The best and still the finest of the slasher movies of the 70's,much more better than the overhyped halloween of that time
I think that the first film is actually UNDERRATED, and a classic horror film in it's own right. It's a good example of how a low budget can give a more realistic, almost documentary quality to a horror film (as it did later to great intentional effect with Blair Witch and it's many imitators). Plus, the killer is a real person, the distraught mother, not the laughable phantom hockey mask wearing "Jason". 4 stars.
Absolutely 100% agree. It's a far better film than any of the sequels, although I do have an affinity for 2-5. I find the atmosphere and the eerie quiet of the woods in the original to be extremely unsettling and effective.
Halloween may be the granddaddy of the bastard horror subgenera known as the slasher picture, setting the ground rules for a whole new generation of horror movies, but surly Friday the 13th deserves… read review