned. E.T. phoned home. Someone raided the lost ark. Pee-wee had a big adventure and all dogs went to heaven.
But the most influential motion picture of that decade was a dark and nasty celebration of killing noted for one positive contribution: It gave a rising star named Kevin Bacon his fourth movie role as Jack, a teen who meets a cruel fate with a butcher knife.