Friday the 13th (1980)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th_(1980_film)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080761/
What I Knew:
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ah-ah-ah-ah. Friday the 13th is ubiquitous. Camp Crystal Lake. Jason. The perils of sexual immorality. I've never seen it before so the details aren't really there for me, but does anyone not know what happens in Friday the 13th? When I was a Star Scout, I tried really hard to convince my scoutmaster to take us to Camp NoBeBoSco, which is Camp Crystal Lake in this film, but 14 year old me just couldn't sell the old man on horror history.
What I Expected:
Camp slasher movie with a guy in the most famous hockey mask in the world.
What I Got:
Uh. Well.
So I had no idea what i was getting myself into. It turns out that I had seen most of the kills previously, probably via youtube, but the whole last reel was still very new to me. For a movie that is about the most iconic horror villain of all time, it sure doesnt have a whole lot of him. There are only four people who have sex in the film, all of whom are murdered, but there are like four more victims who never even take their pants off. Turns out that its actually "ki-ki-ki-ma-ma-ma." Not at all what i was expecting, but man was it a fun ride. I don't think im gonna summarize the film here like I did with the previous two movies, but needless to say some people show up at a camp, they get murdered, some crazy old woman is murdering them because she thinks her son is telling her to avenge his death at the hands of negligent camp counselors, she gets murdered, a rotting kid jumps out of a lake.
How I Felt:
I liked this movie a lot. It felt lighthearted in a way that didnt detract from the scares and scary in a way that didnt detract from the emotional pull. Mrs. Voorhees is an awesome villain, especially when you are expecting something a lot more foreboding. A jeep pulls up and you're sitting there expecting big bad Jason, with mask and machete, ready for some murdering, but nope its just a doddering old mom. And she has a machete. All the characters felt really likable, from kinda creepy Steve, dorky and horny Neddy, and almost matronly Brenda to protective and responsible Bill, over-compensatingly masculine Jack, and his condescending girlfriend Marcie, to heroine Alice. Alice is really pretty, i feel like i need to point that out. I was definitely cheering for her to survive and also cheering for her to lose at Strip Monopoly.
The special effects are absolutely great.  There's something about seeing an ax embedded in someone's face in a highly-detailed way for only a few seconds that really shows pride in the effects' guy's work. I love these late-70s, early-80s special effects due to how resourceful and creative you had to be, and it really shows in movies like this. I'm also a fan of the jump scares and the music cues to them. You get this break in the score right before something cool happens and it really preps you for the jump, i think. All in all, i'm really glad i've finally seen this piece of history.
View This:
However you want, just make sure the volume is loud.
Sequel????
Well, I have ten Friday the 13th movies at the moment, of which i have only seen Jason X, the one about Jason in space, so i think i'll be able to try to get through nine more plus the 2009 remake. Kind of excited to see the evolution of Jason over 30 years.