Friday the 13th (1980)

So here we go, the start of my movie marathon for 1980 — my plan right now is to watch 10-15 movies. I’ve been watching a lot of Friday the 13th movies over the last couple of years (all of the ones released between 1985 and 1989), and so I figured it was about time to watch the one that started it all. I honestly can’t remember if I ever watched it — it’s possible I did at some point, but I had no real memory of it. As I was watching it, I kept thinking, man, it’s amazing that this is what marked the start of such an iconic franchise, since for the most part it’s a pretty bad movie. But then that final sequence happens (the one in the middle of the lake), and that’s when the magic — and the birth of a franchise — happens. But yeah, for the most part, it’s not a very enjoyable film to watch (even with Kevin Bacon in the mix), and although it gets more exciting once Mrs. Voorhees shows up, her performance unfortunately drags it down (or is just too laughable). But hey, it does make me curious to watch the second one, and I guess that’s what all good franchises do, make you look forward to the next one.