Friday 13th has always been one of my personal bêtes noir. I hate the film, I have watched it and its endless parade of sequels, faintly hoping that a glimmer of intelligence or enjoyment may appear on the screen. And it has never happened - nichts, nada, rien. I do not understand why this film is considered a land mark in horror movie history. The whole slasher film phenomenon had begun years before Friday 13th and had produced notable, exciting and acclaimed films such as Torso, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hallowe'en. Jason Vorhees is a stupid villain - the hockey mask isn't scary compared to Michael Myer's expressionless terror or the frightening appearance of Leatherface. Even the Donald Duck voiced killer in Fulci's New York Ripper is scarier than Jason/Mrs Vorhees - whoever the heck it is. The teenage victims in Friday 13th are unlikeable and you don't have any emotional investment in what becomes of them. The kill scenes are not particularly suspenseful or fun to watch - it is all a bit drab. The plot about Mrs Vorhees is stupid and is ripped off from other, better slasher films. I cannot see how Friday 13th has attained its revered status when it is a painting by numbers slasher, never mind the unending sequels, TV Show, merchandising it has spawned. Put Jason in space or Elm Street - he is still a boring fart.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
