I have a confession to make: I have never watched Friday the 13th in its’ entirety. Sure, I have watched most of it on cable edited all to hell. But you can’t get the flow of a movie broken into 20 minute blocks. The ending of the film can also be counted in the “hasn’t seen” column. On top of it all,  it’s been over 15 years since my last “viewing”. That’s practically a millennium in the horror film industry.

I can tell you that as the disk sat idly in the main menu, I had a bit of a flashback. The sound of popping popcorn in the background (butter and salt plz) mashed up with the menu audio track that looped only: KSH KSH KSH… AHH AHH AHH… The power of nostalgia is strong with this one.

Speaking of, after watching this film there are some things about Friday the 13th and the 80′s that I forgot:

• All boobs are real.
• Kevin Bacon is in this?
• Chopping wood without a shirt, whilst wearing skin tight cutoffs and a loosely tied handkerchief around your neck is manly.
• “Grass” is really popular with teens.
• You die when you are alone.
• If you need to run in the rain to the outhouse in your underwear, take a jacket. Otherwise leave that shit at the door.
• Woman are okay with inappropriate touching without invitation.
• Camp Councilor is a dangerous profession.
• Things were simpler in the 80′s

It’s that last point I would especially like to make note of. It explains what is so damned brilliant about the film. From the camera angles and entire scenes without dialog to the inventive deaths and gore effects that still hold up. It’s the simplicity of it all that allows a film like Friday the 13th to get under my skin. I absolutely adored the many scenes that director Sean S. Cunningham refused to cut up during the editing process with multiple camera angles. There is something incredibly elegant about a continuously shot scene, especially in a post MTV world.

My favorite scary movie of all time is Alien and it very well could be the reason we even have a horror genre at all. Where Alien had founded a genre, Friday the 13th has done the same for a formula. We owe the last 30 years of slasher movies to this, as it really is the granddaddy of them all. I’m not afraid to admit that even I jumped at a scene or two. That speaks volumes about the staying power of a movie such as this. It would be incredibly easy to to talk about how the slasher film formula is so over played, and wrongly lump this in that category.

Do me a favor. If you are like me and think you know about enough pop culture to not have to watch Friday the 13th, you are doing yourself a disservice. The way the movie ends is totally counter to how I envisioned, and I have a feeling that my assumption of how everything plays out is not an isolated incident.

Friday the 13th is rightfully considered a classic, and those who disagree deserve to be dragged to the bottom of Crystal Lake.

"> So I saw this movie a while back but just didn’t have it in me to write about it. Why you ask? Well it just was really a waste of time.  Now granted it was tense, made me jump a couple times but only cause it was designed that way. Now its just to bad they didn’t design any story in to it.  OK, maybe I might be a little harsh on this movie but you expect more from the writers of Saw. Yeah, I know right? Now granted I didn’t know who was part of the writing and directing team when I started, but half way through the movie I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just a weak version of Saw.

Man I hope I don't get killed when I rob your house tonight...

Now I am a fan of horror flicks, a big fan even. But I do like a little bit of information about the killer. Not a lot mind you, but something. I get that there are psychos out there but what are they going for, why does he collect. The only thing we know is that he collects people and watches a lot of Saw movies, oh and he isn’t squeamish around blood.  They gave us all kinds of back story on the main character Arkin (Josh Stewart) like why he would even think of robbing the house of his employer. What he didn’t know is that the killer apparently could stop time and set up 20 hours worth of elaborate traps in just a few short hours.  The movie is not shy on tension as there is a lot of cat and mouse action going on, and no shortage of blood, and even a “hot chick”. But that alone can not make a good movie in my opinion.  I just kept saying Why?? and How in the heck did he have time to set that up?, not to mention, screw the family man save yourself!! I mean you were going to rob them to begin with so what gives. Just stupid, there is one thing I did like about the movie though, * stop reading if you don’t want to be spoiled………. seriously stop.. I’m going to give away the ending.

The Collector won in the end. In a very bizarre and twisted turn of events.  Leading me to think that they may try to make a sequel. Dear god I hope not, save that money and go pick a new fresh script sitting under all the remake horror scripts on the table. At least then you have a chance of some originality.  Like I stated earlier, I may be a little hard on this movie, I should just take what it was suppose to be, a horror flick, but with it just left me feeling disappointed. It didn’t make any sense.  Oh well here is to hopping the next power on of the DVD player is more successful.

Did you see it? Did you like it? Or did I just not find the right frame of mind to watch it in.

"> College student Samantha finds a posting for a Baby $itter needed. When she calls the number for the job from a pay phone, she gets a machine, so she leaves a message. As she walks away, the pay phone rings. She turns back and answers, to find it’s the man about the baby sitting job. Very bizarre. This begins Samantha’s creepy journey to the House of the Devil.

From the opening credits you might think you’re watching an older movie.  They definitely give it that late 70′s/80′s feel, which, judging by the clothes and music, the movie takes place during the early 1980′s. Brilliantly done, I must say. The song used during these credits is a complete rip off from Moving in Stereo by the Cars.  The notes are just a bit off so they don’t have to give credit, but anyone who is even remotely familiar with that song will recognize it. It is darker than the original song, and there are no lyrics. I only mention this because it was used very wisely in the credits as it helps to set a not too upbeat tone for the movie, while still captivating the mystery of what’s coming.

The mystery of this movie is what it’s all about, building up slowly and revealing only tidbits as it moves forward. Yes, it takes a while to build, but I really appreciate that, actually. So many horror movies these days are just all about the schlock gore and no real build up to that payoff, not even counting the flimsy plots most of them use as an excuse to propel the characters along to their next death. Now, that is not to say that I don’t appreciate the more schlocky horror style, I do. I love all horror, but when you have a movie like this that is deliberate in its slow pacing, it’s refreshing to see the filmmakers relying on building that tension up so the viewer is more captivated. It leads to a better payoff when the frights do come, and boy howdy, do they ever! I have to say that I was genuinely creeped out a couple of times.

Yes, the plot really isn’t anything stellar or groundbreaking, but the plot builds in such a way that you don’t even know what the objective is until the end.  We only know the little things; weird people hiring for the babysitter job, nice big house in the middle of nowhere..all of the classic horror movie warning signs, but we don’t know WHAT the signs are there to warn about, just that it’s…something.  It all plays out extremely well.

Jocelin Donahue is very good in this movie as our heroine. She plays it with the right amount of nervousness, suspicion, and naivety in the beginning, ramping up her character to a more outright frenzy of fear. I think she’ll be one to watch in the future.  Tom Noonan is the mysterious man who hires her for the baby sitting job, and as always for him, he does a good job.  Dee Wallace. That’s all I should have to say for her. She’s been a staple genre Queen for decades now and rightfully so.  The only bummer is how short her screen time is.

All in all, I really liked this movie.  It surprised me. I watch so many horror flicks that aren’t very good, that seeing a dramatic horror like this has given me new hope in the future of my beloved genre.

"> That spooky time of year is upon us once again, and this year we get a new movie that is actually worthy of being called horror.  For some reason, it didn’t get a national release, which is a shame.  In fact, it’s been on the shelf for the past 2 years.  I don’t know why, but whoever put it there should be fired, because this movie hits all the marks that make it a perfect Halloween movie.

This flick is not the conventional straight ahead horror film.  It has more in common with Creepshow than something like Halloween due to its branching storylines that overlap during one night on Hallow’s Eve.  An anthology, if you will.  All of the stories tie together by the inclusion of one little demon named Sam, who is present one way or another in all of the stories presented to us.  I think Sam is one of the greater horror movie icons we’ve seen in years.  Not only because he’s pint sized, but the costume of burlap is great, and even better when he reveals what’s under that burlap hood.

I knew Anna Paquin was in this movie, but was very pleasantly surprised to see other great  actors such as Brian Cox and Dylan Baker, and even a little more grown up Britt McKillip, (shout out to Dead Like me fans!).  Every actor does their job just wonderfully, bringing that perfect mix of humor and horror together.  This is one film where there are no over the top performances, just good performances that fulfill the demand of the script.

The stories are good Halloween fare.  I’ll admit, they don’t exactly bust open the genre, but they aren’t stagnant or cliché, either.  The tone of each story is well established and the execution is spot on for each.  The real beauty in them is how they all interconnect, with Sam in the middle of it all.

Like the aforementioned Creepshow, this movie has a great blend of horror, thrills, and comedy, all perfectly executed to roll with the storyline.  It also, of course, has twists and turns to try and keep you off balance and always guessing as to what’s coming next.  It works well, even if you seasoned scare masters out there are able to figure out all of them before they occur.  Even if you do, it won’t take anything away from the fun of watching this new Halloween gem.

I can assure you that it will become a staple of Halloween viewing in my house for many Halloween’s to come.

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