MovieChat Forums > Friday the 13th (1980) Discussion > is this film overrated? i've pondered th...

is this film overrated? i've pondered this many times over the years...

posted 8 years ago by lukejbarnett2002
11 replies | jump to latest

no, it isn't. but as an adult watching it, it's kind of boring especially near the end when Pamela is going after Alice. it drags like hell in one of those scenes, if not more than one of those scenes. and also it's not that scary at all as an adult but then again a lot of classic horror movies are like that where they are scary as a kid but not as an adult. but then again it being boring is subjective as it has that old '70s slow paced feeling to it which is fine but feels kind of boring to some people. not to me at all though because I love its environment, it's pacing, it's tone, and it's atmosphere.

bottom line though is it's not overrated, it's in fact underrated and underappreciated because it's so ground breaking. back in 1980 no one saw such graphic, brutal, blunt, and realistic depictions of violence in a mainstream and popular movie. also, it's underrated because it's so well made, plotted, paced, acted, directed, written, and is so inimitable and original.

[–] HippieDrillSealOfApproval 8 years ago

I’d say it’s underrated if anything because a lot of people these days dismiss it as a crap film.

It’s no masterpiece but it’s a solid second tier horror classic.

It’s got great atmosphere and the acting is better than it’s often given credit for.

What are words for when no one listens anymore

[–] lukejbarnett2002 8 years ago

exactly I mean there is a reason why it's always been one of the greatest and most classic horror films of all time and not just these things in regards to slasher films. exactly, it has nuanced, authentic, naturalistic, subtle acting and a great tone and atmosphere of creepy, spooky, eeriness and ominousness and it has the old school '70s kind of quality directing which makes it a classic film together with all the other great things it has in it.

i heard they took heavily from Bay Of Blood, so that means it's not entirely original or creative. but as far as slasher films, it's pretty much the first slasher film that was mainstream and popular. Halloween, i don't know if it really has that methodical stalk and slash element to it.

one of the things which made it popular and widely known was the fact that it was successful at the box office which is not a signifier of quality but just a success indicator. a lot of people saw it. and it made the producers, director, and everyone at the studio a lot of money. but people making fun of it and dismissing it as crap i think is partly due to the fact that it's always been so popular. it's popularity has worked against it.

[–] DoctorThirteen (10151) 5 months ago

'It’s no masterpiece but it’s a solid second tier horror classic.

It’s got great atmosphere and the acting is better than it’s often given credit for.'

Exactly this. It does what it set out to do, and makes great use of the location.

[–] HippieDrillSealOfApproval 8 years ago

i think it drags toward the end for the same reason most slasher films drag toward the end, because there's only so much you can do with a slasher plot. by their nature they tend to be predictable. Halloween and Alien (Alien is basically a slasher film) transcended the genre because they were made by gifted directors who knew how to craft suspense and terror. Nightmare on Elm Street transcended the genre by adding the surreal dream world element. Friday the 13th was creepy at times but it didn't do anything to really make it stand out from all the other slasher films that came out in the early 80s.

It’s hard to make a great slasher film, that’s why there are so few of them. I still love the genre though, even if largely for nostalgia reasons.

What are words for when no one listens anymore

[–] lukejbarnett2002 8 years ago

if that is true then how come none of the other Friday the 13th films dragged at all? i know why it's because the first one was made in the style of '70s films because it was made in 1979 and 1980. but by the time they made part 2 a new era had begun, the '80s era and quicker, faster paced movies were then made. if you look at the endings of part 1 and 2. they are the same, a killer goes after a girl and the girl defends herself and wins. so, they made part 2 better than they made part one in terms of keeping it entertaining. part 2 is a better film than part 1.

i agree with you that Friday the 13th doesn't have anything to really make it stand out in terms of main film elements or taking chances with the plot or things that happen. but, then why is it one of the most classic and widely known horror films ever made?

[–] cockroachcharlie 8 years ago

A large part of the reason this one drags is because of time. A lot of scenes are heavily extended (watch Crazy Ralph ride off....all the way into the sunset) to pad out the film. Besides Halloween, there really wasn't much to work with in storytelling these types of films and as they were made more, they refined the style better. The first Evil Dead comes to a dead stop around 3/4 of the way through.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ziggystar86 7 years ago

That must be why I love the first one so much, the 70s feeling, nothing beats 70s horror.

By the way Halloween and Texas chainsaw massacre are lot more creepy than this movie

[–] KingCobra686 8 years ago

Its a tough question because there are multiple ways to decide.

If this was a brand new movie that had just come out direct to dvd or on netflix, no one would care about it or give it notice. Watching this vs many generic modern slashers without knowing the background would probably result in a lot of modern movies winning out over this.

But thats not entirely fair, since this was one of the original slasher movies. Many future films were inspired by this and built their films off of elements in this one. For its time and technology, this is an excellent film.

I think its a good movie that has struggled to hold up well over time. Its not particularly special or memorable because all of the memorable and special elements have been replicated and redone so many times that they are not unique to this film. Either that means that this film wasnt that creative to start with, or it was exceptionally creative and inspriring.

Either way, I enjoy watching it each October.

[–] Mr_Ectoplasma 8 years ago

It's underrated, I think. It gets a lot of cultural credit for having marked the beginning of the "eighties slasher," but it's not a film that received wide acclaim by any means. It was trashed when it was initially released, but genre fans naturally flocked to it.

On conventional terms, I think it's underrated. It's a very well-crafted film in spite of how low-budget the production was. Very atmospheric locations and photography, decent acting, and generally an eerie movie. It's one of my favorite slasher films, and in some ways I prefer it to Carpenter's "Halloween."

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

It's underrated.

With Jason Voorhees and his hockey mask becoming synonymous with the franchise name it's easy for people to dismiss the first film as simply the foundations of what would later come. As opposed to other franchises like Halloween, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre & ANOES where the first films are the tentpoles films which define the franchises and are outright considered horror masterpieces.

It was savaged on release and hasn't got much of a reappraisal. It's that film which spawned a big franchise not one of the best horror films of all time. A lot of people consider it the worst opening entry to the big slasher franchises (Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Scream...even films like Childs Play and Hellraiser). Many would say films like Black Christmas & My Bloody Valentine are better. Some even consider The Burning and Sleepaway Camp as superior.

It's considered a popular guilty-pleasure franchise, not a horror classic/masterpiece. Which does it a real disservice. It's atmospherically great, I find the pacing to be good and the formula is perfect.