Friday the 13th (1980)
69%RT Audience Score: 60%
Awards & Nominations: 6 nominations
Rather quaint by today’s standards, Friday the 13th still has its share of bloody surprises and a ’70s-holdover aesthetic to slightly compel
Friday the 13th is the kind of movie that makes you wonder if the filmmakers were trying to win an award for the most gratuitous use of gore and nudity. But hey, if that’s your thing, then this movie delivers in spades. The plot is thin, the acting is questionable, and the characters are forgettable, but who cares when you’re watching a masked killer hack his way through a group of horny teenagers? It’s not high art, but it’s a fun way to spend a Friday night with some friends and a few beers. Just don’t expect to be scared out of your wits.
Production Company(ies)
Charles Chaplin Productions,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros.
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Camp Nobebosco – 11 Sand Pond Road, Blairstown, New Jersey, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1980
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 35m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 13, 1980 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 7, 2007
Genre(s)
Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, directed by Sean S Cunningham, written by Victor Miller, horror, R rating, box office gross $60.5M, reviewed by Ron Pennington, James Berardinelli, Jeremiah Kipp, Kim Newman, Dave Kehr, Joseph Litsch, Betsy Palmer as Mrs Pamela Voorhees, Adrienne King as Alice Hardy, Harry Crosby as Bill, Laurie Bartram as Brenda, Mark Nelson as Ned Rubenstein, Jeannine Taylor as Marcie Cunningham, produced by Sean S Cunningham
Worldwide gross: $39,765,665
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $149,452,854
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 834
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 16,298,021
US/Canada gross: $39,754,601
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $149,411,272
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 516
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,816,321
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,859,707
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 608
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $550,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,067,087
Production budget ranking: 2,025
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,113,126
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $146,272,641
ROI to date (est.): 4,599%
ROI ranking: 23
Adrienne King – Alice Hardy
Harry Crosby – Bill
Laurie Bartram – Brenda
Mark Nelson – Ned Rubenstein
Jeannine Taylor – Marcie Cunningham
Director(s)
Sean S. Cunningham
Writer(s)
Victor Miller
Producer(s)
Sean S. Cunningham
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (21)
It’s blatant exploitation of the lowest order.
November 2, 2014
Ron Pennington
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
February 12, 2009 | Rating: 2/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
You really have to wonder what exactly made the Friday the 13th series so wildly successful.
February 4, 2009 | Rating: 2/4
Jeremiah Kipp
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It may be one of the most famous, but it’s certainly not an original on which others are based.
September 26, 2007 | Rating: 2/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
For all its shoddiness, the film manages, just barely, to achieve its ignoble goals — it delivers what it promises.
September 26, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The whole film is one of the best arguments for resuming movie censorship to come along in years.
March 7, 2005
Joseph Litsch
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
Betsy Palmer, cast as Mrs. Voorhees, delivers the most embarrassing performance found in ANY film in the franchise.
August 21, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Although nothing about the film stands out as incredibly imaginative, the production isn’t without a certain level of amusement.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The beginning is not a fantastic movie. But it’s solid enough to create a whole franchise. [Full review in Spanish].
June 29, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4
Federico Furzan
Cinelipsis
The likable, non-stereotypical teens in Friday the 13th didn’t do anything wrong per se, yet they get punished. It makes you wonder if there’s any ex-[your job here] running around out there, just looking for the right time to strike.
May 10, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Tracy Allen
PopHorror.com
Jason Vorhees, the great golem of Paramount Studios and Warner Brothers Pictures, will always be here for us when we need to be frightened, titallated, distracted, or when we need a laugh.
March 31, 2020
Ed Travis
Hollywood Jesus
Friday the 13th is not a good movie, but it achieves its objective: to make the public feel adrenaline. [Full Review in Spanish]
August 13, 2019
Ángel S. Harguindey
El Pais (Spain)…
Plot
In 1957, a young boy named Jason drowns in a lake near Camp Crystal Lake. The next year, two counselors are murdered. In 1980, a descendant of the original owners reopens Camp Crystal Lake with some counselors’ help. The counselors gets killed one by one by a mysterious person. Could it be Jason, out for revenge?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a young Kevin Bacon in a speedo.
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